Vegetables

Trevor Christopher

The long weekend in May is traditionally the time when Canada's gardens take off with a jump. Usually, the weekend serves as a guide as to when we can expect that the last spring frost has passed. Of course, there are no guarantees, and frosts can occur in June.

Vegetable crops such as radishes, spinach, peas, lettuce, onions, cabbage and turnips which prefer cool growing temperatures can normally be directly planted into the garden three weeks before the May long weekend. This will permit them to avoid some of the summertime heat. Rapid-maturing crops such as lettuce and radishes may be planted throughout the summer to allow a sustained harvest. Vegetables which are extremely sensitive to frost and low temperature should not be transplanted to the garden until the first week of June. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant planted out before this date may be set back by cool nights even if there is no frost. Several products such as floating plastic row covers, hot caps or "Wall of Water" protectors can safeguard plants from a couple of degrees of frost extending the growing season by several weeks.

Whether you grow your own, or purchase them, transplants must be hardened off before being planted out. The process of hardening off takes about a week to ten days and gradually acclimatizes plants to the more stressful growing conditions of the garden. To harden off your transplants, they should be placed outdoors in a shady and somewhat protected spot and gradually moved to a brighter and more exposed location. Along the east side of a house is a good place to start, as morning sun is less intense than afternoon sun. After a week to ten days the young plants will have become accustomed to full sunlight and be ready for transplanting without suffering shock when being placed in the garden.

Plants should be well watered prior to transplanting, and kept moist for at least a week following transplanting. A mild fertilizer solution can also be applied at the time of planting.

Although an extensive array of seeds and transplants are available from seed companies and greenhouses, it is often best to use those cultivars that have been tested and shown to be productive for the prairies. The following is a list of vegetable cultivars that have proven successful in the University of Saskatchewan's vegetable cultivar trials.

Broccoli: `Early Dividend' (very early), `Arcadia,' `Emerald City,' `Excelsior,' `Patriot,' `Platini,' `Green Comet,' `Mariner.'

Brussels Sprouts: `Prince Marvel,' `Golfer,' `Oliver.'
A note for Brussels sprouts: transplants provide an increase in harvest of up to 30% over direct seeding.

Cabbages Early: `Balbro,' `Polar Green,' `Rocket.'
Mid-season: `Copenhagen Market,' `Multi Keeper.'
Late (storage): `Bartolo,' `Lennox,' `Ballhead.'
Red Cabbage: `Red Rookie,' `Regal Red.'

Carrots: `Narova,' `Nandro,' `Danvers 126,' `Karaman,' `Caro Best,' `A Plus.'

Cauliflower: `Serrano,' `Snow King,' `Snow Ball,' `Shasta,' `Incline.'

Corn Early: `Quickie,' `Lyric,' `Earlivee,' `Express.'
Mid-season: `BiHoney Nova,' `Amaize,' `Seneca,' `Northern Supersweet,'`Norgold.'

Cucumbers: Pickling `Carolina,' `Earlipik.'
Slicing: `Jazzy,' `Seedway,' `Sweet Slice.'

Onions: Cooking `Yula,' `Norstar,' `Sweet Sandwich.'
Spanish: `Bullring,' `Cima.'
Red: `Mars,' `Mercury,' `Tango.'

Peppers: Green `California Wonder,' `Marengo,' `Big Bertha,' `Maestro,' `Valencia,' `Estilo,' `Spanish Spice.'
Hot: `Garden Salad,' `Serrano Grand.'

Tomatoes: Bush `Blazer,' `Rocket,' `Swift,' `Roadside Red,' `Summerset VF,'`Blazer,' `Terrific VFN.'
Cherry: `Cherrio,' `Pixie Hybrid.'

Watermelon `Sweet Favorite,' `Summer Flavour,' `Gold Baby.'

Sustainable horticultural information, offered free of charge to the public with the support of the University of Saskatchewan Extension Division, the Department of Plant Sciences and the Provincial Government.