Routine cultivation of organic vegetables

After gaining some practical experience, many vegetable gardeners will proceed to develop schedules of routine cultivation. Over the years I’ve encountered the unbelievably complex, stunningly simplified versions and more or less everything in between. As usual, my personal philosophy on organic vegetable gardening is to concentrate on the basic principles. In most cases these are flexible and can be customised to suit the local growing conditions.

My initial recommendation is to avoid any of the prescriptive tables which recommend precise dates for sowing and harvesting. Those of us with years of gardening under our belts can testify to the lack of seasonal consistency which significantly decreases the utility of their application. Having said this, I understand that most worthwhile aspects of human culture and endeavour are based on natural and sometimes arbitrary classification schemes. I’m even aware of several successful gardeners who use astrological charts and calendars to schedule their activities. Now this sounds like the outer limits so I cannot help raising both eyebrows when informed that celestial events will influence the growth of my beans and tomatoes.

Vegetables can be classified into cool and warm season varieties. It makes sense to plant warm season vegetables like tomatoes, sweet corn, squash, and sweet potatoes during the final month of spring. If there is a warm summer, these will be granted the opportunity to reach their full potential. Cool season vegetables are traditionally sown during the autumn. This enables seedlings to become established before the arrival of winter frosts. The varieties most resistant to colder temperatures are beetroot, broad beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, parsnip, spinach, and turnip. In temperate climates, there are several vegetables which seem to tolerate the full range of seasonal conditions. These include mustard greens, lettuce, radish, and cabbages.

The article on sowing and planting organic vegetables described how to raise vegetables as seedlings in containers. It also outlined the requirements for direct sowing to outdoor situations. One of the routine tasks in any vegetable garden is the selection and thinning of immature plants. Timing is an important element. If attempted too early, it is difficult to identify weak specimens and organise plants sufficiently to ensure optimum growth and accessibility. Delayed attempts at thinning can disturb roots to the extent that plants become weakened or fail to establish. The best opportunity to thin a clump of seedlings arises once they develop their initial set of true leaves and concludes with the development of the second set which are usually identified by their slightly darker colour and coarser texture. While weak or deformed seedlings must be discarded, it’s certainly possible to transplant healthy specimens to a new location. The main exception is common root crops like beetroot, carrots, and parsnips, which are difficult to transplant.

There are numerous approaches for arranging vegetables within garden beds. The best of these focus upon providing each plant with sufficient soil space, sunlight, and water, in addition to maintaining reliable access for the enthusiastic gardener. Once you’ve read my earlier sections on companion planting and planning an organic vegetable garden, you’ll be ready to start laying out the rows. A length of string helps to establish a straight line and the intervals of distance which ensure each plant is allowed sufficient space to grow. The majority of vegetables are comfortable with approximately one foot or thirty centimetres between subsequent rows. I plant my crops in triangular formation, always positioning the next row of plants midway between those on the adjacent row.

Cultivated plants must compete against any surrounding weeds for light, space, water and soil nutrients. The control and eradication of weeds is a sensitive issue which seems to divide opinion among organic gardening experts. There are those who recommend frequent weeding which is both repetitive and labour intensive. Aside from quick results, hand weeding provides an opportunity to routinely check plants for signs of disease, nutrient deficiency or insect infestation. Others argue in favour of the cultural controls which include mulching and regular interplanting with herbs and other plants which outcompete the nuisance weeds. I find it difficult to subscribe exclusively to either approach. At various times, I’ve enjoyed success with both physical removal and mulching. To be honest, some of my best vegetables were grown amongst untidy patches of untended weeds.

In hot and dry conditions, vegetables require deep watering. This is particularly true for immature plants with developing roots. If water doesn’t penetrate deeply into the soil, the roots will remain near the surface, shallow and inefficient. In their natural environment, such plants would be unable to survive an extended drought or dry season. Some species like cabbage and lettuce are naturally shallow rooted and will benefit from applications of mulch. Instead of evaporating quickly, water is held beneath the layers of organic fibre where it can be taken up by the roots. In addition to mulching, organic soil conditioners such as compost and leaf mould will improve the texture, water holding capacity and nutrient profile of most garden soils.

Most annual vegetables benefit from a rotation schedule, where the basic groupings (brassicas, legumes, root vegetables etc) are planted to a different location each season. As one of the basic principles of organic gardening, I’ve already discussed crop rotation in a previous section. In addition to controlling nuisance insects and reducing the prevalence of soil borne disease, crop rotation schedules can assist overworked soils to replenish their organic nutrient profiles. After supporting heavy feeders, garden beds can be replenished with organic soil conditioners then allowed to stand fallow for a season. Heavy feeding plants like squashes and corn will benefit from several applications of liquid fertiliser during their growing season. Good liquid feeds can be made at home from organic materials such as seaweed, nettle leaves, and worm compost.

Quick tip

We frequently receive correspondence from individuals who feel too busy to start their own garden. Time pressured individuals should be aware of propagation nurseries which provide ready to plant seedlings for commercial growers and hobbyists alike. Commencing a garden with healthy stocks of advanced seedlings can increase the overall practicality and efficiency of the remaining time, physical effort, and other resources which must be expended.

Delfland Nurseries are currently the United Kingdom’s leading organic propagator. Their seedlings are raised from untreated seed and protected in climate controlled glasshouses for several weeks. Delfland’s representative, Jill Vaughan agrees that many contemporary gardeners lack the space, time, or expertise to grow everything from seed. Her customers in the United Kingdom can order their plants for an entire season and have them delivered at exactly the right time for planting. The advanced seedlings are better prepared to compete with emerging weeds and they arrive with full planting instructions. An approachable, customer focused propagation nursery may remove some of the barriers which prevent beneficial enjoyment an organic vegetable garden.