Vegetables that need a long time to mature must be started indoors during late winter/early spring or purchased later as transplants from nurseries or garden stores. “Early” varieties are best suited to the shorter gardening season of the Inland Northwest.
Melons, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins can be grown from direct seeding into the garden or from transplants. These vegetables resent transplanting, but can be started from seed in individual peat pots, which are planted, peat pot and all, into the garden.
Never plant the same crop, or family of crops, in the same place two years in a row. Common vegetable families include:
- Solanaceae: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, tomatillos
- Cucurbits: cucumber, squash, melon
- Brassica: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, turnips
- Allium: onions, garlic, leeks, scallions
- Legumes: peas, beans, okra
Garden Schedule
(actual dates will vary from year to year)
March 1st
Indoors: Start cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomato, and pepper seeds.
April 1st to 15th
Indoors: Start tomato and eggplant seeds.
Outdoors: Plant onion sets or plants, Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus crowns, and rhubarb roots.
April 15th to May 1st
Indoors: Start cucumber, melon, and squash seeds.
Outdoors: Plant beets, carrots, turnips and other root crops; lettuce, spinach, chard, peas, radishes and potato pieces. Transplant cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.
May 1st to May 15th
Outdoors: Plant beets, carrots, turnips, potatoes. Transplant cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts.
May 15th to June 1st
Outdoors: Plant beans and corn. Be prepared to replant these if frost occurs. Transplant cucumbers, melons and squash, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.
June 1st to June 15th
Outdoors: Plant okra seeds, carrots. Transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant.
Garden Maintenance
Watering
Most vegetables are grown as an annual crop and need at least an inch of water a week. If it is hot and windy, the garden may need additional watering. Tomatoes, peppers, and summer squash can develop a problem called blossom end rot. This is a dry, dark blotch on the bottom end of the vegetable. It is usually caused when the soil has been kept moist and then allowed to dry out before watering again. Knobby potatoes are also caused by uneven soil moisture conditions.
Mulching
Mulching with grass clippings, leaves, or straw helps keep the soil evenly moist. Large amounts of grass clippings should be spread out and dried for a day or so to keep them from smelling in hot weather. Run a lawnmower over large leaves before using, as large leaves can smother small plants. Work these mulches into the ground after harvest to help improve the soil.
- Don’t use mulches in vegetable beds until the soil has warmed up (about June 1).
- Don’t mulch young seedlings with organic mulches until they are six inches tall.
- Don’t use grass clippings from turf that has been treated with herbicides or fertilizer/herbicide combinations. Before using clippings from a lawn care company, check to find out if they are using a herbicide.
Weeding
Weeds compete with your vegetables for nutrients and water and may harbor insect pests and diseases. Try to keep ahead of them by hand weeding or hoeing when they are small. Mulching is one of the best ways of controlling weeds. If weeds come through the mulch they are usually easy to pull up. Water a few hours before pulling out large weeds. If the soil is too dry, the weeds will break off; if too wet, the surrounding vegetables may come out as well. Most weeds sprout in the spring. Get good control by weeding before they go to seed. Weeds such as purslane and chickweed will root from any small pieces that are left on the soil. Remove and dispose of them carefully.
- Barnyard manures may contain weeds. Bagged steer manure is usually weed free.
- If beds are in a weedy area, try to keep a weed free strip around the beds.
- In close plantings of vegetables, watch for and remove hidden weeds between plantings.
- In raised beds, the soil is lighter and weeds are easier to pull. Hand weeding and light hoeing is usually sufficient.
Fertilizing
If the soil in your vegetable garden or raised beds is “native soil”, it is probably high in phosphorus, potassium and calcium. It is frequently low in nitrogen and may be low in sulfur. You may wish to have your soil tested to see if this is true in your garden.
Some gardeners buy soil from landscape suppliers to supplement the soil in their vegetable gardens or to build raised beds. These soils may not have many natural nutrients and some contain sawdust. Use extra nitrogen the first year or two to compensate for the nitrogen loss as the sawdust breaks down.
If raised beds have been amended with a large proportion of soil-less mix (peat moss, vermiculite, perlite or clean sand), then a complete fertilizer such as 5-10-10, 10-10-10 or 10-20-20 with trace elements will be needed. Pale yellow leaves and stunted growth are signs of nutrient deficiencies. Follow the directions on the label. Do not over fertilize.
Chemical fertilizers, both granular and liquid are available. 5-10-10, 10-20-20, or 16-16-16 are some of the fertilizers that can be used for vegetables. Follow the rate on the label of the fertilizer product you are using. If the directions are not on the package or instructions are missing, the following is a guide for the most common formulations.
Pre-planting
- 5-10-5 or 5-10-10
- Use at the rate of 2 lbs. broadcast over 100 square feet or down a row 2 feet wide by 50 feet long.
- 10-10-10 or 10-20-20
- Use at a rate of 1 lb. broadcast over 100 square feet or down a row 2 feet wide by 50 feet long.
- 16-16-16
- Use at a rate of 3/4 lb. broadcast over 100 square feet or down a row 2 feet wide by 50 feet long
The overuse of any fertilizer, especially those that are high in nitrogen, such as ammonia sulfate 21-0-0, can burn roots and plants. It may also result in excessive foliage and little development of root crops or fruit.
Several companies have packaged organic fertilizers available. Follow label directions. Organic matter used for soil amendments such as manures (horse, cow, chicken and rabbit) and compost supply a small amount of nutrients. Eventually all organic materials break down and release nutrients back into the soil. However, soil needs to warm up enough in the spring for this to happen. In the Inland Northwest this is around the first of June. Therefore, use another fertilizer source early in the season.
Extending the Season with Plant Protectors
Protection from frost and cold weather
Gardeners who wish to get their plants out earlier than recommended need to purchase plants at garden stores and use small plastic tents (hot caps) to protect them from frost. Gallon-size milk jugs with the bottoms cut out make great “mini greenhouses”. Remove them in the mornings on all but the coldest days because a few minutes of bright sun will cook the covered plants.
Floating Row Cover is manufactured by several companies. Most are available pre-packaged. Reemay is the brand name of a lightweight polyester material. Water and light penetrate this white material. Spread it over vegetable seeds or young transplants at planting time. The seeds germinate quickly and young plants and transplants will grow faster. When laying down a row cover it is necessary to leave enough loose material for plants to push the cloth up as they grow. Hoops can be made or purchased to drape the cloth over. Weight down the edges of Reemay with rocks or boards to keep it in place. Row covers can also be used successfully to block out several vegetable insect pests such as cabbage loopers, cabbage worms, aphids (some smaller aphids may get through), leafminer (an insect that feeds between the tissues of spinach, chard and beet leaves, leaving large blotches), Colorado potato beetle, and flea beetles.
Disadvantages: Loosely flapping row cover can whip off the tops of plants during a windstorm. On very hot days, tender plants may burn.
Source: Tonie Fitzgerald, Spokane County Extension Educator, C146, R 1/05.
Walla Walla County WSU Extension Bulletin #228
Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office.