Extension Report

Baldwin County Extension Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Telephone (251) 937-7176 or

928-0860/943-5061 ext. 2222

FAX (251) 937-7285

Mike McQueen

Regional Extension Agent

Home Grounds, Gardens & Home Pests

January 11, 2011

PLANNING YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN

Tempting as it is, try not to just buy and plant. To have a successful vegetable garden you need to give it some thought ahead of time. When planning your garden, consider the site, varieties, where they will go, and when you’ll plant. Be realistic; only plant what you can maintain with harvest you can use. It is too easy, especially for the new vegetable gardener, to start too large.

A successful site for most vegetables, especially fruiting ones, should get at least six hours of direct sunlight a day – either continuous, or total from morning and afternoon. If you don’t have a sunny sight, consider planting a leafy crop such as lettuce that can get by on three to four hours of sunlight a day.

Another important site factor is the soil. A rich, well drained loam is ideal but many gardeners have to begin gardening with less than ideal soil. If your soil is clay or sandy, add lots of organic matter such as compost each year in the spring before planting. If your soil is clay, poorly drained, or rocky, you might want to consider building raised beds on top and filling with a good soil mix.

Accessibility of the site is important in three respects. It should be close to home, otherwise “out of sight, out of mind” may apply. If you don’t visit your garden daily, or frequently, you may miss pest outbreaks and vegetables that are ready to pick. The site should be accessible to a source of water. The site should be accessible as well by cart or even vehicle. If you need to bring in a load of compost, soil, mulch or remove debris, how will you access it?

How do you choose among the hundreds of varieties available, and which crops to grow? The first consideration is what you and your family like to eat. Even if a crop is popular, if you don’t like it and won’t eat it, why grow it?

When choosing varieties, be sure to look for ones adapted to your region. A couple of cultural factors to consider in variety selection are disease resistance and plant size. Some varieties, tomatoes being a good example, are resistant to certain diseases. These are often labeled in descriptions with letters and a key, such as TMV for tomato mosaic virus. The more letters the better! Plant size relates to your site, and where these will be planted.

Assuming you have the right match of site conditions to varieties, consider the size of the crops and growth habits. Tomatoes, for instance, can be more upright (determinate) or vining and sprawling (indeterminate). Indeterminate varieties may need more staking, or more room, or both. There are also compact varieties suited to small spaces and containers.

When sowing seeds or planting transplants, the information on seed packets, labels, and books will tell you such details as seed or plant spacing in rows, and the amount of space between rows.

Once you lay out your plans roughly on paper, look at what plants are next to others. What direction is the sun coming from? You don’t want tall corn shading out small plants. Some plants are believed by gardeners to help others, perhaps by repelling insects. This is called “companion planting” with many books and articles written just on this topic.

Finally consider when you will plant. Some “cool” crops (like lettuce) can be planted earlier than other “warm” crops (like tomatoes). The two key factors are first and last frost dates of the season. Since these can vary, be ready with frost protection cloth or similar coverings.

For more gardening information, visit your local Extension Office or online at www.aces.edu Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor, University of Vermont was used as a resource for this news article.

Timber Taxation Workshop

On January 19, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System will be providing an all day workshop at the Fiver Rivers Delta Center on Timber Taxation.  The workshop is designed to help landowners and tax professional complete their income tax returns for owning and/or selling timber.  Basic items of income and expenses will be discussed and categories for income and tax purposes.  Handouts will include copies of completed IRS forms.

The workshop will be provided by Dr. Robert Tufts an attorney and Associate professor in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University.  Dr. Tufts teaches timber tax, estate planning, property law, environmental law among other courses at Auburn University.  Workshop registration is $35 for landowners, $60 per person for SAF or PLM credit, and $100 for CPE credit.  For further information and registration, contact Robert Tufts at 334.844.1011 or email at tuftra@auburn.edu.

Email address: mcquegj@aces.edu

Phone number: 937-7176 or 943-5061, 928-0860, ext. 2222

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.