I’ve been growing vegetables for thirty years with both good and poor harvests. Sometimes poor harvests were not my fault and sometimes they were the result of poor gardening practices.
One year I grew corn and was rewarded with a large crop for a Labor Day barbecue. On harvest morning, I discovered a black bear sleeping in my garden after devouring all my corn!
Another year I decided to grow pumpkins thinking it was no different than growing tomatoes. Too late, I discovered that growing pumpkins requires different gardening knowledge and I had nothing to show for my efforts.
Here are five things to prevent becoming the problem in your vegetable garden:
Step One: Water smart
Plant failure is commonly caused by too much or too little water. Most vegetables need to be deep watered at least two to three times a week. However, this can change depending on weather conditions, vegetable type, planting soil, and whether the plant is in the ground, a raised bed, or container.
Step Two: Understand your plant variety
Know your plants and what is required to get the maximum harvest.
Tomatoes are either classified as determinate or indeterminate. Determinate plants produce a single crop all at once and then die. Indeterminate tomatoes continually produce fruit until killed by cold. Pruning an indeterminate tomato can improve yield and reduce disease. Pruning a determinate tomato reduces your harvest.
Cucumbers, pumpkins and squash have male and female flowers. Male flowers are edible, but fruit is produced only on female flowers. Male flowers are more numerous and usually appear first. Pruning or watering your plants when flowers are open is a certain guarantee of getting a poor or nonexistent harvest.
Step Three: Understand soil and fertilization
Different soils have vastly different applications in your garden. “Soil amendment” covers a whole range of organic materials, manures, compost mix, and may even not contain any soil. “Top soil” is not garden soil and is best used for lawns. “Garden soil” will suffocate plants grown in containers. “Potting soil” is recommended for raised beds but not containers. “Potting mix” is recommended for containers but will not enhance your in-ground garden and may even hinder fruit production. Some stores use the terms interchangeably. To avoid confusion, read the manufacturers’ recommendation printed on the bag.
Step Four: Consider containers
Use appropriate size containers. Peppers, eggplants and cucumbers usually do well in three-to-five-gallon containers. Tomatoes, squash and pumpkins require at least ten-gallon containers to ensure a good harvest. Small containers can crowd roots and contribute to disease development.
Container material — terracotta, cloth, plastic, or glazed — impacts water and fertilizer needs. Dark containers absorb heat and can actually cook the roots of your plant if precautions are not taken.
Step Five: Don’t run for pesticides
One bug may not be a problem but one application of pesticides could seriously impair your garden’s ability to pollinate and fertilize fruit-bearing flowers. For every bad insect there is usually a good insect that preys on it. Pesticides kill everything —good and bad. Remember some insects such as aphids are seasonal, so if caught early can be removed or washed off the plant.
Your garden does not exist in isolation. There is insect, microbial, and fungal activity occurring both below and above ground that is necessary for your garden’s health and well-being. Educate yourself, read packaging labels and ask questions.
This article was written by Raymond Schoenwandt, a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener of El Dorado County
