There are many good reasons to grow some of your own vegetables. Tending a garden is a great way to be physically active. Just 2 hours a week in the garden is correlated with an improved sense of well-being, and studies show communal gardening can even reduce the risk of dementia. From the first seedlings pushing up in the spring to the unbeatable taste of a home grown tomato, it is a celebration of the seasons. Gardeners love to talk about gardening, and to share their yields of fresh, healthy and relatively low-cost food. And as we come to late summer, many of the rewards for all the hard work can finally be harvested. That first ripe tomato always tastes the best.
Of course not everything will produce the way we had planned at the beginning of the season. We can have too much or too little rain or an invasion of Japanese beetles or, heaven forbid, a groundhog. Every gardener has a story to tell of things that died or were eaten just before they were ready to pick. But challenges this year can inspire new plans for the next. As Shunryu Suzuki said, “A garden is never finished.”
A visit to the Vegetable Garden at Cutler Botanic Gardens can help. Several tactics to help you succeed are demonstrated there. From seed starting in March to harvesting brussel sprouts and the last of the fall greens in November, a team of Master Gardener Volunteers work to maintain this area found in the center of Cutler Botanic Garden. Area team leader Sue Kost says that no pesticides are used in the garden, rather Integrated Pest Management methods are practiced such as choosing resistant varieties, rotating crops (rather than growing the
same plant in the same plot year after year), physical barriers, and frequent monitoring for early signs of trouble. Early interventions like hand removal of unwanted insects or pruning out diseased leaves can be effective. Maintaining healthy soil with additions of compost so that plants are not stressed also reduces susceptibility to pests and disease.
You may notice as you enter the space that several of the beds are covered by a thin white sheet. This fabric allows rainwater and sunlight through, but does provide some insulation.
Depending on the weight of the cover, it will give a few degrees of frost protection allowing for an earlier start to our short growing season and a harvest further into the fall. It can also provide a barrier to protect young plants from pests such as flea beetles and cabbage moths. The cover is removed when the weather is sufficiently warm or before blossoms need to be pollinated.
Vertical growing is demonstrated in the vegetable garden. There is a permanent trellis in the garden where pole beans and other vining annual crops climb. Perennial crops such as hops and hardy kiwi are also grown on trellises. Whether constructed from simple cattle panel or decorative wrought iron, a trellis increases the productivity of a space and keeps developing fruit off the ground and away from snails and small mammals. The height also adds depth and texture to a garden.
The beds in the vegetable area are raised up from ground level. Raised beds have many advantages. They are especially nice when working with clay soils and heavy rains, as they offer improved soil drainage. The soils will warm earlier and stay warm longer into the fall. A raised bed is less likely to be walked on, a critical advantage as compaction can destroy the healthy soil structure. Weed control is easier, and higher raised beds allow the gardener to work more comfortably.ds in the vegetable area are raised up from ground level.
The Cutler Vegetable Garden also practices intercropping, or growing more than one crop in a bed to benefit one or both crops and make efficient use of space. In the trellised bed, more production results from a smaller space with kale growing at the feet of scarlet runner beans. Plants may be added to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects or even repel undesirable insects. Other companions can improve soil health by breaking up the soil with tap roots, adding soil fertility with legumes, or even providing physical support such as corn or sunflowers can do for pole beans in a Three Sisters planting.
When next year’s seed catalogs arrive, it is fun to consider new varieties to try. The Vegetable Garden participates in Cornell’s Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners Trials. This year the trial varieties focus on foods culturally relevant to eastern Asia. Sue recommends the Oriental Cucumber, with very crisp fruit and less wilting compared to other varieties. Or Chinese Pink Celery (Apium graveolens), a popular food in Beijing that is easier to grow than the European variety and it’s pink!
All America Selections (AAS) varieties are also featured. As an AAS display garden we receive seeds of winning varieties to plant out and educate the public on
vegetable selections that work well in our region.
Come visit the vegetable area for inspiration but please do not take any produce as it is donated to food pantries in the area.
Last year 400 pounds of produce were donated!
Cutler Botanic Garden is free and open to the public from dawn to dusk seven days a week.
