Vegetables

Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris & P. linensis)
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Family Fabaceae (Leguminoseae)
Native to Central America
Records of use as food date back to 5000 B.C.
Self-pollinated
Warm season
Bean Culture
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Bush or pole types
Soak seed for an hour before
planting to enhance
germination
Low humidity and high
temperatures cause blossom
drop
Use bush beans for fall garden
-Short growing season (50-60
days) allows time for a crop
prior to the first freeze
Bean Cultivars
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Bush
• Erect plant, usually
short season
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‘Blue Lake’
‘Contender’
‘Tendercrop’
‘Topcrop’
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Pole
require staking or
trellising
‘Blue Lake’
‘Kentucky Blue’
‘Kentucky Wonder’
Cucurbits
• Family Cucurbitaceae
• Warm season,
herbaceous annuals
• Direct seeding is preferred
• May be bush-type (determinate) or
vining (indeterminate) plants
• Includes squash, pumpkins, gourds,
cucumbers, melons
Cucurbit Pollination
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Cucurbit flowers:
• Perfect - male and female parts
• Imperfect –have one or the other
Male flowers produced early
Female flowers later
Flower type determined by:
-Genetics, day length, temps
Bees essential for good fruit set
Male Flower
http://hgic.clemson.edu/tyk/2007/images/tyk05_lg.jpg
Female Flower
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Oyjs043Crqg/SEihdAvWPLI/AAAAAAAAB1I/
RqOsumEW4vM/s400/Squash%2B6-5-2008%2B007.jpg
Pumpkins, Squash and Gourds
Cucurbita
Species
Pumpkins
Summer
Squash
Winter
Squash
Ornamental
squash
C. pepo
Pie,
Miniatures
Crookneck, Acorn,
Zucchini
Fordhook
Gourds
C. maxima Jack O
Lantern
Hubbard,
Banana
Turban
C.
moschata
Crookneck
pumpkins
Butternut
C. mixta
Cushaw
Cushaw
Squash:Cucurbita pepo
• C. pepo: Includes most of the summer squash,
some winter squash, gourds, and small to
medium-sized ornamental pumpkins
-Winter C. pepo types require 1-2 week curing
-Most do not keep well after curing
• C. pepo varieties: Zucchini, Spaghetti, Acorn,
Delicata
Squash:Cucurbita maxima
• C. maxima: Includes many of the winter
squash, large pumpkin types
-Many require a month storage
indoors to cure
-Some will keep for several months
and may develop improved flavor ‘Turk’s Turban’
• Varieties include Kabocha,
Buttercup, Hubbard
http://www.hollarseeds.com/Gourds/TurksTurban-small.jpg
Squash:Cucurbita moschata
• C. moschata: Includes the butternut
(‘Waltham Butternut’) and “cheese pumpkins”
(‘Long Island Cheese’)
-Require 1-2 week curing
-Some varieties will hold even longer than
C. maxima
-Some are highly disease and borer resistant
Squash:Cucurbita mixta
• C. mixta: Includes ‘Cushaw’, many of the best
tasting pumpkins, summer squash
-Requires a long, warm growing season
-Many are grown for their edible seeds
-Many are resistant to squash borers
• Varieties include
‘Tennessee Sweet Potato’,
‘Hopi Cushaw’
‘Tricolor Cushaw’
http://www.seedsbydesign.com/prodpict/1055.jpg
Summer Squash Cultivars
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Zucchini
 ‘Gold Rush’
 ‘Hybrid Jackpot’
 ‘Black Magic’
Straightneck
 ‘Early Prolific’
http://www.epicurious.com/images/articlesguides/h
owtocook/seasonal/cooknow_summersquash.jpg
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Crookneck
 ‘Dixie’
Scallop or Patty
Pan
 ‘Sunburst
Hybrid’
 ‘Peter Pan’
Winter Squash Cultivars
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Acorn (C. pepo)
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Delicata (C. pepo)
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‘Cornell’s Bush Delicata’
Hubbard (C. maxima)
Green or gold & deeply ribbed.
‘Cream of the Crop’
 ‘Ebony Sweet Acorn’
 ‘Table Ace’
 ‘Table Queen’
Buttercup (C. maxima)
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Medium, blue-gray with bumpy
skin.
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Medium-dark green splotched with
grey.
‘Autumn Cup’
Butternut (C. moschata)
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Oval with golden yellow skin.
Orange flesh, tan skin, bulbous base.
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‘Autumn Glow’
‘Early Butternut’
‘Waltham’
‘Blue Hubbard’
Kabocha (C. maxima)
 ‘Ambercup’
 ‘Sweet Mama’
Spaghetti (C. maxima)
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‘Pasta Hybrid’
 ‘Vegetable Spaghetti’
Turk’s Turban (C. maxima)
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Green, turban-shaped, striped with
red, white, & orange.
Pests-Squash Bugs
http://www.ca.uky.edu
• Attack all cucurbits, squash preferred
• Eggs laid on underside leaf in
characteristic V-shape
• Adults overwinter in crop debris
• Management difficult:
-destroying eggs best
-adults will gather under boards
-vacuum up adults
-resistant squash varieties
http://www.vegedge.umn.edu
Melon
(Cucumis melo & Citrullus lanatus)
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Warm season,
herbaceous annual
May be determinate
or indeterminate
Melons can only
cross pollinate with
members of the
same species
Plants are monoecious
May self- or cross- pollinate
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/464810982_e5172c2d66.jpg
Melon Culture
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Warm temps & sunny
weather produces sweet fruit
Best grown on mulch
Bees essential for good fruit
set
Only allow 1-2 fruits to
develop per watermelon
plant for best quality
Diseases-Powdery Mildew
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Major disease of cucurbits
Caused by wind borne fungus
Spreads quickly in conducive conditions
Scout plants frequently, treat immediately
(sulfur, Kocide)
• Plant resistant varieties
http://www.umassvegetable.org/soil_crop_pest_mgt/disease_mgt/squash_winter_powdery_mildew.html
Harvesting Melons
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Harvest muskmelons
at full-slip. 30-35 days
after pollination
Observe the “ground
patch” (couche) on
watermelon to
determine when to
harvest – it will
become white to
creamy yellow
…or look at the tendril
opposite the
watermelon fruit
Melon Cultivars
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Melons (other)
 ‘Casaba, Golden
Beauty’
 ‘Crenshaw, Early
Hybrid’
 ‘Honey Dew,
Venus’
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Watermelon
 ‘Black Diamond’
 ‘Crimson Sweet’
 ‘Bush Sugar
Baby’
 ‘Moon & Stars’
Cool Season Vegetables: Family Ties
Allium Family (Alliacae): Onions, Garlic, Leeks
Sunflower Family (Asteraceae): Lettuce
Parsley Family (Umbelliferae): Carrots, Celery
Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae): Spinach, Beets,
Chard
Mustard Family (Cruciferae): Broccoli, Cauliflower,
Cabbage, Turnips, Collards, Kale
Cool Season Vegetables – Planting Guide for NM Area 2
(Albuquerque, Santa Fe)
Vegetable Crop
Beets
Broccoli
Carrots
Chard, Swiss
Lettuce, Leaf
Onions
Spinach
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov Dec
Cool-Season Vegetables
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Highly or somewhat frost tolerant
Seeds germinate at cool soil temperatures
Tend to have shallow root systems
Greater response to N and P application
Bolting (seed stalk development) may be a
concern
Cool-season Vegetables
• Many develop superior flavor and quality
when they mature in cooler weather (example:
broccoli)
• Flavor is improved with frost: cabbage, kale,
kohlrabi, carrots, chard, turnip
• Lettuce and spinach tend to bolt and develop
bitter flavor when maturing in hot weather
• Lettuce and spinach seed will not germinate if
soil temp is >85oF
Bolting
• Development of a seed stalk, or premature
production of seed in a vegetable crop
• Many vegetable crops become unusable after
bolting
• Triggered by:
-a cold spell (vernalization),
or
-changes in day length
(photoperiod)
Bolting
• Annual crops sensitive to photoperiod: lettuce,
radish, and spinach
-May bolt when day length increases
• Biennial crops sensitive to vernalization:
onions, leeks, carrots, beets
-Produce large storage organ during 1st year in
preparation for seed the 2nd year
-May bolt with uneven temps early in season
Bolting Prevention
• Once triggered, the bolting process can’t be
stopped
• Delay planting until temperatures are more
stable for cold-sensitive crops (ie. turnips,
Swiss chard)
• Plant in optimum window for your area
• Plant ‘bolting resistant’ varieties
Allium Family (Alliacae)
• Onions
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Monocots
Onion Culture
• Tolerant to frost or light freeze
• Shallow roots; water frequently
• Control weeds; Alliums don’t compete well
Onions (Allium cepa)
• Valued for their pungent, distinctive flavor
• Native to southern Asia
• Fleshy, basal plate main
portion consumed
• Biennial grown as
an annual crop
Onion Culture
Day length critical to bulb formation:
Short-day: require 10-11 hour days
Intermediate-day: require 11-12 hour days
Long-day: require more than 12 hour days
• Usually started as seed for fall planting
• Fall planting window, Area 1: Oct 1 -15
Onion Culture
• Harvest
– May through August
– Depends on variety
– Seed vs. transplants
• Harvest when leaves begin
to turn yellow and lodge
• Bolting may occur
with cool spring temps
-Plant resistant varieties
http://www.allotmentgirls.co.uk/files/images/onion.jpg
Onion Disorders in the Southwest
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Pink Root
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Fusarium Basal Rot
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Botrytis Neck Rot
Iris Yellow Spot Virus (IYSV)
• Viral Disease
• Vectored by Onion
Thrips