Vegetable Gardening (70 page)

Keep the soil fertile.
Successive crops of greens will take nutrients out of the soil, so after every crop you remove, add a 2- to 3-inch layer of compost to the soil and work it in well.

Protect the plants.
During the summer heat, use shade cloth to block the afternoon sun. In the North, protect greens through the cold winter by growing them in cold frames (see Chapter 21 for cold frame designs).

Here are a couple of other tips for planting greens at the right time:

Stagger your plantings to avoid producing too large a supply.
I remember planting a 10-foot row of lettuce all at once, watching it germinate and grow, and feeling very smug about my success. My satisfaction evaporated when I was inundated a month later with lettuce, lettuce, and more lettuce. I got sick of eating salads for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and most of my crop eventually bolted and tasted bitter. I learned my lesson that year.

Planting small, 2-to-4-foot patches of greens every 2 weeks throughout the growing season, which is referred to as
succession planting
(see Chapter 16), is the best way to ensure a manageable supply of lettuce all summer long. In warm areas, you may want to skip planting in midsummer because lettuce will bolt from the heat.

Give crisphead lettuce the environment it needs to thrive.
Growing great crisphead or iceberg lettuce can be a challenge for many gardeners. The problem is that crisphead lettuce likes cool temperatures (50 to 60 degrees) throughout the growing season, especially when it's trying to form a head. For northern and southern gardeners, fall planting is the key. In warm areas, start seeds indoors in September; then place the seedlings in the garden in October or November. In cooler climates, start seeds indoors in July to plant in the garden in August or September. Keep plants well watered and feed them every 3 weeks with fish emulsion (which I discuss later in this chapter). By the cool days of fall, your iceberg lettuce heads should form.

Putting your greens to bed

Greens are easiest grown in raised beds (see Chapter 3 for more on raised beds). The beds are flat and smooth on top with most of the rocks and debris removed. Raised beds drain water well, which greens love, and they're easy to work. Instead of planting in a straight row (which is okay, by the way), you can broadcast the seeds over the top of the entire bed. This
wide row planting technique
is described in Chapter 13. By using the wide row planting technique, you get more greens per square foot sooner with less weeding and watering.

If you don't have room for greens with all those other gorgeous vegetables growing, get creative about where you plant. Because greens plants are generally small and fast growing, you can tuck them in all kinds of empty patches in your garden. For example, you can plant greens in between newly planted tomato, broccoli, or cabbage seedlings; under a pole bean teepee; between rows of corn; or around carrots in the carrot patch. The greens mature and are harvested before the other plants get too large to shade them. In the carrot patch, harvesting the greens gives room for these root crops to enlarge and mature. In summer, after your crop of beans or peas is finished, yank out the exhausted plants and plant a quick crop of lettuce to harvest later in late summer or fall.

Adding nitrogen-rich fishy fertilizer

Greens have simple fertilizing needs. You eat the leaves. Leaves need nitrogen to grow. So the soil needs to be rich in nitrogen. Any questions? That being said, it's important to remember balance in all things, including fertilizer in your lettuce patch. So applying an organic fertilizer, such as blood meal, that's high in nitrogen is a good practice. (Chapter 15 provides more information on organic fertilizers.) I suggest working in a 3- to 4-inch layer of compost and applying soluble nitrogen fertilizer, such as fish emulsion, every few weeks. By doing so, your greens stay lush and mature quickly.

Thin and bare it: Thinning your greens

Whether you plant in straight rows or wide rows, greens need thinning. Generally, spinach and loose-leaf lettuces need 3 to 4 inches between plants; crisphead and romaine lettuce like 6 to 10 inches. Thinning isn't critical if you're harvesting your greens when small or "baby" size.

Thin the seedlings as soon as each plant has four leaves. (Don't throw out those thinnings, though. They make great "baby" greens for salad.) After the plants are properly spaced, mulching with a 2- to 3-inch layer of hay or straw is a good way to conserve vital moisture, prevent weeds, and keep the leaves clean of splashing soil after rain. (Check out Chapter 13 for more information on thinning seedlings.)

Watering to win the war against wilt

Keeping the soil consistently moist after planting is a good way to avoid a common complaint with lettuces: The seeds never came up.

Greens need moist soil to germinate. Once growing, the plants generally have small root systems, so they're the first vegetable to wilt when the soil is too dry. Water deeply — 5 to 6 inches deep — and mulch to keep greens crisp. A simple way to water is to use soaker hoses or drip irrigation (Chapter 15 describes watering techniques). To preserve moisture, especially if it's hot, lay a
floating row cover
(a lightweight, cheesecloth-like material that lets air, water, and sunlight through and keep the bugs out) over the bed until the seedlings emerge.

Working out the bugs (and other common ailments)

Greens have some of the problems that plague other vegetables. Insects such as aphids and white flies and diseases such as white mold and viruses can quickly destroy a crop. Because greens tend to have shallow and relatively small root systems, they can succumb easily to damage. Slugs are a threat to young seedlings in moist areas such as the Pacific Northwest, and rabbits and woodchucks are critters that love greens anywhere. All these problems are covered in depth in Chapter 17, but remember that fertile, well-drained soil that's kept moist and fertilized is usually your best bet against any problems with your greens crop. And don't hesitate to yank out an insect-infested or animal-chewed crop: Greens grow and mature so quickly, it may be better to start over than to nurse a sick crop.