Read Online Growing Your Own Vegetables: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide by Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner
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they are 3 to 5 inches in diameter by pulling up the large outer leaves over the head and securing with a rubber band or string. Wait for 4 to 12 days to harvest. Plants will hold well in the garden in cool weather and withstand light frosts.
ROOTS
W hether they are a true root, a tuber, or a corm—a rounded, thickened underground stem base—root vegetables are typically biennial plants that form a food storage part the first year and draw on that reserve in the second year to produce flowers and seeds. They may be divided into starchy and nonstarchy categories. Starchy roots, which tend to be a dietary mainstay wherever they’re grown, include the potato and sweet potato as well as the lesser-known cassava, kudzu, malanga, taro, and yam. Nonstarchy roots, which are prepared fresh or cooked, include the beet, carrot, radish, turnip, and many more.
When planning to grow a root vegetable crop, prepare a well-tilled soil dug to the depth to which you expect that particular root to grow. A light, sandy loam, free of rocks and clods, with a steady supply of moisture will produce nice plump, straight roots that are easy to harvest and prepare.
STARCHY ROOTS
Potatoes
Potatoes ( Solanum tuberosum ) are easily grown in the home garden. Technically the potato is a member of the Nightshade family, along with tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, but it appears in this chapter because potatoes are grown for their edible tubers or “roots”; indeed, all other parts of a potato plant are toxic.
Potato varieties include yellow, rose, blue skin/white flesh, blue skin/blue flesh, white, russet, red, black, purple, red skin/red flesh, red skin/gold flesh, color-splashed (multicolored), scab-resistant, best keeper, heirloom, and more. You can also choose from varieties that mature in early, mid, and late season, and between quicker- and slower-maturing varieties. 75 to 130 days to maturity.
PLANTING: Potatoes grow best in fairly cool weather with long days. They are impervious to light frosts and may be planted very early in the spring, 3 to 4 weeks before the expected last frost. Successive plantings may be made every few weeks until early summer for a continuous harvest. In warmth and humidity potatoes are subject to rot; southern gardeners should either choose a variety that is heat-resistant or plant in winter for a spring harvest before the hot days arrive.
Potatoes prefer an acid soil, so do not apply lime to the planting area. Prepare a well-dug soil with lots of organic matter and plant seed potatoes 3 to 6 inches deep every 6 to 8 inches in rows 2½ feet apart. Plant with the eye pointing up; sprouts will be up in 3 to 4 weeks. Keep beds well watered and free of weeds.
Straw bed planting is a method that simplifies planting and harvest but somewhat reduces your yield. Place seed potatoes on top of the soil, top with a foot of straw mulch, and water well. Make sure the developing potatoes are kept well covered with straw throughout the growing season. At harvest time, rake back the straw and pick your crop.
HARVESTING: You can harvest baby potatoes before the main crop by gently digging near the surface under the soil or straw mulch to unearth the small tubers. Resettle the soil around the plant to allow the remaining tubers to keep growing. About 3 months after planting the potato plants will begin to yellow and whither. At this point the potatoes have stopped growing and are ready to dig. In hot weather they keep better in the ground; just dig as needed. After the weather cools the entire crop can be dug up, plant by plant, carefully sifting the roots and soil to get all the tubers. Cure the potatoes for storage by spreading them out in a warm dry place out of the sun for a week or two to allow small surface cuts to heal and the skins to thicken. Note: Don’t leave potatoes lying in the sunlight. They will develop a greenish tinge that not only tastes bad but is poisonous as well.
SEED POTATOES
Seed potatoes are full-sized
ROOTS
W hether they are a true root, a tuber, or a corm—a rounded, thickened underground stem base—root vegetables are typically biennial plants that form a food storage part the first year and draw on that reserve in the second year to produce flowers and seeds. They may be divided into starchy and nonstarchy categories. Starchy roots, which tend to be a dietary mainstay wherever they’re grown, include the potato and sweet potato as well as the lesser-known cassava, kudzu, malanga, taro, and yam. Nonstarchy roots, which are prepared fresh or cooked, include the beet, carrot, radish, turnip, and many more.
When planning to grow a root vegetable crop, prepare a well-tilled soil dug to the depth to which you expect that particular root to grow. A light, sandy loam, free of rocks and clods, with a steady supply of moisture will produce nice plump, straight roots that are easy to harvest and prepare.
STARCHY ROOTS
Potatoes
Potatoes ( Solanum tuberosum ) are easily grown in the home garden. Technically the potato is a member of the Nightshade family, along with tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, but it appears in this chapter because potatoes are grown for their edible tubers or “roots”; indeed, all other parts of a potato plant are toxic.
Potato varieties include yellow, rose, blue skin/white flesh, blue skin/blue flesh, white, russet, red, black, purple, red skin/red flesh, red skin/gold flesh, color-splashed (multicolored), scab-resistant, best keeper, heirloom, and more. You can also choose from varieties that mature in early, mid, and late season, and between quicker- and slower-maturing varieties. 75 to 130 days to maturity.
PLANTING: Potatoes grow best in fairly cool weather with long days. They are impervious to light frosts and may be planted very early in the spring, 3 to 4 weeks before the expected last frost. Successive plantings may be made every few weeks until early summer for a continuous harvest. In warmth and humidity potatoes are subject to rot; southern gardeners should either choose a variety that is heat-resistant or plant in winter for a spring harvest before the hot days arrive.
Potatoes prefer an acid soil, so do not apply lime to the planting area. Prepare a well-dug soil with lots of organic matter and plant seed potatoes 3 to 6 inches deep every 6 to 8 inches in rows 2½ feet apart. Plant with the eye pointing up; sprouts will be up in 3 to 4 weeks. Keep beds well watered and free of weeds.
Straw bed planting is a method that simplifies planting and harvest but somewhat reduces your yield. Place seed potatoes on top of the soil, top with a foot of straw mulch, and water well. Make sure the developing potatoes are kept well covered with straw throughout the growing season. At harvest time, rake back the straw and pick your crop.
HARVESTING: You can harvest baby potatoes before the main crop by gently digging near the surface under the soil or straw mulch to unearth the small tubers. Resettle the soil around the plant to allow the remaining tubers to keep growing. About 3 months after planting the potato plants will begin to yellow and whither. At this point the potatoes have stopped growing and are ready to dig. In hot weather they keep better in the ground; just dig as needed. After the weather cools the entire crop can be dug up, plant by plant, carefully sifting the roots and soil to get all the tubers. Cure the potatoes for storage by spreading them out in a warm dry place out of the sun for a week or two to allow small surface cuts to heal and the skins to thicken. Note: Don’t leave potatoes lying in the sunlight. They will develop a greenish tinge that not only tastes bad but is poisonous as well.
SEED POTATOES
Seed potatoes are full-sized
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