Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening Quotes

“If your plant leaves are turning weird colors (purple, yellow), they might have nutrient deficiencies. Nutrient deficiencies cause highly predictable results, and it’s usually possible to diagnose whether a nutrient deficiency is a problem by looking at the plant. The diagram below shows the symptoms caused by the most common nutrient deficiencies. GROWING TIP If you see nutrient deficiency problems in your plants, test the soil pH. If the pH is too high or too low, it won’t matter if you fertilize—the plants won’t be able to get the nutrients from the soil.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“Fertilizers all have a combination of nutrients in them. Most of them have the “Big Three” macronutrients: nitrogen (N), which promotes green leafy growth, phosphorus (P), which strengthens roots and flowers, and potassium (K), to help with flavor and hardiness. Some fertilizers have micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, manganese, and iron. Fertilizer labels include what is called an “analysis,” which is the percentage of each of the “Big Three” nutrients contained in the product, listed in order of N-P-K.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“Certain vegetables will grow up trellises (wood, metal, or string). Certain plants need to have trellises to grow. Vegetables That Can Grow up Trellises Cucumber Pumpkin Squash Vegetables That Must Grow up Trellises or Lattices Pole bean Garden pea Vegetables That Need Stakes Eggplant Okra Pepper Vegetables That Need Cages Tomato”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“Mulching the vegetable garden will save you a lot of time watering and weeding. It is amazing the difference that a thick, 3-inch layer of mulch will make. If you mow your own lawn and don’t use chemicals on it, save the grass clippings—they make great mulch, and they add nutrients to the soil. Just remember to let them age for a few weeks before spreading and make sure they don’t have seed heads. Other good materials for vegetable garden mulch include: Shredded newspaper Shredded bark mulch Aged manure Compost Wheat straw Shredded leaves There’s a misconception that you shouldn’t use wood mulch in a vegetable garden. Now, you wouldn’t want to use treated wood mulch or sawdust, but shredded hardwood mulch is more beneficial than detrimental. If you can buy shredded hardwood mulch with compost in it, even better! When mulching around your plants, avoid mounding the mulch up around the stems of the plants, which can cause the plants to rot.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“How to Plant a Container-Grown Fruit Tree or Shrub 1. Use a shovel or marking paint to mark the area for the hole. The planting hole should be at least twice as wide as the tree’s rootball. 2. Dig the planting hole. This hole should be just as deep as the rootball—no deeper! If you sharpen the spade before digging, this step will go faster. GROWING TIP Have you heard the saying, “plant ’em high”? Well, that refers to trees. Trees will settle a bit after planting. Always make sure that you finish the job with the top of the tree’s rootball about 3 inches above the soil line. If you plant a tree too deep, the place where the tree trunk and the tree roots meet can rot, which will kill the tree. 3. Set the tree in the planting hole to check the depth. If the top of the rootball is lower than the soil line around the edge of the planting hole, add some soil back into the hole, pull the tree out of the pot, and replace the tree in the hole. You never want the crown of the tree (the part where the tree trunk meets the tree roots) to be below the soil line. In clay soils, set the rootball so it is a few inches above the soil line. 4. Fill in around the tree with the same soil that you removed from the planting hole. Do not add fertilizer or new topsoil. Water will move more easily and the tree will root properly if the soil in and around the planting hole is the same. 5. Mulch around the tree, taking care to pull the mulch away from the tree trunk. Do not create a mulch “volcano” around the tree (by piling mulch up high around the trunk)—that just encourages insects and creatures that snack on tree bark to take up residence next to your delicious young tree. 6. Water the tree. Plan to water newly planted trees every three days (every other day if it is hot and dry). New trees don’t need to be staked unless they’re in areas prone to heavy rains and frequent winds. It can take a couple of years for newly planted trees to root into the surrounding soil, so continue to monitor your tree for signs that it needs water.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“How to Plant a Container-Grown Fruit Tree or Shrub 1. Use a shovel or marking paint to mark the area for the hole. The planting hole should be at least twice as wide as the tree’s rootball. 2. Dig the planting hole. This hole should be just as deep as the rootball—no deeper! If you sharpen the spade before digging, this step will go faster.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“Plant transplants outside according to the spacing the fully grown plants will need. Pay attention to the depth of the hole, and ensure that you don’t bury the stem in the soil (except in special cases—see Growing Tip on the following page). Take the temperature of the soil to make sure it is warm enough. (The soil should be at least 60 to 65 degrees F for planting warm-weather vegetables such as tomatoes or peppers.) Before planting any transplants outside, prepare them by hardening them off. GROWING TIP Tomato plants should be planted deep. Strip off all but the top four sets of leaves. Plant the entire rest of the plant below the soil line. Tomato plants will grow roots from the stem, making them stronger and healthier. Hardening off before Planting out Vegetable transplants grown inside a greenhouse (or your house) need to be hardened off (acclimated to the change in temperature and light) before they’re planted outside. Even if you buy plants that were sitting outside at a garden center, it’s a good idea to harden them off before planting. For all you know, the plants were taken from the greenhouse, loaded on a truck, and brought to the garden center on the same day you saw them sitting outside. How to Harden Off Transplants 1. Place plants in a sheltered location such as a porch or patio for the day, and bring them in at night. Do this for three or four days. 2. Next, leave them outside all day in the protected location. Do this for about a week. Don’t forget to water while you’re doing this! 3. Finally, move the plants from the sheltered location (the porch or patio) to a more exposed location (the front sidewalk or driveway). Leave them there for three or four days. 4. Wait for a cloudy day (if possible) and plant your plants in the garden. Planting out on a cloudy day will lower the stress that the plants experience.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“Whether you grow your own transplants or buy them, here’s what you should plant outside as transplants and what you can grow from seed. Seeds Transplants Bean Basil Carrot Broccoli Chives Brussels sprouts Cucumber Cabbage Dill Cauliflower Lettuce Celery Okra Collards Parsley Eggplant Parsnip Kale Onion Leek Pea Pepper Pumpkin Spinach Radish Swiss chard Turnip Tomato Watermelon”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“You can buy plants and seeds that have some level of resistance to common diseases affecting those types of plants. Look for these types of abbreviations on plant tags, labels, and catalog descriptions: BCMW: Resistance to bean curly mosaic virus CMW: Resistance to cucumber mosaic virus Foc, Foc 1: Resistance to fusarium yellows PM: Resistance to powdery mildew PVY: Resistance to potato virus Y TMV: Resistance to tobacco mosaic virus ToMV: Resistance to tomato mosaic virus TSWV: Resistance to tomato spotted wilt virus V: Resistance to verticillium wilt Those are some of the most common abbreviations for the most common diseases, but it’s not an exhaustive list.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“If you want to save seeds from year to year, you need to grow open-pollinated varieties. The words “heirloom” and “open-pollinated” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they don’t necessarily mean the same thing. “Heirloom” refers to a variety that was popular before World War II. “Open-pollinated” refers to a plant that produces stable characteristics from generation to generation. Heirlooms are usually open-pollinated, because hybridization in edible plants didn’t become common until the 1970s.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“Before buying fruits, look at the number of chilling hours your area gets. Minimum Chilling Hours Available by Region Mountains: more than 1,200 Foothills and Piedmont: 800–1,000 Coastal regions (northern): 600–800 Coastal regions (southern): 400–600”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“You can buy an inexpensive soil thermometer to help you gauge when to plant different edibles. Cool-season vegetables germinate well when the soil is at least 50 degrees F. Most will sprout when soil temperatures are 50 to 70 degrees F. Warm-season vegetables grow best when soil temperatures are at least 65 degrees F. You can plant these when soil temperatures are lower, but the plants won’t grow.”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles

“In the Carolinas, there are two growing seasons: warm and cool. The cool season runs from about October or November through April or May (depending on where you garden). The warm season runs from May or June through September or October. If you plan your Carolina garden around no other guiding principle than this, you will be well in front of people who don’t. The”
― Katie Elzer-Peters, Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest the Best Edibles