Growing Broccoli & Cauliflower in the Home Garden

Broccoli & cauliflower are 2 popular garden vegetables belonging to the cabbage or cole family. Other commonly grown cole crops include:

• brussels sprouts
• collards
• kale
• kohlrabi
• cabbage

These vegetables go a long way to add variety & nutrition to the family diet.

Climatic Requirements

Cole crops are cool weather vegetables, growing best when daytime temperatures are between 65 & 80 F. Cauliflower is more sensitive to hot weather than broccoli. In Ohio, broccoli is grown as a spring & fall crop, while cauliflower does best when planted in mid-summer for a fall harvest.

Both broccoli & cauliflower do best when set out as transplants rather than planted from seed. It is important to use sturdy transplants & that they become established quickly or the plants may not develop properly.

Suggested Cultivars

Broccoli

For good side shoot production after harvest of the main head, try Green Comet & Packman. Two other excellent cultivars for the home garden are Green Hornet & Premium Crop.

Cauliflower

Snow Crown, Snow King, Snowball 123, & Imperial 10-6 are good cultivars for the home garden. Also, try Self-Blanche using a 12" spacing for support & effective blanching.

Violet Queen is a purple-headed cultivar that doesn't require blanching.

Planting Suggestions

All cole crops are frost tolerant. Broccoli transplants may be set out in the garden as early as April 1. For a fall cauliflower crop, set out transplants on July 1.

Broccoli may be spaced 18" apart in the row with 24" between rows. Cauliflower requires a little more room. Set cauliflower plants 24" apart in the row with 30" between rows.

As cauliflower plants begin to mature & the head or curd starts to form, gather together & tie the leaves over the curd with soft twine or tape. This "blanching" is required to ensure the curd will be white & tender at harvest. There are some 'self-blanching' types available where the leaves curl naturally over the head when grown in cool weather. However, some tying of the leaves may still be necessary.

An even moisture supply is needed for transplants to become established & to produce good heads. As mentioned earlier, an organic mulch will help keep soils cool & moist & suppress weed growth.

Hand-pull or use shallow cultivation if additional weed control becomes necessary. Apply 1 to 1.5" of water per week if an equal amount of rainfall does not occur. An additional side dressing of a nitrogen fertilizer when the plants are well-established may be desirable.

Principle insect & disease problems are the cabbage looper & imported cabbage worm, cabbage root maggot, aphids, flea beetles, blackleg, black rot, clubroot & yellows. 

Soil Requirements

All of the cole crops grow well in reasonably fertile, well-drained, moist soils with plenty of added organic matter. A mulch will help keep the ground cool & moist.

The pH should be between 6.0 & 7.0 for optimum growth. A pH within this range will discourage clubroot disease & maximize nutrient availability.

Fertilizers

Fertilizer & lime are best applied using the results of a soil test as a guide. Contact your local Cooperative Extension office for information on soil testing.

In the absence of a soil test, 2 - 3 pounds of 8-16-16 fertilizer applied uniformly over 100 square feet of garden area is suggested.

Work the fertilizer thoroughly into the soil about 2 weeks before planting time.

A liquid starter fertilizer applied to the transplants at time of planting will help get them off to a good start. Apply a half pint of a 20-20-20 or similar solution to each plant, preparing the fertilizer according to label directions.

Harvesting & Handling

Harvest the center green flower bud cluster of broccoli while the buds are still tight & before any yellow petals begin to show.

Cut the central stem 5-6" below the head. Many cultivars will continue producing bonus side shoots as long as a few leaves are left on the plant.

This can extend the harvest period for a month or more. Green Comet, an All-American Selection, is a good producer of side shoots.

The cauliflower curd, like the broccoli head, is actually a group of tightly clustered white or purple flower buds. Harvest the curd when it reaches the desired size but before the buds begin to separate. This is about 2 months after transplanting. Cut the head so that at least 2 wrapper leaves are present.

Growing Lettuce in the Home Garden

HYG-1610-92

Marianne Riofrio

An ever-expanding selection of greens for salads in the supermarket, as well as salad bars popping up in nearly every restaurant, is a reflection of the new health-conscious eating habits sweeping the United States. Several types of lettuce can be grown in the home garden adding variety, texture and color to the family diet.

Lettuce varieties can be loosely categorized into four groups: crisphead, butterhead, leaf, and romaine or cos. Each group has its own growth and taste characteristics.

Types of Lettuce

Crisphead lettuce is probably the most familiar of the four. It is characterized by a tight, firm head of crisp, light-green leaves. In general, crisphead lettuce is intolerant of hot weather, readily bolting or sending up a flower stalk under hot summer conditions. For this reason, plus the long growing period required, it is the most difficult of the lettuces to grow in the home garden.

The butterhead types have smaller, softer heads of loosely folded leaves. The outer leaves may be green or brownish with cream or butter colored inner leaves. There are several cultivars available that will do well in Ohio gardens.

Leaf lettuce has an open growth and does not form a head. Leaf form and color varies considerably. Some cultivars are frilled and crinkled and others deeply lobed. Color ranges from light green to red and bronze. Leaf lettuce matures quickly and is the easiest to grow.

Romaine or cos lettuces form upright, cylindrical heads of tightly folded leaves. The plants may reach up to 10 inches in height. The outer leaves are medium green with greenish white inner leaves. This is the sweeter of the four types.

Suggested Cultivars

Crisphead

• Mesa 659 (fall), Ithaca

Butterhead

• Bibb
• Salad Bibb
• Summer Bibb
• Buttercrunch
• Tania
• Tom
• Thumb (miniature)

Leaf

• Salad Bowl
• Grand Rapids
• Black Seeded Simpson
• Slobolt
• Oakleaf
• Green Ice
• Prizehead
• Red Sails
• Lollo Rosso
• Ruby
• Red Fire

Romaine

• Valmaine
• Parris Island Cos

Climatic Requirements

Lettuce is a cool-season vegetable and develops best quality when grown under cool, moist conditions. Lettuce seedlings will tolerate a light frost. Temperatures between 45 F and 65 F are ideal. Such conditions usually prevail in Ohio in spring and fall. Seeds of leaf lettuce are usually planted in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked. Butterhead and romaine can be grown from either seeds or transplants. Due to its long-growing season, crisphead lettuce is grown from transplants. Transplants may be purchased or started indoors about six weeks before the preferred planting date.

Soil Requirements

Lettuce can be grown under a wide range of soils. Loose, fertile, sandy loam soils, well-supplied with organic matter are best. The soil should be well-drained, moist, but not soggy. Heavy soils can be modified with well-rotted manure, compost, or by growing a cover crop. Like most other garden vegetables, lettuce prefers a slightly acidic pH of 6.0 to 6.5.

Cultural Practices

Since lettuce seed is very small, a well-prepared seedbed is essential. Large clods will not allow proper seed-to-soil contact, reducing germination. Lettuce does not have an extensive root system so an adequate supply of moisture and nutrients is also necessary for proper development.

Fertilizer and lime recommendations should be based on the results of a soil test. Contact your local Cooperative Extension office for information on soil testing. As a general rule, however, apply and work into the soil three to four pounds of 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet of garden area.

Seed may be sown in single rows or broadcast for wide row planting. Wide rows should be 12 to 15 inches across. Cover the seeds with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of soil. Water carefully but thoroughly. Several successive plantings of leaf lettuce will provide a more continuous harvest throughout the growing season. Leave 18 inches between the rows for leaf lettuce, and 24 inches for the other types. To achieve proper spacing of plants, thinning of lettuce seedlings is usually necessary. Thin plants of leaf lettuce four to six inches or more between plants depending on plant size. Butterhead and romaine should be thinned six to ten inches between plants. Finally, crisphead transplants should be spaced 10 to 12 inches apart in the row.

An organic mulch will help conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and keep soil temperatures cool. If weeds do become a problem, either pull by hand or cultivate very shallowly to avoid damage to lettuce roots. Planning your garden so that lettuce will be in the shade of taller plants, such as tomatoes or sweet corn, in the heat of the summer, may reduce bolting.

Insect pests and diseases can occasionally cause problems on lettuce. For proper identification and control recommendation, contact your local Cooperative Extension office.

Harvesting

All lettuce types should be harvested when full size but young and tender. Over-mature lettuce is bitter and woody. Leaf lettuce is harvested by removing individual outer leaves so that the center leaves can continue to grow. Butterhead or romaine types can be harvested by removing the outer leaves, digging up the whole plant or cutting the plant about an inch above the soil surface. A second harvest is often possible this way. Crisphead lettuce is picked when the center is firm.

The author gratefully acknowledges James D. Utzinger, on whose original fact sheet this is based.

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.

TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868

Growing Peppers in the Home Garden

HYG-1618-92

Marianne Riofrio

Many different types of peppers can be grown in Ohio vegetable gardens. The most popular peppers are the sweet bell and banana types, and the pungent Hungarian wax types. Peppers are normally harvested in the immature green stage for use in relishes, salads, for stuffing, and for flavor in many cooked dishes.

The garden pepper, often mistakenly called mango, is unrelated to the spice pepper plant that produces the ground black pepper commonly found on American tables. The mango is a tropical fruit unrelated to either type of pepper. Peppers grown in various parts of the world are used for making such products as paprika, hot sauces, pickles, and stuffed olives.

Climatic Requirements

As peppers are of tropical origin, plants thrive best when temperatures are warm. Being sensitive to the cold, planting should be delayed until the danger of frost is past in the spring. Ideal temperatures are 70 to 80 degrees F during the day, and 60 to 70 degrees F at night.

Extremely high temperatures (90 degrees F or above) during flowering often results in blossom drop. Fruit that set when temperatures average above 80 degrees F may be small and poorly shaped due to heat injury to the blossoms. Temperatures below 60 degrees F at night will also result in blossom drop.

A shortage of water at bloom time can also result in blossom drop or failure to set fruit. Usually, the plants set satisfactory crops when temperatures are between 65 and 80 degrees F and the soil is well-supplied with moisture. Avoid a soggy, water-logged soil condition when growing peppers.

Soil Requirements

Pepper plants grow best in warm, well-drained soils of moderate fertility and good tilth. The plants are not particularly sensitive to soil acidity, but best results are obtained in the 6.0 to 6.8 pH range. Adjust soil fertility as indicated by soil test results. Arrangements for soil testing can be made through your local Cooperative Extension office. Fertilizers of a 1-2-2 ratio, such as 5-10-10 or 8-16-16 are often used for growing peppers.

Suggested Varieties

The choice of variety is important and depends on the gardener's preference. In addition to the standard varieties, many excellent hybrids are available. Some suggested varieties for Ohio gardens are as follows:

• Green (sweet) - Big Bertha, California Wonder, Yolo Wonder strains, Keystone Resistant Giant, North Star, Staddon's Select, Canape, Lady Bell, Jupiter, Bell Boy
• Yellow (sweet) - Summer Sweet 860 (green turning yellow)
• Banana Type - Sweet Banana
• Hot Type - Hungarian Wax, Long Red Cayenne, Large Red Cherry
• Pimento - Sunnybrook, Early Pimento

Establishing the Planting

Peppers are usually grown in Ohio home gardens by using transplants rather than by direct seeding. If you are buying transplants at a local garden center, select stocky, sturdy plants that have 3-5 sets of true leaves. Avoid plants that already have flowers and fruit.

Space plants 18 inches apart in rows 24 inches apart or more, depending on the type of cultivation used. Water plants thoroughly after transplanting. Avoid planting under conditions that will stunt the plants and lead to poor production, such as cold weather, lack of sufficient soil moisture, or lack of sufficient fertilizer.

Cultural Practices

After the plants are well established, apply a mulch to conserve soil moisture, prevent soil compaction and help suppress weed growth.

Once fruits have begun to set, an additional sidedressing of fertilizer will help promote greater plant productivity. Use a 12-12-12 analysis fertilizer or other high nitrogen fertilizer at the rate recommended on the package.

Control weeds by hand-pulling or shallow cultivation to avoid injury to the plant roots. The incidence of disease can be reduced by proper spacing and by watering early in the day so leaves dry quickly or by using soaker hoses.

Aphids should be controlled as they may carry viral diseases that can affect peppers. European Corn Borers may make small holes near the stem of the pepper and cause internal rot of the fruit. Contact your Cooperative Extension office for the latest control recommendations.

Harvesting and Storage

Bell peppers are usually picked green and immature but when they are full-sized and firm. However, if they are allowed to ripen on the plant they will be sweeter and higher in vitamin content. Other peppers are usually harvested at full maturity.

Care should be taken when breaking the peppers from the plants, as the branches are often brittle. Hand clippers or pruners can be used to cut peppers from the plant to avoid excessive stem breakage. The number of peppers per plant varies with the variety. Bell pepper plants may produce 6 to 8 or more fruit per plant.

In general, peppers have short storage life of only one to two weeks. Cool, moist conditions (45 to 50 degrees F) and 85 to 90 percent relative humidity are the ideal storage conditions for peppers.

The authors gratefully acknowledge J.D. Utzinger and W.M. Brooks for their 1984 fact sheet on which this is based.

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.

TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1618.html