The Master Gardener Articles

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Start Thinking About Vegetable Gardening

It’s not too early to start thinking about your vegetable garden for this year. There are 3 main planting seasons.

Early Spring: As soon as the ground can be worked (early April when soil crumbles well when tilled or spaded), cool season vegetables can be planted such as lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, peas & radishes. In midspring once the last killing frost occurs (after May 20) plant beets, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, carrots and cauliflower followed by corn, beans and potatoes two weeks later (early June). In August plant cabbage, kohlrabi and spinach for an early fall harvest.

Insects: Use mulches to reduce pests. Companion planting will also keep the bugs away. Herbs such as dill, chives, parsley and marigolds planted in the garden will help repel a wide variety of pest.  If insect pests become intolerable you may need to use an insecticide.

Disease: Disease resistant vegetables should be selected if at all possible. Watering at the base of the plant reduces the chance for disease which can occur more readily on moist foliage. Good air circulation is important for reducing disease incidence, so don’t make your rows to narrow (2-3’ for larger plants). It’s also a good idea to change your garden site every few years to reduce soil borne diseases. If this isn’t practical, rotate your crop so they aren’t planted the same crop on the same area the following year.

Weeds: Remove weeds manually and/or mulch with clean straw between the rows. Weeds will compete with vegetables for water and nutrients, so removal of weeds is very important.

Your local garden centers or hardware store will carry chemicals for your garden if these natural methods do not work. See Ohioline and search for Vegetable Gardens for more information contact George McVey at gmcvey@ag.osu.edu.