Sustainable, Organic Vegetable Gardening

1. Sustainable, OrganicVegetable Gardening Presented by: Kent Phillips kent.a.phillips@gmail.com

3. Maryland Master Gardeners’Mission To educate Maryland residents about safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes, and communities.

4. www.extension.umd.edu/growit Grow Your Own Food We Can Show You How Click on Classes Tab And Scroll down to Howard County

5. Reduce Your Carbon Footprintby Vegetable Gardening • Less trips to the store • Sequester carbon in your vegetable beds • Healthy plants capture carbon • Create compost • Put it back in your beds • Better tasting vegetables

6. We teach a common-sense, ecological approach • Rely on local materials and resources • Compost neighbors leaves and your grass • Local animal manure • Leafgro • Maximize biological and genetic diversity to strengthen your garden eco-system. • Example: Plant an assortment of annual flowers and herbs to attract and feed beneficial insects.

7. Unbordered raised beds

8. Ingredients to a Successful Vegetable Garden • Healthy soil • Lots of organic material • Proper soil pH • Proper nutrient levels • NPK • Secondary and micro nutrients • Sufficient soil moisture • Practice Integrated Pests Management (IPM) • Grow recommended vegetable varieties • HG 70 Recommended vegetable cultivars for Maryland home gardens

9. Importance Of These Ingredients • Healthy plants resist grow insect attack • IPM • In nature, bad insects are predated by beneficials • Use physical controls and erect barriers to pests • Use targeted applications for specific pests • Use broad spectrum insecticides only as a last resort • Recommended vegetables grow

10. What is Healthy Soil • Soil rich in organic matter with lots of invertebrates • Has lots of pores for air and water • Six inches of OM for new gardens • One inch for established gardens • Soil with proper pH and nutrient levels • Do a soil test • Follow recommendations

11. Healthy soil (cont.) • References at www.extension.umd.edu/hgic click on “Soils” or click on “Information Library”, “Publications” and “Soil, Mulch and Composting” • HG11 Soil test basics • HG110 Selecting and using a soil testing laboratory • HG 42 Soil amendments and fertilizers • FS782 Basics of soil and plant fertility • http://www.youtube.com/UMDHGIC to see video on collecting a soil test sample

14. Fertilizer Recommendation • U of Mass recommendation is .25#s/100 square feet • 1# of 30-3-3 • 30% N, 3% P and 3% K • .3#s of N, .03#s of P and .03#s of K • 4#s of dried blood meal 12-0-0 • 12% N, 0% P and 0% K • .48#s of N – probably too much • Large amount of N is readily available to plants

15. Soil Moisture • On average plants require one inch of water a week • On a 4 by 8 foot bed, that’s 20 gallons of water • Moisture needs to be delivered to the plant roots • Most efficient method of delivery is drip irrigation • http://www.youtube.com/UMDHGIC look or search for video on “Drip Irrigation” • Mulching plants helps conserve soil moisture • http://www.youtube.com/UMDHGIC look or search for video called “Mulchzilla”

16. Intensive planting • Assume a four foot wide bed • In a 2 or 3 foot long area plant 5 broccoli plants in an x pattern • Plant 4 lettuce plants between the broccoli plants B L B L B L B L B

17. Intensive planting (con’t) • Plant three row of green beans in a four foot square • Plant four rows of beets or carrots or onions in the same area • Plant tomatoes three feet apart on the north or west side of the garden • Plant peppers and eggplants in the same pattern as broccoli above • Vegetable spacing on Pub HG 16

18. Succession Planting • Use transplants when possible • Cool weather crops (spring and fall) • Broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, etc. • Warm season crops (summer) • Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, etc. • Rotate crops • Plant beans after broccoli (adds N to soil) • Don’t plant tomatoes, eggplant or potatoes where they have been before.

19. Start early, end late • Garden from 4/1 to 12/15 • See Pub. GE 007 or HG 16 for planting times • Cool season crops (Mid March & April) • Warm season crops (mid-May & early June) • Cool season crops (August & September) • Garlic (mid-October) • Winter over spinach and kale for spring crop

20. Integrated Pest Management • Simple steps and common sense • Study • Spy • Squish • An once of prevention is worth a pound of cure • Companion planting • A healthy garden with good soil, adequate moisture and proper nutrition can withstand some pest predation

21. Beneficials v. Pests • Attract predators and parasites by planting open faced flowers which attract predators that require nectar in their adult stage • Ultimately, predators will increase as prey is available • Purchasing predators tends not to be effective • Ducks, chickens and toads

22. Common Predators Praying Mantid

23. Common Predators Lady Bird Beetle and Larva

24. Common Predators Yellow Argiope Jumping spider Wolf Spider Orb Weaver

25. Common Predators Wheel bug

26. Common Predators Syrphid fly and larva: predator of aphids

27. Common Predators Parasitized Tomato Hornworm

28. Common Vegetable Pests Mexican Bean Beetle Eggs & larvae Adult • Row cover • Crush • Pyrethrum, neem, spinosad spray top and bottom of leaves

29. Common Vegetable Pests Cucumber Beetle Spotted Stripped Floating row cover Pyrethrum, neem oil, spinosad

30. Common Vegetable Pests Harlequin bug Adult Eggs & nymphs • Row cover • Crush • Insecticidal soap alone or with pyrethrum or neem

31. Common Vegetable Pests Flea Beetle Adults Floating row cover over hoops Surround (kaolin clay) – reapply after rain Pyrethrum, neem, spinosad

32. Common Vegetable Pests Imported Cabbage Looper Larvae Adult • Floating row cover • Bacillus Thuringensis (BT), insecticidal soap • Pyrethrum, neem, spinosad – use with sticker spreader

33. Common Vegetable Pests Squash Bug Adult Eggs & nymphs • No pesticide for homeowners • Floating row cover • Hand pick tear out section of leaf with eggs • Kill nymphs with neem or hort oil or insecticidal soap

34. Common Vegetable Pests Squash Vine Bore Larvae • Floating row cover • Cut out borer and mound soil over wound

35. Common Vegetable Pests Stink Bugs BMSB Adult Southern Green Stink Bug Brown • True hard shell bugs like squash and stink bugs are hard to kill • Use row cover where possible • Hand pick and destroy adults and eggs • Insecticidal soap and botanicals can be used on 1st and 2nd instars (nymphs) • No pesticide available for homeowners to kill adults

38. Targeted Applications for Specific Pests • With all pesticides • Always read the label • Follow label instructions • Bacillus Thuringiensis • Cabbage looper and other caterpillars • Horticultural oils • Insecticidal soap

39. Broad Spectrum Killers • With all pesticides • Always read the label • Follow label instructions • Pyrethrums • Pyganic • Rotenone • Spinosad • Neem oil

40. Resources • Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) • 800-342-2507 • http://www.extension.umd.edu/hgic • Grow-It-Eat-It website • http://www.extension.umd.edu/growit • YouTube - Search subject http://www.youtube.com/UMDHGIC

41. This program was brought to you by Maryland Master Gardener Program Howard County University of Maryland Extension