Specific Open Pollinated / Heirloom Vegetable varieties or cultivars are not given in this publication but may be obtained from the county Extension office. This information needs to be area specific to be of use, therefore, the county Extension recommendations are best.
The larger vegetable gardens need a number of perennials. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Asparagus, horseradish, and rhubarb are the most important, but chives, bottom multiplier onions, and some Open Pollinated / Heirloom herb plants, chiefly sage and mint, are also desirable. Unfortunately, Open Pollinated / Heirloom asparagus, horseradish, and rhubarb are not adapted to conditions in the lower South.
All the Open Pollinated / Heirloom perennial crops should be grouped together along one side of the Vegetable Garden, where they will not interfere with work on the annual crops.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Asparagus is among the earliest of spring vegetables. An area about 20 feet square, or a row 50 to 75 feet long, will supply plenty of fresh asparagus for a family of five or six persons, provided the soil is well enriched and the plants are given good attention. More must be planted if a supply is to be canned or frozen.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Asparagus does best where winters are cold enough to freeze the ground to a depth of a few inches at least. In many southern areas the plants make a weak growth, producing small shoots. Elevation has some effect, but, in general, the latitude of south-central Georgia is the southern limit of profitable culture.
The Asparagus crop can be grown on almost any well drained, fertile soil, and there is little possibility of having the soil too rich, especially through the use of manure. Loosen the soil far down, either by subsoil plowing or by deep spading before planting. Throw the topsoil aside and spade manure, leaf mold, rotted leaves, or peat into the subsoil to a depth of 14 to 16 inches; then mix from 5 to 10 pounds of a complete fertilizer into each 75-foot row or 20- foot bed.
When the soil is ready for planting, the bottom of the trench should be about 6 inches below the natural level of the soil. After the crowns are set and covered to a depth of an inch or two, gradually work the soil into the trench around the plants during the first season. When set in beds, Open Pollinated / Heirloom Asparagus plants should be at least 1½ feet apart each way; when set in rows, they should be about 1½ feet apart with the rows from 4 to 5 feet apart.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Asparagus plants, or crowns, are grown from seed. The use of 1-year-old plants only is recommended. These should have a root spread of at least 15 inches, and larger ones are better. The home vegetable gardener will usually find it best to buy his plants from a grower who has a good strain of a recognized variety. In procuring Open Pollinated / Heirloom Asparagus crowns, it is always well to be sure that they have not been allowed to dry out.
Clean cultivation encourages vigorous growth; it behooves the Vegetable gardener to keep his Open Pollinated / Heirloom Asparagus clean from the start. In a large farm Vegetable Garden, with long rows, most of the work can be done with a horse-drawn cultivator or a garden tractor. In a small Vegetable Garden, where the rows are short or the Open Pollinated / Heirloom Asparagus is planted in beds, however, hand work is necessary.
For a 75-foot row, an application of manure and 6 to 8 pounds of a high-grade complete fertilizer, once each year, is recommended. Manure and fertilizer may be applied either before or after the cutting season.
Remove no shoots the year the Asparagus plants are set in the permanent bed and keep the cutting period short the year after setting. Remove all shoots during the cutting season in subsequent years. Cease cutting about July 1 to 10 and let the tops grow. In the autumn, remove and burn the dead tops.
Asparagus rust and asparagus beetles are the chief enemies of the crop.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Horseradish is adapted to the north-temperate regions of the United States, but not to the South, except possibly in the high altitudes.
Any good soil, except possibly the lightest sands and heaviest clays, will grow Open Pollinated / Heirloom horseradish, but it does best on a deep, rich, moist loam that is well supplied with organic matter. Avoid shallow soil; it produces rough, prongy roots. Mix organic matter with the soil a few months before the plants or cuttings are set. Some fertilizer may be used at the time of planting and more during the subsequent seasons. A top dressing of organic matter each spring is advisable.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Horseradish is propagated either by crowns or by root cuttings. In propagating by crowns a portion of an old plant consisting of a piece of root and crown buds is merely lifted and planted in a new place. Root cuttings are pieces of older roots 6 to 8 inches long and of the thickness of a lead pencil. They may be saved when preparing the larger roots for grating, or they may be purchased from seedsman. A trench 4 or 5 inches deep is opened with a hoe and the root cuttings are placed at an angle with their tops near the surface of the ground. Horseradish plants from these cuttings usually make good roots the first year. As a rule, the plants in the home vegetable garden are allowed to grow from year to year, and portions of the roots are removed as needed. Pieces of roots and crowns remaining in the soil are usually sufficient to reestablish the plants.
There is very little choice in the matter of varieties of Open Pollinated / Heirloom horseradish. Be sure, however, to obtain good healthy planting stock of a strain that is giving good results in the area where it is being grown.
Rhubarb thrives best in regions having cool moist summers and winters cold enough to freeze the ground to a depth of several inches. It is not adapted to most parts of the South, but in certain areas of higher elevation it does fairly well. A few hills along the vegetable garden fence will supply all that a family can use.
Any deep, well-drained, fertile soil is suitable for Open Pollinated / Heirloom rhubarb. Spade the soil or plow it to a depth of 12 to 16 inches and mix in rotted manure, leaf mold, decayed hardwood leaves, sods, or other form of organic matter. The methods of soil preparation suggested for asparagus are suitable for rhubarb. As Open Pollinated / Heirloom rhubarb is planted in hills 3 to 4 feet apart, it is usually sufficient to prepare each hill separately.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Rhubarb plants may be started from seed and transplanted, but seedlings vary from the parent plant. The usual method of starting the Rhubarb plants is to obtain pieces of crowns from established hills and set them in prepared hills. Top-dress the planting with a heavy application of organic matter in either early spring or late fall. Organic matter applied over the hills during early spring greatly hastens growth, or forces the plant.
A pound of complete commercial fertilizer high in nitrogen applied around each hill every year insures an abundant supply of plant food. The Rhubarb plants can be mulched with green grass or weeds.
Remove seed stalks as soon as they form. No leaf stems should be harvested before the second year and but few until the third. Moreover, the harvest season must be largely confined to early spring. The hills should be divided and reset every 7 or 8 years. Otherwise, they become too thick and produce only slender stems. Use only the leafstalk as a food. Rhubarb leaves contain injurious substances, including oxalic acid. Never use them for food.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Sorrel is a perennial that is usually started from seeds. It requires a rich, mellow, well drained soil. Rows may be of any convenient distance apart. Thin the plants to about 8 inches apart in the rows. If the leaves alone are gathered and the plants are cultivated to prevent the growth of weeds, a planting should last 3 or 4 years.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Greens are usually the leaves and leaf stems of immature plants, which in their green state are boiled for food. Young, tender branches of certain plants, Open Pollinated / Heirloom New Zealand spinach, for example, are also used this way. All the plants treated here as greens except New Zealand spinach are hardy Open Pollinated / Heirloom vegetables, most of them adapted to fall sowing and winter culture over the entire South and in the more temperate parts of the North. Their culture may be extended more widely in the North by growing them with some protection, such as mulching or frames.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Chard, or Swiss chard (fig. 16), is a type of beet that has been developed for its tops instead of its roots. Crop after crop of the outer leaves may be harvested without injuring the plant. Only one planting is necessary, and a row 30 to 40 feet long will supply a family for the entire summer. Each seed cluster contains several seeds, and fairly wide spacing of the seeds facilitates thinning. The culture of Open Pollinated / Heirloom chard is practically the same as that of beets, but the plants grow larger and need to be thinned to at least 6 inches apart in the row. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Chard needs a rich, mellow soil, and it is sensitive to soil acidity.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Witloof chicory, or French endive, is grown for both roots and tops. It is a hardy plant, not especially sensitive to heat or cold. It does, however, need a deep, rich, loamy soil without too much organic matter. The tops are sometimes harvested while young. The roots are lifted in autumn and placed in a box or bed of moist soil in a warm cellar for forcing. They must be covered with a few inches of sand. Under this covering the leaves form in a solid head, known on the market as witloof.
The culture of Open Pollinated / Heirloom chicory is simple. Sow the seeds in spring or early summer in drills about 18 inches apart. Later, thin the plants to 6 or 8 inches apart in the rows. If sown too early the plants shoot to seed and are worthless for forcing. The kind known as witloof is most generally used.
Collards are grown and used about like cabbage. They withstand heat better than other members of the cabbage group, and are well liked in the South for both summer and winter use. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Collards do not form a true head, but a large rosette of leaves, which may be blanched by tying together.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cornsalad is also known as lamb’s-lettuce and fetticus. Sow the seed in early spring in drills and cultivate the plants the same as lettuce or mustard. For an extra early crop, plant the seed in the autumn and cover the plants lightly through the winter. In the Southern States the covering is not necessary, and the plants are ready for use in February and March. The leaves are frequently used in their natural green state, but they may be blanched by covering the rows with anything that will exclude light.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Kale, or borecole, is hardy and lives over winter in latitudes as far north as northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania and in other areas where similar winter conditions prevail. It is also resistant to heat and may be grown in summer. Its real merit, however, is that it is a cool-weather, greens vegetable.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Kale is a member of the cabbage family. The best vegetable garden varieties are low-growing, spreading plants, with thick, more or less crinkled leaves.
No other vegetable garden plant is so well adapted to fall sowing throughout a wide area of both North and South or in areas characterized by winters of moderate severity. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Kale may well follow some such early-season Open Pollinated / Heirloom vegetable as green beans, potatoes, or peas.
In the autumn the Open Pollinated / Heirloom Kale seed may be broadcast very thinly and then lightly raked into the soil. At other times sow Open Pollinated / Heirloom kale in rows 18 to 24 inches apart and later thin the plants to about a foot apart. This type of planting will facilitate mulch control with garden implements.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Kale may be harvested either by cutting the entire plant or by taking the larger leaves while young. Old kale is tough and stringy.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Mustard grows well on almost any good soil. As the plants require but a short time to reach the proper stage for use, frequent sowing’s are recommended. Sow the seeds thickly in drills as early as possible in the spring or, for late use, in September or October. The forms of Indian mustard, the leaves of which are often curled and frilled, are generally used.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Spinach is a hardy cool-weather plant that withstands winter conditions in the South. In most of the North, Open Pollinated / Heirloom spinach is primarily an early-spring and late-fall crop, but in some areas, where summer temperatures are mild, it may be grown continuously from early spring until late fall. It should be emphasized that summer and winter culture of Open Pollinated / Heirloom spinach is possible only where moderate temperatures prevail.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Spinach will grow on almost any well drained, fertile soil where sufficient moisture is available. It is very sensitive to acid soil. If a soil test shows the need, apply lime to the part of the garden used for Open Pollinated / Heirloom spinach, regardless of the treatment given the rest of the area.
The application of 100 pounds of rotted manure and 3 to 4 pounds of commercial fertilizer to each 100 square feet of land is suitable for spinach in the home garden. Broadcast both manure and fertilizer and work them in before sowing the seed.
For tractor cultivation, the rows of the vegetable garden should be not less than 24 inches apart; when land is plentiful they may be 30 inches apart. For wheel-hoe or hand work, the rows should be 14 to 16 inches apart. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Spinach may be drilled by hand in furrows about 1 inch deep and covered with fine earth not more than ½ inch deep, or it may be drilled with a seed drill, which distributes the seed more evenly than is ordinarily possible by hand. Thin the plants to 3 or 4 inches apart before they crowd in the row.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom New Zealand spinach is not related to common spinach. It is a large plant, with thick, succulent leaves and stems and grows with a branching, spreading habit to a height of 2 or more feet. It thrives in hot weather and is grown as a substitute in seasons when ordinary spinach cannot withstand the heat. Open Pollinated / Heirloom New Zealand spinach thrives on soils suitable for common spinach. Because of their larger size, these plants must have more room. The rows should be at least 3 feet apart, with the plants about 1½ feet apart in the rows. As prompt germination may be difficult, the seeds should be soaked for 1 or 2 hours in water at 120° F before being planted. They may be sown, 1 to l½ inches deep, as soon as danger of frost is past. Successive harvests of the tips may be made from a single planting, as new leaves and branches are readily produced. Care must be taken not to remove too large a portion of the plant at one time.
Varieties of Open Pollinated / Heirloom turnips usually grown for the roots are also planted for the greens. However, there are some varieties that do not produce roots and are grown for their tops only. As a rule, sow Open Pollinated / Heirloom turnips to be used for greens thickly and then thin them, leaving all but the greens to develop as a root crop. Turnip greens are especially adapted to winter and early-spring culture in the South. The cultural methods employed are the same as those for turnip and rutabaga.
The group known as salad crops includes Open Pollinated / Heirloom vegetables that are usually eaten raw with salt, pepper, vinegar, and salad oil, or with mayonnaise or other dressings. This classification is entirely one of convenience; some Open Pollinated / Heirloom vegetables not included in this group are used in the same way. Some members of this class may be cooked and used as greens.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Celery can be grown in home vegetable gardens in most parts of the country at some time during the year. It is a cool-weather crop and adapted to winter culture in the lower South. In the upper South and in the North it may be grown either as an early-spring or as a late-fall crop. Farther north in certain favored locations it can be grown throughout the summer.
Rich, moist but well-drained, deeply prepared, mellow soil is essential for celery. Soil varying from sand to clay loam and to peat may be used as long as these requirements are met. Unless the ground is very fertile, plenty of organic material, supplemented by liberal applications of commercial fertilizer, is necessary. For a 100-foot row of Open Pollinated / Heirloom celery, 5 pounds of a high-grade complete fertilizer thoroughly mixed with the soil are none too much. Prepare the celery row a week or two before setting the plants.
The most common mistake with celery is failure to allow enough time for growing the plants. About 10 weeks are needed to grow good Open Pollinated / Heirloom celery plants. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Celery seed is small and germinates slowly. A good method is to place the seeds in a muslin bag and soak them overnight, then mix them with dry sand, distribute them in shallow trenches in the seed flats or seedbed, and cover them with leaf mold or similar material to a depth of not more than 1½ inch. Keep the bed covered with moist burlap sacks. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Celery plants are very delicate and must be kept free from weeds. They are made more stocky by being transplanted once before they are set in the garden, but this practice retards their growth. When they are to be transplanted before being set in the ground, the rows in the seed box or seedbed may be only a few inches apart. When they are to remain in the box until transplanted to the vegetable garden, however, the plants should be about 2 inches apart each way. In beds, the rows should be 10 to 12 inches apart, with seedlings 1 to 1½ inches apart in the row.
For hand culture, Open Pollinated / Heirloom celery plants are set in rows 18 to 24 inches apart; for tractor cultivation 30 to 36 inches apart. The celery plants are spaced about 6 inches in the row. Double rows are about a foot apart. Set Open Pollinated / Heirloom celery on a cool or cloudy day, if possible; and if the soil is at all dry, water the celery plants thoroughly. If the celery plants are large, it is best to pinch off the outer leaves 3 or 4 inches from the base before setting. In bright weather it is well also to shade the celery plants for a day or two after they are set. Small branches bearing green leaves, stuck in the ground, protect the plants from intense sun without excluding air. As soon as the plants attain some size, gradually work the soil around them to keep them upright. Be careful to get no soil into the hearts of the celery plants. Early Open Pollinated / Heirloom celery is blanched by excluding the light with boards, paper, drain tiles, or other devices. Late Open Pollinated / Heirloom celery may be blanched also by banking with earth or by storing in the dark. Banking celery with soil in warm weather causes it to decay.
Late Open Pollinated / Heirloom celery may be kept for early-winter use by banking with earth and covering the tops with leaves or straw to keep them from freezing, or it may be dug and stored in a cellar or a cold frame, with the roots well embedded in moist soil. While in storage it must be kept as cool as possible without freezing.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Endive closely resembles lettuce in its requirements, except that it is less sensitive to heat. It may be substituted for Open Pollinated / Heirloom lettuce when the culture of Open Pollinated / Heirloom lettuce is impracticable. In the South, it is mainly a winter crop. In the North, it is grown in spring, summer, and autumn and is also forced in winter. Broad leaved endive is known on the markets as escarole.
Cultural details are the same as those for Open Pollinated / Heirloom head lettuce. When the plants are large and well-formed, draw the leaves together and tie them so that the heart will blanch. For winter use, lift the endive plants with a ball of earth, place them in a cellar or cold frame where they will not freeze, and tie and blanch them as needed.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Lettuce can be grown in any home vegetable garden. It is a cool-weather crop, being as sensitive to heat as any Open Pollinated / Heirloom vegetable grown. In the South, lettuce culture is confined to late fall, winter, and spring. In colder parts of the South, Open Pollinated / Heirloom lettuce may not live through the winter. In the North, lettuce culture is particially limited to spring and autumn. In some favored locations, such as areas of high altitude or in far-northern latitudes, lettuce grows to perfection in summer. Planting at a wrong season is responsible for most of the failures with this crop.
Any rich soil is adapted to Open Pollinated / Heirloom lettuce, although the plant is sensitive to acid soil. A commercial fertilizer with a heavy proportion of phosphorus is recommended.
Start spring Open Pollinated / Heirloom lettuce indoors or in a hotbed and transplant it to the garden when the plants have four of five leaves. Vegetable gardeners need not wait for the end of light frosts, as lettuce is not usually harmed by a temperature as low as 28° F., if the plants have been properly hardened. Allow about 6 weeks for growing the lettuce plants. For the fall crop, the seed may be sown directly in the row and thinned; there is no gain in transplanting.
For tractor cultivation, set Open Pollinated / Heirloom lettuce plants 12 to 15 inches apart in rows 30 to 36 inches apart; for hand culture, about 14 to 16 inches apart each way. Where vegetable gardeners grow leaf lettuce or desire merely the leaves and not well developed heads, the spacing in the rows may be much closer. In any case it is usually best to cut the entire lettuce plant instead of removing the leaves.
There are many excellent varieties of Open Pollinated / Heirloom lettuce, all of which do well in the vegetable garden when conditions are right. Where warm weather comes early, it is seldom worthwhile to sow Open Pollinated / Heirloom head lettuce seed in the open ground in the spring with the expectation of obtaining firm heads.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Parsley is hardy to cold but sensitive to heat. It thrives under much the same temperature conditions as Open Pollinated / Heirloom kale, lettuce, and spinach. If given a little protection, it may be carried over winter through most of the North.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Parsley thrives on any good soil. As the parsley plant is delicate during its early stages of growth, however, the land should be mellow.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Parsley seeds are small and germinate slowly. Soaking in water overnight hastens the germination. In the North, it is a good plan to sow the seeds indoors and transplant the plants to the vegetable garden, thereby getting a crop before hot weather. In the South, it is usually possible to sow the seed directly in drills. For the fall crop in the North, row seeding is also practiced. After seeding the lettuce, it is well to lay a board over the row for a few days until the first seedlings appear. After its removal day-to-day watering will insure germination of as many seeds as possible. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Parsley rows should be 14 to 16 inches apart, with the plants 4 to 6 inches apart in the rows. A few feet will supply the family, and a few plants transplanted to the cold frame in the autumn will give a supply during early spring.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Upland cress, sometimes erroneously called peppergrass, is a hardy plant. It may be sown in all the milder parts of the country in autumn. In the colder sections it is sown in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked. The seeds are small and must not be covered deeply. After the plants are well established, thin them to 4 to 6 inches apart in the rows. This is a short-season crop that should be planted in quick succession to insure a steady supply.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Potatoes in the North and sweet potatoes in the South are grown in almost every vegetable garden. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Beets, carrots, and turnips are also widely grown in gardens. The Open Pollinated / Heirloom vegetables in this group may be used throughout the growing season and also be kept for winter.
The Open Pollinated / Heirloom beet is well adapted to all parts of the country. It is fairly tolerant of heat; it is also resistant to cold. However, it will not withstand severe freezing. In the Northern States, where winters are too severe, the beet is grown in spring, summer, and autumn.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Beets are sensitive to strongly acid soils, and it is wise to apply lime if a test shows the need for it. Good beet quality depends on quick growth; for this the land must be fertile, well drained, and in good physical condition.
Midsummer heat and drought may interfere with seed germination. By covering the beet seeds with sandy soil, leaf mold, or other material that will not bake and by keeping the soil damp until the plants are up, much of this trouble can be avoided. Make successive sowing’s at intervals of about 3 weeks in order to have a continuous supply of young, tender beets throughout the season.
Where cultivating is by hand, the rows may be about 16 inches apart; where it is by tractor, they must be wider. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Beet seed as purchased consists of small balls, each containing several seeds. On most soils, the seed should be covered to a depth of about an inch. After the beet plants are well established, thin them to stand 2 to 3 inches apart in the rows.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Carrots are usually grown in the fall, winter, and spring in the South, providing an almost continuous supply. In the North, carrots can be grown and used through the summer and the surplus stored for winter. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Carrots will grow on almost any type of soil as long as it is moist, fertile, loose, and free from clods and stones, but sandy loams and peats are best. Use commercial fertilizer.
Because of their hardiness, Open Pollinated / Heirloom carrots may be seeded as early in the spring as the ground can be worked. Succession plantings at intervals of 3 weeks will insure a continuous supply of tender carrots. Cover carrot seed about 1/2 inch on most soils; less, usually about 1/4 inch, on heavy soils. With care in seeding, little thinning is necessary; Open Pollinated / Heirloom carrots can stand some crowding, especially on loose soils. However, they should be no thicker than 10 to 15 plants per foot of row. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Carrots should be stored before hard frosts occur, as the roots may be injured by cold.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Celeriac, or turnip-rooted celery, has been developed for the root instead of the top. Its culture is the same as that of celery, and the enlarged roots can be used at any time after they are big enough. The late-summer crop of celeriac may be stored for winter use. In areas having mild winters the roots may be left in the ground and covered with a mulch of several inches of straw or leaves, or they may be lifted, packed in moist sand, and stored in a cool cellar.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Chervil comes in two distinct types, salad chervil and turnip-rooted chervil. Salad chervil is grown about like parsley. The seeds must be bedded in damp sand for a few weeks before being sown; otherwise, their germination is very slow.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom turnip-rooted chervil thrives in practically all parts of the country where the soil is fertile and the moisture sufficient. In the South, the seeds are usually sown in the fall, but they may not germinate until spring. In the North, the seeds may be sown in the autumn to germinate in the spring; or the plants may be started indoors in later winter and transplanted to open ground later on. The spacing and culture of chervil are about the same as for beets and carrots.
The Open Pollinated / Heirloom dasheen, a large-growing plant, is related to the ordinary elephant’s ear and looks like it. It is a long-season crop, adapted for culture only in the South, where there is normally a very warm frostless season of at least 7 months. It needs a rich loamy soil, an abundance of moisture with good drainage, and a fairly moist atmosphere. Small tubers from 2 to 5 ounces in weight are used for planting in much the same way as potatoes. Planting may be done 2 or 3 weeks before frosts are over, and the season may be lengthened by starting the plants indoors and setting them out after frost is past. Set the plants in 3½ to 4 foot rows, about 2 feet apart in the rows. Dasheen tubers may be dug and dried on the ground in much the same way as sweet potatoes, and stored at 50° F. with ventilation.
The Open Pollinated / Heirloom parsnip is adapted to culture over a wide portion of the United States. It must have warm soil and weather at planting time, but does not thrive in midsummer in the South.
In many parts of the South parsnips are grown and used during early summer. They should not reach maturity during midsummer, however. Furthermore, it is difficult to obtain good germination in the summer, which limits their culture during the autumn. Any deep, fertile soil will grow Open Pollinated / Heirloom parsnips, but light, friable soil, with no tendency to bake, is best. Stony or lumpy soils are objectionable; they may cause rough, prongy roots.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Parsnip seed must be fresh—not more than a year old-and it is well to sow rather thickly and thin to about 3 inches apart. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Parsnips germinate slowly, but it is possible to hasten germination by covering the seed with leaf mold, sand, a mixture of sifted coal ashes and soil, peat, or some similar material that will not bake. Rolling a light soil over the row or trampling it firmly after seeding usually hastens and improves germination. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Parsnips may be dug and stored in a cellar or pit or left in the ground until used. Roots placed in cold storage gain in quality faster than those left in the ground, and freezing in the ground in winter improves the quality.
There is no basis for the belief that Open Pollinated / Heirloom parsnips that remain in the ground over winter and start growth in the spring are poisonous. All reported cases of poisoning from eating so called wild parsnips have been traced to water hemlock (Cicuta), which belongs to the same family and resembles the parsnip somewhat.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Potatoes, when grown under favorable conditions, are one of the most productive of all vegetables in terms of food per unit area of land. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Potatoes are a cool-season crop; they do not thrive in midsummer in the southern half of the country. Any mellow, fertile, well-drained soil is suitable for Open Pollinated / Heirloom potato production. Stiff, heavy clay soils often produce misshapen tubers. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Potatoes respond to a generous use of commercial fertilizer, but if the soil is too heavily limed, the tubers may be scabby.
In the North, plant two types of potatoes one to provide early potatoes for summer use, the other for storage and winter use. The use of certified seed is always advisable. In preparing Open Pollinated / Heirloom seed potatoes for planting, cut them into blocky rather than wedge-shaped pieces. Each piece should be about 1½ ounces in weight and have at least one eye. Medium sized tubers weighing 5 to 7 ounces are cut to best advantage. Plant early Open Pollinated / Heirloom potatoes as soon as weather and soil conditions permit. Fall preparation of the soil often makes it possible to plant the early crop without delay in late winter or early spring. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Potatoes require 2 to 3 weeks to come up, depending on depth of planting and the temperature of the soil. In some sections the ground may freeze slightly, but this is seldom harmful unless the sprouts have emerged. Prolonged cold and wet weather after planting is likely to cause the seed pieces to rot. Hence, avoid too early planting. Young Open Pollinated / Heirloom potato plants are often damaged by frost, but they usually renew their growth quickly from uninjured portions of the stems. Do not dig potatoes intended for storage until the tops are mature. Careful handling to avoid skinning is desirable, and protection from long exposure to light is necessary to prevent their becoming green and unfit for table use. Store in a well ventilated place where the temperature is low, 45° to 50° if possible, but where there is no danger of freezing.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Radishes are hardy to cold, but they cannot withstand heat. In the South, radishes do well in autumn, winter, and spring. In the North, radishes may be grown in spring and autumn, and in sections having mild winters radishes may be grown in cold frames at that season. In high altitudes and in northern locations with cool summers, radishes thrive from early spring to late autumn.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Radishes are not sensitive to the type of soil so long as it is rich, moist, and friable. Apply additional fertilizer when the seeds are sown; conditions must be favorable for quick growth. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Radishes that grow slowly have a pungent flavor and are undesirable. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Radishes mature the quickest of our garden crops. They remain in prime condition only a few days, which makes small radish plantings at week or 10-day intervals advisable. A few yards of row will supply all the radishes a family will consume during the time the radishes are at their best. There are two types of Open Pollinated / Heirloom radishes – the mild, small, quick-maturing sort which reach edible size in from 20 to 40 days; and the more pungent, large, winter radishes which require 75 days or more for growth. Plant Open Pollinated / Heirloom winter radishes so they will reach a desirable size in the autumn. Gather and store them like other root crops.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Salsify, or vegetable oyster, may be grown in practically all parts of the country. It is similar to parsnips in its requirements but needs a slightly longer growing season. For this reason it cannot be grown as far north as parsnips. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Salsify, however, is somewhat more hardy and can be sown earlier in the spring. Thoroughly prepare soil for salsify to a depth of at least a foot. Lighten heavy garden soil by adding sand or comparable material. Salsify must have plenty of plant food. Sandwich Island is the best-known variety. A half ounce of seed will sow a 50-foot row, enough for most families. Always use fresh seed; salsify seed retains its vitality only 1 year. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Salsify may be left in the ground over winter or lifted and stored like parsnips or other root crops.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Sweet potatoes succeed best in the South, but they are grown in home gardens as far north as southern New York and southern Michigan. They can be grown even farther north, in sections having especially mild climates, such as the Pacific Northwest. In general, Open Pollinated / Heirloom sweet potatoes may be grown wherever there is a frost-free period of about 150 days with relatively high temperature. A well-drained, moderately deep sandy loam of medium fertility is best for Open Pollinated / Heirloom sweet potatoes. Heavy clays and very deep loose-textured soils encourage the formation of long stringy roots. For best results the soil should be moderately fertilized throughout. If applied under the rows, the fertilizer should be well mixed with the soil. In most of the area over which Open Pollinated / Heirloom sweet potatoes are grown it is necessary to start the plants in a hotbed, because the season is too short to produce a good crop after the weather warms enough to start plants outdoors. Bed roots used for seed close together in a hotbed and cover them with about 2 inches of sand or fine soil, such as leaf mold. It is not safe to set the plants in the open ground until the soil is warm and the weather settled. Toward the last, ventilate the hotbed freely to harden the plants.
The plants are usually set on top of ridges, 3½ to 4 feet apart, with the plants about 12 inches apart in the row. When the vines have covered the ground, no further cultivation is necessary, but some additional hand weeding may be required. Dig Open Pollinated / Heirloom sweet potatoes a short time before frost, on a bright, drying day when the soil is not too wet to work easily. On a small scale they may be dug with a spading fork, great care being taken not to bruise or injure the roots. Let the roots lie exposed for 2 or 3 hours to dry thoroughly but not in direct sunlight during the hot part of the day; then put them in containers and place them in a warm room to cure. The proper curing temperature is 85° F. Curing for about 10 days is followed by storage at 55° to 60°.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Turnips and Rutabagas, similar cool-season vegetables, are among the most commonly grown and widely adapted root crops in the United States. They are grown in the South chiefly in the fall, winter, and spring; in the North, largely in the spring and autumn. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Rutabagas do best in the more northerly areas; turnips are better for vegetable gardens south of the latitude of Indianapolis, Ind., or northern Virginia. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Turnips reach a good size in from 60 to 80 days, but Open Pollinated / Heirloom Rutabagas need about a month longer. Being susceptible to heat and hardy to cold, these vegetable crops should be planted as late as possible for fall use, allowing time for maturity before hard frost. In the South, turnips are very popular in the winter and spring. In the North, however, July to August seeding, following early Open Pollinated / Heirloom potatoes, peas, or spinach, is the common practice.
Land that has been in a heavily fertilized crop, such as early potatoes, usually gives a good crop without additional fertilizing. The soil need not be prepared deeply, but the surface should be fine and smooth. For spring culture, row planting similar to that described for Open Pollinated / Heirloom beets is the best practice. The importance of planting turnips as early as possible for the spring crop is emphasized. When seeding in rows, cover the seeds lightly; when broadcasting, rake the seeds in lightly with a garden rake. A half ounce of seed will sow a 300-foot row or broadcast 300 square feet. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Turnips may be thinned as they grow, and the tops used for greens. Although there are both white-fleshed and yellow-fleshed varieties of turnips and rutabagas, most turnips are white-fleshed and most rutabagas are yellow-fleshed.
The root is the edible portion of Open Pollinated / Heirloom turnip rooted parsley. The flesh is whitish and dry, with much the same flavor as celeriac. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Turnip-rooted parsley requires the same climate, soil, and culture as parsley. It can withstand much cold, but is difficult to start in dry, hot weather. This Open Pollinated / Heirloom vegetable may remain in the ground until after hard frosts. It may be lifted and stored like other root crops.
The vine crops, including Open Pollinated / Heirloom cucumbers, muskmelons, pumpkins, squashes, watermelons, and citrons, are similar in their cultural requirements. In importance to the home gardener they do not compare with some other groups, especially the root crops and the greens, but there is a place in most Open Pollinated / Heirloom vegetable gardens for at least bush squashes and a few hills of cucumbers. They all make rank growth and require much space. In large Open Pollinated / Heirloom gardens, muskmelons and watermelons are often desirable.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cucumbers are a warm-weather crop. They may be grown during the warmer months over a wide portion of the country, but are not adapted to winter growing in any but a few of the most southerly locations. Moreover, the extreme heat of midsummer in some places is too severe, and there Open Pollinated / Heirloom cucumber culture is limited to spring and autumn.
The Open Pollinated / Heirloom cucumber demands an exceedingly fertile, mellow soil high in decomposed organic matter from the compost pile. Also, an additional application of organic matter and commercial fertilizer is advisable under the rows or hills. Be sure the organic matter contains no remains of any Open Pollinated / Heirloom vine crops; they might carry injurious diseases. Three or four wheelbarrow loads of well-rotted organic matter and 5 pounds of commercial fertilizer to a 50-foot drill or each 10 hills are enough. Mix the organic matter and fertilizer well with the top 8 to 10 inches of soil. For an early Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cucumber crop, the cucumber seed may be started in berry boxes or pots, or on sods in a hotbed, and moved to the vegetable garden after danger of late frost is past. During the early growth and in cool periods, Open Pollinated / Heirloom cucumbers may be covered with plant protectors made of panes of glass with a top of cheesecloth, parchment paper, or muslin. A few hills will supply the needs of a family.
When the Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cucumber seed is planted in drills, the rows should be 6 or 7 feet apart, with the Cucumber plants thinned to 2 to 3 feet apart in the rows. In the hill method of planting, the hills should be at least 6 feet apart each way, with the Cucumber plants thinned to 2 in each hill. It is always wise to plant 8 or 10 seeds in each hill, thinned to the desired stand. Cover the Cucumber seeds to a depth of about 1/2 inch. If the soil is inclined to bake, cover them with loose earth, such as a mixture of soil and coarse sand, or other material that will not harden and keep the plants from coming through. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cucumbers require almost constant vigilance to prevent destructive attacks by cucumber beetles. These insects not only eat the foliage but also spread cucumber wilt and other serious diseases.
Success in growing Open Pollinated / Heirloom cucumbers depends largely on the control of diseases and insect pests that attack the crop. Removal of the fruits before any hard seeds form materially lengthens the life of the Cucumber plant and increases the size of the crop.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Gourds have the same general habit of growth as Open Pollinated / Heirloom pumpkins and squashes and should have the same general cultural treatment, except that most species require some form of support or trellis to climb upon. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Gourds are used in making dippers, spoons, ladles, salt and sugar containers, and many other kinds of household utensils. They are also used for bird houses and the manufacture of calabash pipes. But they are of interest chiefly because of their ornamental and decorative possibilities. The thin-shelled, or hard drying, gourds are the most durable and are the ones that most commonly serve as decorations. The thick-fleshed gourds are more in the nature of Open Pollinated / Heirloom pumpkins and squashes, and are almost as perishable.
The thin-shelled Open Pollinated / Heirloom gourds of the Lagenaria group are gathered and cured at the time the shells begin to harden, the fruits become lighter in weight, and the tendrils on the vines near the gourds begin to shrivel and dry. For best results, give the gourds plenty of time to cure. Some kinds require 6 months or a year to cure. The thick-shelled Open Pollinated / Heirloom gourds of the Cucurbita group are more difficult to cure than the thin shelled ones. Their beauty is of short duration; they usually begin to fade after 3 or 4 months. All types of Open Pollinated / Heirloom gourds should be handled carefully. Bruises discolor them and cause them to soften and decay.
The climatic, soil, and cultural requirements of Open Pollinated / Heirloom muskmelons are about the same as for cucumbers, except that they are less tolerant of high humidity and rainy weather. They develop most perfectly on light-textured soils. The Open Pollinated / Heirloom muskmelon plants are vigorous growers, and need a somewhat wider spacing than cucumbers. Where powdery mildew is prevalent, resistant varieties should be grown. The Open Pollinated / Heirloom Casaba and Honey Dew are well adapted only to the West, where they are grown under irrigation.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Pumpkins are sensitive to both cold and heat. In the North, Open Pollinated / Heirloom Pumpkins cannot be planted until settled weather; in the South they do not thrive during midsummer. The Heirloom Vegetable gardener is seldom justified in devoting any part of a limited vegetable garden area to Open Pollinated / Heirloom Pumpkins, because many other Open Pollinated / Heirloom Vegetables give greater returns from the same space. However, in Vegetable gardens where there is plenty of room and where they can follow an early crop like potatoes, pumpkins can often be grown to advantage. The Open Pollinated / Heirloom pumpkin is one of the few garden vegetables that thrives under partial shade. Therefore it may be grown among Open Pollinated / Heirloom sweet corn or other tall plants. Hills of Open Pollinated / Heirloom Pumpkins, containing one to two plants, should be at least 10 feet apart each way. Pumpkin plants among Open Pollinated / Heirloom corn, potato, or other plants usually should be spaced 8 to 10 feet apart in every third or fourth row. Gather and store Open Pollinated / Heirloom pumpkins before they are injured by hard frosts. They keep best in a well-ventilated place where the temperature is a little above 50° F.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Squashes are among the most commonly grown vegetable garden plants. They do well in practically all parts of the United States where the soil is fertile and moisture sufficient. Although sensitive to frost, Open Pollinated / Heirloom squashes are more hardy than melons and cucumbers. In the warmest parts of the South they may be grown in winter. The use of well-rotted composted material thoroughly mixed with the soil is recommended. There are two classes of squash varieties, summer and winter. All the Open Pollinated / Heirloom summer squashes and the marrows must be used while young and tender, when the rind can be easily penetrated by the thumbnail. The Open Pollinated / Heirloom winter squashes have hard rinds and are well adapted for storage. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Summer varieties, should be gathered before the seeds ripen or the rinds harden, but the winter sorts will not keep unless well-matured. They should be taken in before hard frosts and stored in a dry, moderately warm place, such as on shelves in a basement with a furnace. Under favorable conditions some varieties may be kept until midwinter.
Only Heirloom Vegetable Gardeners with a great deal of space can afford to grow Open Pollinated / Heirloom watermelons. Moreover, they are rather particular in their soil requirements, a sand or sandy loam being best. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Watermelon hills should be at least 8 feet apart. The plan of mixing a half wheelbarrow load of composted material with the soil in each hill is good, provided the compost is free from the remains of cucurbit plants that might carry diseases. A half pound of commercial fertilizer also should be thoroughly mixed with the soil in the hill. It is a good plan to place several seeds in a ring about 1 foot in diameter in each hill. Later the plants should be thinned to two to each hill. The preserving type of watermelon – citron – is not edible when raw. Its culture is the same as that for watermelon.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Beans and peas are among our oldest and most important vegetable garden plants. The popularity of both is enhanced by their wide climatic and soil adaptation.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Green beans, both snap and lima, are more important than dry beans to the home heirloom gardener. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Snap beans cannot be planted until the ground is thoroughly warm, but succession plantings may be made every 2 weeks from that time until 7 or 8 weeks before frost. In the lower South and Southwest, Open Pollinated / Heirloom green beans may be grown during the fall, winter, and spring, but they are not well adapted to midsummer. In the extreme South, beans are grown throughout the winter. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Green beans are adapted to a wide range of soils as long as the soils are well drained, reasonably fertile, and of such physical nature that they do not interfere with germination and emergence of the bean plants. Soil that has received a general application of manure and fertilizer should need no additional fertilization. When Open Pollinated / Heirloom beans follow early crops that have been fertilized, the residue of this fertilizer is often sufficient for the beans.
On very heavy lands it is well to cover the planted row with sand, a mixture of sifted coal ashes and sand, peat, leaf mold, or other material that will not bake. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Bean seed should be covered not more than 1 inch in heavy soils and 1/2″% inches in sandy soils. When beans are planted in hills, they may be covered with plant protectors. These covers make it possible to plant somewhat earlier. Open Pollinated / Heirloom White Navy, or pea beans, white or red Kidney, and the horticultural types are excellent for dry shell purposes. Two types of Open Pollinated / Heirloom lima beans, called butter beans in the South, are grown in home vegetable gardens. Most of the more northerly parts of the United States, including the northern New England States and the northern parts of other States along the Canadian border, are not adapted to the culture of lima beans. Lima beans need a growing season of about 4 months with relatively high temperature; they cannot be planted safely until somewhat later than snap beans. The small butter beans mature in a shorter period than the large-seeded lima beans. The use of plant protectors over the seeds is an aid in obtaining earlier fruiting of the crop. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Lima beans may be grown on almost any fertile, well-drained, mellow soil, but it is especially desirable that the soil be light textured and not subject to baking, as the seedlings cannot force their way through a hard crust. Covering with some material that will not bake, as suggested for other beans, is a wise precaution when using heavy soils. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Lima beans need a soil somewhat richer than is necessary for kidney beans, but the excessive use of fertilizer containing a high percentage of nitrogen should be avoided.
Both the small- and large-seeded lima beans are available in pole and bush varieties. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Pole beans of the kidney and lima types require some form of support, as they normally make vines several feet long. A 5-foot fence makes the best support for pole beans. A more complicated support can be prepared from 8- foot metal fence posts, spaced about 4 feet apart and connected horizontally and diagonally with coarse stout twine to make a trellis. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Bean plants usually require some assistance to get started on these supports. Never cultivate or handle bean plants when they are wet; to do so is likely to spread disease.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom English peas are a cool-weather crop and should be planted early. In the lower South they are grown at all seasons except summer; farther north, in spring and autumn. In the Northern States and at high altitudes, they may be grown from spring until autumn, although in many places summer heat is too severe and the season is practically limited to spring. A few successive plantings may be made at 10-day intervals. The later plantings rarely yield as well as the earlier ones. Planting English Peas may be resumed as the cool weather of autumn approaches, but the yield is seldom as satisfactory as that from the spring planting. Some smooth-seeded varieties are frequently used for planting in the early spring because of the supposition that they can germinate well in cold, wet soil. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Peas grown on supports are less liable to destruction by birds.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Sugar peas (edible podded peas) possess the tenderness and fleshy podded qualities of snap beans and the flavor and sweetness of fresh English peas. When young, the pods are cooked like snap beans; the peas are not shelled. At this stage, pods are stringless, brittle, succulent, and free of fiber or parchment. However, if the pods develop too fast, they are not good to use like snap beans, but the seeds may be eaten as shelled peas and are of the best flavor before they have reached full size.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cowpeas, also known as the southern peas, are highly nutritious, tasty and easily grown. They are eaten both as fresh shelled green peas or as dry peas. There are three basic Open Pollinated / Heirloom types: blackeye, crowder, and cream seed types. Each type has a distinct appearance and flavor. Cowpeas are very susceptible to cold and should not be planted until the soil temperatures are at least 70°F. There are many varieties that are resistant or tolerant to several diseases and root-knot nematodes. Heavy applications of nitrogen fertilizer should not be used for southern peas. Fertilize moderately with a low-nitrogen analysis such as 4-12-12. For the effort necessary to grow them, few if any other vegetables will pay higher dividends than Open Pollinated / Heirloom Southern table peas.
The soil and cultural requirements and methods of growing Open Pollinated / Heirloom soybeans are essentially the same as for bush forms of common beans. Soybeans, however, are slower growing than most Open Pollinated / Heirloom garden beans, requiring 3 to 5 months for maturity, and warmer weather. They also are taller growing, the larger, later varieties requiring a greater distance between rows than dwarf snap beans. Small, early varieties may be planted in rows as close as 2 feet, but the larger, later ones require 3 feet between rows. The planting dates given in tables 4 and 5 are for midseason varieties (about 120 days), neither the earliest nor the latest kinds. Differences in time of development among varieties are so great that the Heirloom Gardener must choose the proper variety and know its time of maturity in making plans for planting in any particular locality.
In cooler sections the rate of development will be slower. Only the early varieties should be grown in the more northerly States, and the medium or late varieties in the South. Plantings should be made principally when tomatoes and other long-season, warm-weather crops are put in the vegetable garden. For use as a green vegetable, Open Pollinated / Heirloom soybean pods should be harvested when the seeds are fully grown but before the pods turn yellow. Most soybean varieties produce beans in usable condition over a period of a week to 10 days. The green beans are difficult to remove from the pods unless the pods are boiled or steamed 4 to 5 minutes, after which they are easily shelled. The yields per unit area of land are about the same as are usually obtained with peas and are thus less than can be obtained with many other garden vegetables. On this account, they appear of major interest only to heirloom gardeners having medium to large vegetable gardens.
The Open Pollinated / Heirloom cabbage, or cole, group of vegetables is noteworthy because of its adaptation to culture in most parts of the country having fertile soil and sufficient moisture and because of its hardiness to cold.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom heading broccoli is difficult to grow, therefore, only sprouting broccoli is discussed here. Open Pollinated / Heirloom sprouting broccoli forms a loose flower head (on a tall, green, fleshy, branching stalk) instead of a compact head or curd found on cauliflower or heading broccoli. It is one of the newer vegetables in American gardens, but has been grown by Europeans for hundreds of years. Open Pollinated / Heirloom sprouting broccoli is adapted to winter culture in areas suitable for winter cabbage. It is also tolerant of heat. Spring-set plants in the latitude of Washington, D.C., have yielded good crops of sprouts until midsummer and later under conditions that caused cauliflower to fail. In the latitude of Norfolk, Va., the sprouting broccoli plant has yielded good crops of sprouts from December until spring.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Sprouting broccoli is grown in the same way as cabbage. Plants grown indoors in the early spring and set in the open about April 1 begin to yield sprouts about 10 weeks later. The fall crop may be handled in the same way as late cabbage, except that the seed is sown later. The sprouts carrying flower buds are cut about 6 inches long, and other sprouts arise in the axils of the leaves, so that a continuous harvest may be obtained.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Brussels sprouts are somewhat more hardy than cabbage and will live outdoors over winter in all the milder sections of the country. They may be grown as a winter crop in the South and as early and late as cabbage in the North. The sprouts, or small heads, are formed in the axils (the angle between the leaf stem and the main stalk) of the leaves. As the heads begin to crowd, break the lower leaves from the stem of the plant to give them more room. Always leave the top leaves; the Brussels Sprouts plant needs them to supply nourishment. For winter use in cold areas, take up the plants that are well laden with heads and set them close together in a pit, a cold frame, or a cellar, with some soil tamped around the roots. Keep the stored plants as cool as possible without freezing.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cabbage ranks as one of the most important home vegetable garden crops. In the lower South, it can be grown in all seasons except summer, and in latitudes as far north as Washington, D.C., it is frequently set in the autumn, as its extreme hardiness enables it to live over winter at relatively low temperatures and thus become one of the first spring vegetable garden crops. Farther north, it can be grown as an early summer crop and as a late fall crop for storage. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cabbage can be grown throughout practically the entire United States. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cabbage is adapted to widely different soils as long as they are fertile, of good texture, and moist. It is a heavy feeder; no garden vegetable responds better to favorable growing conditions. Quality in cabbage is closely associated with quick growth. Both compost and commercial fertilizer should be liberally used. In addition to the applications made at planting time, a side dressing or two of nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, or other quickly available nitrogenous fertilizer is advisable. These may be applied sparingly to the soil around the cabbage plants at intervals of 3 weeks, not more than 1 pound being used to each 200 square feet of space, or, in terms of single plants, 1/3 ounce to each plant. For late cabbage the supplemental feeding with nitrates may be omitted. Good Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cabbage seed is especially important. Only a few seed is needed for starting enough plants for the home vegetable garden, as 2 or 3 dozen heads of early cabbage are as many as the average family can use.
Where cabbage yellows is a serious disease, resistant varieties should be used. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cabbage plants for spring setting in the North may be grown in hotbeds or greenhouses from seeding made a month to 6 weeks before planting time, or may be purchased from southern growers who produce them outdoors in winter. The winter-grown, hardened plants, sometimes referred to as frost proof, are hardier than hotbed plants and may be set outdoors in most parts of the North as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring. Northern vegetable gardeners can have cabbage from their gardens much earlier by using healthy southern-grown plants or well-hardened, well-grown hotbed or greenhouse plants. Late cabbage, prized by northern vegetable gardeners for fall use and for storage, is grown from plants produced in open seedbed’s from sowings made about a month ahead of planting. Late cabbage may well follow early Open Pollinated / Heirloom potatoes, peas, beets, spinach, or other early crop. Many heirloom vegetable gardeners set cabbage plants between potato rows before the potatoes are ready to dig, thereby gaining time. In protected places, or when plant protectors are used, it is possible always to advance dates somewhat, especially if the plants are well hardened.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Chinese cabbage, is more closely related to mustard than to cabbage. It is variously called Crispy Choy, Chihili, Michili, and Wong Bok. Also, it is popularly known as celery cabbage, although it is unrelated to celery. The non heading types deserve greater attention. Open Pollinated / Heirloom chinese cabbage seems to do best as an autumn crop in the northern tier of States. When full grown, it is an attractive vegetable. It is not especially successful as a spring crop, and heirloom vegetable gardeners are advised not to try to grow it at any season other than fall in the North or in winter in the South. The chinese cabbage plant demands a very rich, well-drained but moist soil. The seeds may be sown and the plants transplanted to the vegetable garden, or the seed may be drilled in the garden rows and the plants thinned to the desired stand.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cauliflower is a hardy vegetable but it will not withstand as much frost as cabbage. Too much warm weather keeps cauliflower from heading. In the South, its culture is limited to fall, winter, and spring; in the North, to spring and fall. However, in some areas of high altitude and when conditions are otherwise favorable, cauliflower culture is continuous throughout the summer. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cauliflower is grown on all types of land from sands to clay and peats. Although the physical character is unimportant, the land must be fertile and well drained. Manure and commercial fertilizer are essential. The time required for growing Open Pollinated / Heirloom cauliflower plants is the same as for cabbage. In the North, the main cause of failure with cauliflower in the spring is delay in sowing the seed and setting the plants. The fall crop must be planted at such a time that it will come to the heading stage in cool weather.
A necessary precaution in cauliflower culture with all varieties, except Purple Head, is to tie the leaves together when the heads, or buttons, begin to form. This keeps the heads white. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Cauliflower does not keep long after the heads form; 1 or 2 dozen heads are enough for the average garden in one season.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Kohlrabi is grown for its swollen stem. In the North, the early crop may be started like cabbage and transplanted to the garden, but usually it is sown in place. In the South, kohlrabi may be grown almost any time except midsummer. The seeds may be started indoors and the plants transplanted in the vegetable garden; or the seeds may be drilled in the garden rows and the plants thinned to the desired stand. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Kohlrabi has about the same soil and cultural requirements as cabbage, principally a fertile soil and enough moisture. It should be harvested while young and tender.
Practically all members of the Open Pollinated / Heirloom onion group are adapted to a wide variety of soils. Some of them can be grown at one time of the year or another in any part of the country that has fertile soil and ample moisture. They require but little garden space to produce enough for a family’s needs.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Chives are small onion like plants that will grow in any place where onions do well. They are frequently planted as a border, but are equally well adapted to culture in rows. Being a perennial, chives should be planted where they can be left for more than one season. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Chives may be started from either seed or clumps of bulbs. Once established, some of the bulbs can be lifted and moved to a new spot. When left in the same place for several years the plants become too thick; occasionally dividing and resetting is desirable.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Garlic is more exacting in its cultural requirements than are onions, but it may be grown with a fair degree of success in almost any home vegetable garden where good results are obtained with onions. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Garlic is propagated by planting the small cloves, or bulbs, which make up the large bulbs. Each large bulb contains about 10 small ones. Carefully separate the small bulbs and plant them singly. The culture of garlic is practically the same as that of onions. When mature the bulbs are pulled, dried, and braided into strings or tied in bunches, which are hung in a cool, well ventilated place. In the South, where the crop matures early, care must be taken to keep the garlic in a cool, dry place; otherwise it spoils. In the North, where the crop matures later in the season, storage is not so difficult, but care must be taken to prevent freezing.
The Open Pollinated / Heirloom leek resembles the onion in its adaptability and cultural requirements. Instead of forming a bulb it produces a thick, fleshy cylinder like a large green onion. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Leeks are started from seeds, like onions. Usually the seeds are sown in a shallow trench, so that the plants can be more easily hilled up as growth proceeds. Leeks are ready for use any time after they reach the right size. Under favorable conditions they grow to 1½ inches or more in diameter, with white parts 6 to 8 inches long. They may be lifted in the autumn and stored like celery in a cold frame or a cellar.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Onions thrive under a wide variety of climatic and soil conditions, but do best with an abundance of moisture and a temperate climate, without extremes of heat or cold through the growing season. In the South, the onion thrives in the fall, winter, and spring. Farther north, winter temperatures may be too severe for certain types. In the North, onions are primarily a spring, summer, and fall crop. Any type of soil will grow onions, but it must be fertile, moist, and in the highest state of tilth. Both compost and commercial fertilizer, especially one high in phosphorus and potash, should be applied to the onion plot. A pound of compost to each square foot of ground and 4 or 5 pounds of fertilizer to each 100 square feet are about right. The soil should be very fine and free from clods and foreign matter.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Onions may be started in the home vegetable garden by the use of sets, seedlings, or seed. Sets, or small dry onions grown the previous year—preferably not more than 3/4 inch in diameter—are usually employed by home gardeners. Small green Onion plants grown in an outdoor seedbed in the South or in a hotbed or a greenhouse are also in general use. The home vegetable garden culture of onions from seed is satisfactory in the North where the summers are comparatively cool. Sets and seedlings cost about the same; seeds cost much less. In certainty of results the seedlings are best; practically none form seed stalks. Seed sown onions are uncertain unless conditions are extremely favorable.
The Open Pollinated / Heirloom shallot is a small onion of the multiplier type. Its bulbs have a more delicate flavor than most onions. Its growth requirements are about the same as those of most other onions. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Shallots seldom form seed and are propagated by means of the small cloves or divisions, into which the plant splits during growth. The Shallot plant is hardy and may be left in the ground from year to year, but best results are had by lifting the clusters of bulbs at the end of the growing season and replanting the smaller ones at the desired time.
The Open Pollinated / Heirloom fleshy fruited, warm season vegetables, of which the Heirloom Tomato is the most important, are closely related and have about the same cultural requirements. All must have warm weather and fertile, well-drained soil for good results.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Eggplant is extremely sensitive to the conditions under which it is grown. A warm weather plant, it demands a growing season of from 100 to 140 days with high average day and night temperatures. The soil, also, must be well warmed up before eggplant can safely be set outdoors. In the South, Open Pollinated / Heirloom eggplants are grown in spring and autumn; in the North, only in summer. The more northerly areas, where a short growing season and low summer temperatures prevail, are generally unsuitable for Open Pollinated / Heirloom eggplants. In very fertile garden soil, which is best for eggplant, a few plants will yield a large number of fruits. Sow Open Pollinated / Heirloom eggplant seeds in a hotbed or greenhouse, or, in warm areas, outdoors about 8 weeks before the plants are to be transplanted. It is important that the plants be kept growing without check from low or drying temperatures or other causes. They may be transplanted like tomatoes. Good eggplants have stems that are not hard or woody; one with a woody stem rarely develops satisfactorily.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Peppers are more exacting than Heirloom Tomatoes in their requirements, but may be grown over a wide range in the United States. Being hot weather plants, Open Pollinated / Heirloom peppers cannot be planted in the North until the soil has warmed up and all danger of frost is over. In the South, planting dates vary with the location, fall planting being practiced in some locations. Start Open Pollinated / Heirloom pepper plants 6 to 8 weeks before needed. The seeds and plants require a somewhat higher temperature than those of the Heirloom Tomato. Otherwise they are handled in exactly the same way.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Tomatoes grow under a wide variety of conditions and require only a relatively small space for a large production. Of tropical American origin, the Open Pollinated / Heirloom tomato does not thrive in very cool weather. It will, however, grow in winter in home vegetable gardens in the extreme South. Over most of the upper South and the North, it is suited to spring, summer, and autumn culture. In the more northern areas, the growing season is likely to be too short for heavy yields. It is often desirable to increase early fruiting and the total length of the growing season by starting the Heirloom Tomato plants indoors. By adopting a few precautions, the home vegetable gardener can grow Open Pollinated / Heirloom tomatoes practically everywhere, given fertile soil with sufficient moisture. A liberal application of compost should be used in preparing the soil should be sufficient for tomatoes under most conditions.
Start early Open Pollinated / Heirloom Tomato plants from 5 to 7 weeks before they are to be transplanted to the garden. Enough Heirloom Tomato plants for the home vegetable garden may be started in a window box and transplanted to small pots, paper drinking cups with the bottoms removed, plant bands (round or square), or other soil containers. In boxes, the seedlings are spaced 2 to 3 inches apart. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Tomato seeds germinate best at about 70° F., or ordinary house temperature. Growing Heirloom Tomato seedlings, after the first transplanting, at moderate temperatures, with plenty of ventilation, as in a cold frame, gives stocky, hardy growth. If desired, the Heirloom Tomato plants may be transplanted again to larger containers, such as 4 inch clay pots or quart cans with holes in the bottom. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Tomato plants for all but the early spring crop are usually grown in outdoor seedbed’s. Thin seeding and careful weed control will give strong, stocky plants for transplanting.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Tomatoes are sensitive to cold. Never plant them until danger of frost is past. By using plant protectors during cool periods the home gardener can set tomato plants somewhat earlier than would otherwise be possible. Hot, dry weather, like mid-summer weather in the South is also unfavorable for planting Open Pollinated / Heirloom tomatoes.
Planting distances depend on the variety and on whether the plants are to be pruned and staked or not. If pruned to one stem, trained, and tied to stakes or a trellis, plants may be set 18 inches apart in 3-foot rows. Unpruned plants grown in 2-foot diameter wire cylinders are planted 2 feet apart, also in 3-foot rows (fig. 30). Otherwise, they may be planted 3 feet apart in rows 4 to 5 feet apart. Pruning and staking have many advantages for the home vegetable gardener. Cultivation is easier, and the fruits are always clean and easy to find. Staked and pruned Open Pollinated / Heirloom Tomatoes are, however, more subject to losses from blossom-end rot than those allowed to grow naturally.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Florence fennel is related to celery and celeriac. Its enlarged, flattened leafstalk is the portion used. For a summer crop, sow the seeds in the rows in spring; for an autumn and winter crop in the South, sow them toward the end of the summer. Thin the plants to stand about 6 inches apart. When the leafstalks have grown to about 2 inches in diameter, the plants may be slightly mounded up and partially blanched. They should be harvested and used before they become tough and stringy.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Okra, or gumbo, has about the same degree of hardiness as Open Pollinated / Heirloom cucumbers and tomatoes and may be grown under the same conditions. It thrives on any fertile, well-drained soil. An abundance of quickly available plant food will stimulate growth and insure a good yield of tender, high-quality pods. As Open Pollinated / Heirloom okra is a warm-weather vegetable, the seeds should not be sown until the soil is warm. The rows should be from 3 to 31/2 feet apart, depending on whether the variety is dwarf or large growing. Sow the Okra seeds every few inches and thin the plants to stand 18 inches to 2 feet apart in the rows. The pods should be picked young and tender, and none allowed to ripen. Old pods are unfit for use and soon exhaust the plant.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom Physalis known also as ground cherry and husk tomato, is closely related to the Heirloom Tomato and can be grown wherever tomatoes do well. The kind ordinarily grown in vegetable gardens produces a yellow fruit about the size of a cherry. The seeds may be started indoors or sown in rows in the vegetable garden.
Open Pollinated / Heirloom non GMO Sweet corn requires plenty of space and is adapted only to the larger gardens. Although a warm-weather plant, it may be grown in practically all parts of the United States. It needs a fertile, well-drained, moist soil. With these requirements met, the type of the soil does not seem to be especially important, but a clay loam is almost ideal for Open Pollinated / Heirloom sweet corn. In the South, sweet corn is planted from early spring until autumn, but the corn earworm, drought, and heat make it difficult to obtain worthwhile results in midsummer. The ears pass the edible stage very quickly, and succession plantings are necessary to insure a constant supply. In the North, Open Pollinated / Heirloom sweet corn cannot be safely planted until the ground has thoroughly warmed up. Here, too, succession plantings need to be made to insure a steady supply. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Sweet corn is frequently planted to good advantage after early Open Pollinated / Heirloom potatoes, peas, beets, lettuce, or other early, short-season crops. Sometimes, to gain time, it may be planted before the early crop is removed. Open Pollinated / Heirloom Sweet corn may be grown in either hills or drills, in rows at least 3 feet apart. It is well to plant the seed rather thickly and thin to single stalks 14 to 16 inches apart or three plants to each 3-foot hill. Experiments have shown that in the eastern part of the country there is no advantage in removing suckers from sweet corn. Cultivation sufficient to control weeds is all that is needed.