Best Practices - Veggies

You may have heard that rotating your crops is good for soil fertility and so on, not only is it important to rotate individual crops, but it's also important to rotate crop families. Here are some of the most popular crops, which family the belong to, and other crops within that family. The crops with (C) at the end means that they are a cool season crop, those with a (W) means that they are a warm season crop. Those without a (C) or a (W) means that they don't fall into a specific category.

Onion Family: Chives, garlic, onions(C), leeks

Brassica Family: Broccoli(C), Brussel sprouts(C), cabbage(C), collards(C), radish(C)

Amaranth Family: Spinach(C), Swiss Chard, beets (C)

Aster Family: Lettuce(C), artichoke, sunflower

Cucurbit Family: Melon(W), watermelon(W), cucumber(W), squash(W), pumpkins(W)

Legume: Beans, Peas(W), peanuts

Solanaceous: Pepper(W), Tomato(W), eggplant(W), potato

Carrot: Celery, carrot(C), dill(W), cilantro(C), parsley, fennel

If you'd like to plant a crop like tomatoes or watermelons, or any other warm season crop, remember to plant it AFTER the last frost date in the Spring. Warm crops do not tolerate frost well and need a soil temperature of at least 55 degrees fahrenheit.

So, what happens if you've already planted a crop and it's out of season? There are several methods you can use to protect it from the cold weather such as bell jars and row covers.

Other important practices include appropriate garden planning and pest control. Each family is prone to specific pests. Read more about garden planning and maintaining a healthy garden by checking out those blog posts on the website. You'll read all about spacing, beds, rows, irrigation, and co-planting.

Dr. Kornegay has provided us with some recommended cultivars for some popular vegetable crops, here are a few:

• Leaf Lettuce: Oak Leaf, Grant Rapids, Salad Bowl

• Spinach: Bloomsdale Long Standing, Tyee, Melody

• Tomatoes:

• Slicers: Better Boy F1, Celebrity, Early Girl

• For canning or paste: Roma, Amish Paste, San Marzano

• Cherry: Super Sweet 100, Yellow Pear, Sun Gold

• Green Beans:

• Bush: Provider, Contender, Tenderette

• Pole: Blue Lake Pole, Fortex, Kentucky Wonder

• Cucumber:

• For Pickling: Carolina, Calypso, County Fair

• For Slicing: Marketmoore 76, Poinsett 76, Sweet Slice