Planning the Spring Vegetable Garden

Ray Sher writes:

Sitting in my den looking out on my vegetable garden with some barren beds due to hard winter freezes, I am thinking about spring gardening. Actually I have been planning and plotting (pun intended) what I am going to plant and where I will plant each type of vegetable.

For weeks I have been leafing through seed catalogs and looking at others on-line to find new varieties to grow, something different than what I grew last year and the year before. I always want to be testing some new varieties. Sometimes I am delighted to find a great new variety and other times I am disappointed. But at least I had the adventure of doing something new and different.

Following is what I intend to plant this spring. You may want to use this as a guide. Better yet, use it as a stimulus to do your own research by talking with fellow gardeners and reading seed catalogs.

Basil
Genovese � the gourmet green basil for pesto, salsa and other dishes
Osmin � purple basil excellent for salads and all other recipes

Green beans (bush varieties rather than pole beans)
Provider � very disease resistant plants with productive yields
Foremost � high yields of rich tasting beans on very disease resistant plants
Fresh Pick � tolerates hot weather well, heavy yields and very disease resistant
Rocdor � longest and most slender yellow wax bean, productive
Maxibel � longest green French filet bean, high yields
Pick beans every other day for continued production.

Yard Long beans (strong trellis required)
Gita � green stringless beans, pencil thin, rich flavor
Louisiana Purple Pod � purple colored, thin, very productive with rich crunchy flavor

Cucumbers (grow on trellises)
Suyo Long � by far the sweetest, crispest cucumber I have ever eaten; burpless, tender sweet skin, up to 18� long
Sultan � Beit Alpha type, which is known for thin-skin, disease resistance, excellent taste and high yields

Eggplants
Ping Tung � long, thin fruit of excellent quality, very productive
Fairy Tale � 2-4� long purple and white-striped fruit on small plants with wonderful flavor and no bitterness

Arugula
Sylvetta � gourmet, small leafed, with a spicy nutty flavor (takes longer than other varieties to mature)
Surrey � fast growing, rich spicy flavor without too much heat

Summer Squash
Plato � zucchini, spineless, with excellent disease resistance, high yielding
Sunburst � yellow, patty pan type, tender, vigorous plants

Winter Squash (need lots of space for the long vines)
Tahitian � resists squash vine borers, which is the big problem with growing squash; sweet and delicious; stores for 6 months or more
Seminole � resists squash vine borers, excellent quality, long storage

Sweet Potatoes
Beauregarde � large roots, good yields, good taste, long vines
Bush Porto Rico � bush variety, yellow-orange flesh, takes less space

Tomatoes (need large sturdy cage at least 7� tall and 2� in diameter)
I grow only cherry tomatoes because they are more productive with less predation from birds. All the varieties listed are sweet, crack and disease resistant and prolific. Check local feed stores and nurseries for the plants.
Sweet Chelsea, Sun Sugar, Sun Cherry, Isis Candy, Purple Haze, Supersweet 100, Sweet Million

There are many other vegetables and herbs that can be grown in the spring such as globe artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, asparagus (in the right environment), pole beans, lettuce, endive, garlic chives, gourds, Malabar spinach, perilla, rosemary, taro, malanga, tomatillo, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, sweet and chile peppers, okra, southern peas, lima beans, bitter melon, edamame, ginger, horseradish, radishes, Swiss chard and with some care collards, bok choy, turnips and mustards.

This may keep you busy and in vegetable heaven for the next few months.

Ray Sher is a gardening and permaculture instructor, vegetable and fruit garden consultant and works his large, intensive home vegetable, fruit and herb garden using organic methods. Contact him at RayInTheGarden@sbcglobal.net.

Urban Harvest sponsors this column. To find out more about community gardens, school gardens, farmers markets and gardening classes, visit www.urbanharvest.org.