OCR Text |
Show f ARM Get The Most From Your Garden by Alvin R. Harrison Extension Horticulturist Utah State University We measure the value of a home garden in various ways. The avid gardener counts as recreation and relaxation the time spent in the garden. Many people grow a garden primarily for the value of the food produced. Families find that a garden has significant value in providing opportunity to teach their children to work and appreciate the products of their labors. Perhaps the richest rewards of gardening enjoyed by all come from the enjoyment of exquisite quality of garden fresh vegetables. As we consider capitalizing on these values of gardening, we realize that much that we might say here is already well known by the experienced avid gardener. Extension agents in counties over the state see a great mounting interest in growing gardens to supplement the food supply. People are scared about food and drouth. They have been advised by church and government leaders to use available space and water to grow vegetales where possible. Even without that concern there is much value in growing your own food. Studies have indicated that returns of eight to ten dollars an hour can be obtained from labor spent in gardening. This is caluculated on the retail value of vegetables produced. Many gardeners may not be that labor efficient, but they can enjoy the unsurpassed goodness of vegetables right from the garden. For example, sweet corn harvested moments before it is cooked and served cannot be duplicated in flavor. Garden fresh peas and beans far surpass those that have been allowd to stand for even a few hours and rapidly lose their sugar. Varieties play an important part in the value of your Tomato varieties garden. planted in the garden can be selected on the basis of early and intermediate yield to be the enjoyed throughout summer and later yield for table and canning. Vaieties of other vegetables can be selected to suit the local situation and individual desires. (See Extension Circular 313, Vegetable Varieties for Utah, avail ible from office.) County extension Planting early maturing is varieties of vegetables particularly advisable where water supplies are likely to run short later in the season. On the other hand, varieties of vegetables that mature later have better storage qualities to be considered-Univers- ity specialists and county extension agents have been advising people who use water from irrigation systems to apply water to their soil as soon as it is available in canals and ditches. They have those who use suggested culinary water to sprinkle their soil would do well to irrigate while water is yet plentiful. They can use the soil as a reservoir of moisture for the growing season. The water which enters the soil is held on the soil particles. Excess water .will drain from the soil by the pull of gravity, leaving the soil with the maximum amount of water which it will contain, depending on the particle size of the soil. When the soil profile to maximum depth of crop roots has been filled to capacity, that water will be available for the roots of garden vegetables when the garden is planted. Allow sufficient drying of the urface of the soil for adequate oil without preparation uddling or balling. Before orking the soil, check it by iigging about six inches into he soil with the shovel to .Iftermine the moisture con-cu- t. Squeeze a handful of the oil. Upon releasing pressure if he ball of soil crumbles eadily, it is sufficiently dry for plowing or spading. If the ball f soil remains plastic and does not crumble, it is too wet to till. Prepare the soil in such a manner that it is not overly The compacted. most desirable garden soil will be pliable, with a fine surface seedbed and a relatively loose subsoil which may be penetrated easily by water and ir. Take special care in a dry year to properly fertilize vegetables for maximum growth. If an excess of nitrogen is applied, vegetative growth will be encouraged and the crops will be large and succulent and will suffer more severely from drouth. A balanced fertilizer containing one part of nitrogen to two parts of phosphorus will facilitate growth of vegetables without the soft succulence caused by excessive nitrogen. Phosphorus applied in balance with nitrogen hastens maturity which will be especially important in a dry year. Fertilizers with analyses of or would been harvested. Succession cropping is the planting of a second crop after an earlier crop has been harvested. It is possibe to use a technique known as companion cropping where an early crop such as radishes may be grown in a row with carrots or beets which grow more slowly. Relatively few radish seeds would be planted with the beets or carrots so that no unusual crowding will occur and the early radishes will be harvested within the month. Mostire may be conserved and rate of maturity increased by applying various types of mulches. Black plastic, if applied to warm season crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cantaloupe or watermelon increase the rate of maturity of these crops. The black plastic also prevents the growth of weeds if it covers most of the area between the rows and it warms the soil by absorbing the sun's rays during the daytime and transmitting them to the surface of the soil. In addition to warming the soil, conserving water and the enhancing maturity, plastic prevents rotting or & .. for most generally use motorized equipment that requires cucumbers, at temperatures near 70 degrees F. It is possible to in grow larger transplants gallon cans or relatively larger pots than are customarily used. This will enhance quick maturity of these crops after transplanting in the garden. Early varieties of tomatoes, for example, might well be grown in gallon cans and tied to a stake so they will be a foot to 18 inches tall with several clusters of small fruit set on the plants by the time they are transplanted to the garden about May 20. withholding water 'obolt. Get the most value from the you use on your garden by irrigating to meet the plant needs. Remember that sandy soils with larger soil particiles will hold only about f inch of moisture per foot of sand while clay soils that have many more soil particles for moisture to attach to will hold two to three inches of water per foot of soil. water one-hal- ing to American Mining Congress president, J. Allen d dirty coal more I THROUGHOUT HISTORY agriculture and mining. useful purposes. If we do not have minerals with which to build our homes and schools, hospitals and factories, transportation systems and energy systems as well as the many other things that help make for the material amenities of life then our coal might as well stay in the ground. The possibility of a minerals crunch is every bit as real as an energy crisis, says Overton, and our dependence on foreign sources for many key minerals is already foreboding and getting worse. The withdrawal of public lands from mining and exploration is making us run the danger' of having our minerals shut off abroad and locked up at home. s of Today, almost these vast public lands, an area approximately equal in size to the continental United States east of the two-third- human life has depended on no greater than the covered by power transmission lines, and various transportation systems require more than 15 times as much land as mining. Surface mining for coal is by far the most extensive. In earlier times, when techlike some atnologies, titudes, were primitive, the landscape was occasionally left scarred. This is no longer acceptable or necessary. The AMC takes the position that surface mining of coal should be permitted only where the land can be restored to new beneficial use by mankind after the coal has ' been extracted. This is now being done. Mining can be conducted with careful regard for our health, respect for ecological needs and the determinaing is area tion to help fulfill the material aspirations of all peoples. Throughout history human life has depended on agriculture and mining. have been- deMississippi, Today we live in an age of clared off limits to milling technology. Preoccupation and more are being with- with the wondeis of science drawn. tends to obscure the role of But it is a fact that the minerals but they still total amount of land ever remain our keystones of affected by all surce min destiny. - and lowering the temperature. Don't do it with celery and onions which may be induced self-relian- spacing between the rows to accomodate the equipment. On the other hand, if you are growing a garden in the city on a relatively small plot, you may wish to use a closer spacing. This has the definite advantage of requiring less fertilization and less water than to produce a much larger garden. It will also be possible to employ techniques such as intercropping or succession cropping. Intercropping is the practice of planting a new crop before a previous crop has requirements care, For the rest of this century at least any hope of in the field of energy will have to rest very largely on coal, accord- environmentally acceptable. When these methods become economically competitive, they will also permit expanded use of coal and thus lessen the demand for oil and other fuels. A sound approach to our energy problems also mandates that we constantly review and reassess the impact of environmental policies, says Overton. To be denied the chance to develop the optimal amount of energy denies us the chance to achieve its fruits. But all the energy in the world will not do us any good if we cannot turn it to the ticular cantaloupes and watermelons. Most of the transplanted crops will be ready for transplanting in the garden in five to six weeks from planting if grown Use care in transplanting to avoid shock to these plants and they will develop fruit early in July. Dig a relatively large in the garden and hole remove the entire block of soil from the pot with the plant so that it is not broken. Place the plant and soil in the hole and firm the soil well so that growth begins immediately after transplanting. To stimulate early rooting and minimize the transplanting shock which normally occurs, use a pint of starter fertilizer that is high in phosphorus. Mix it according to the directions and pour it around the transplant when it is planted in the garden. Before transplanting the plants, it will help to slightly harden them by Little Known racts adout America s nesources MINERALS: OUR KEYSTONES OF DESTINY vegetable crops. Garden soils in Utah generally do not require potash because this is supplied adequately as a soluble salt in the irrigation water. For most efficient application of fertilizer, put it in a band three inches to the side and slightly deeper than the seed or at least three inches deep. If the fertilizer is banded, the amount which is normally broadcast to 100 square feet may be placed in approximately three inches deep. Since each gardener has a favorite system to use in growing a garden, spacing is somewhat an individualized matter. Those with sufficient land for a large garden supply nutrients approximately at the one-tw- o ratio. Three pounds of or four to five pounds of the other per 100 square feet will supply the nutrient discoloration of fruits which normally would touch the soil. This is particularly an advantage for tomatoes, cantaloupes and watermelons. Other materials such as straw, leaves and organic compost may be used for mulching to conserve moisture. If plastic is used, provide a means for irrigating under it. To get early production of vegetables in the garden you may transplant such crops as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, celery, and with par- Ouf Mom of Plenty Overton, Jr. The targets for increased coal production that were set three years ago are already beyond attainment, he says, and the forces of inflation are still powerful in the economy so every new delay will mean higher capital costs. Moreover, warns the AMC president, it should be remembered that the enormous coal reserves of the United States are not a resource that can be turned on as quickly as tap water. It takes years to develop new mines and expand existing ones. Establishment of a comprehensive energy policy, says Overton, will serve the best interests of the nation. But there is no time to lose on this. It is needed now more than ever. Expanded coal production should, he believes, be accompanied by intensified efforts to improve technologies and lower the costs of gasification, liquefaction and fluidized-besystems to make the burning of adequately THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1977 SUPPLEMENT |