A-Z Vegetable Gardening in Arkansas

Arkansas soils range from coarse sands to heavy clays.  Each presents a special situation to the gardener.  The type of soil is an important consideration if there is a choice.

• Sandy loam or loam soils are well adapted to vegetable production.  Although sandy soils are quite workable, they do not hold water or fertilizer nutrients as well as clay soils.  Adding large amounts of organic matter such as organic compost and manures will greatly improve the nutrient and water holding ability of these soils.
   

• Vegetables may be grown on heavier soils if they are well-drained.  Heavier soils have clay particles which are smaller than sand and become quite hard. They are usually productive if managed properly. 
  
  Amendments such as sand, finely ground bark, gypsum, vermiculite or perlite, composted organic matter and organic mulching can be added to clay soil to improve soil conditions and provide more air spaces for roots. 

How to...

Small garden plots can be prepared for planting by using a spade, shovel or spading fork to turn the soil.  Turn the soil to a depth of 6 to 7 inches.  Use a small tractor or garden tiller for larger gardens. 

Do not spade, till, plow or cultivate soil when it is too wet.  Pick up a handful of soil and squeeze it.  If the dirt sticks together and will not crumble after squeezing, wait until it is drier.

All litter or trash on the soil surface should be completely covered or worked into the soil when the ground is turned. Excessive trash in the upper soil level interferes with final seedbed preparation and later cultivations.  This is a good time to add compost and soil amendments such as agricultural lime.

Establish a smooth, level surface by raking or harrowing as soon as possible after turning.  This helps compact the soil, breaks up clods and leaves a smooth surface for seeding.  Soil left in rough condition for several days after turning may dry out and form hard clods, making it much more difficult to prepare a good seedbed.  Small seeds germinate poorly in loose soil with clods, and growth of the seedlings may be slow and weak. 

Compost enhances the physical properties of the soil and improves the soil's tilth.  Some benefits of compost include:

• Increases the soil's water and nutrient holding capacity.

• Aerates the soil.

• Aids in keeping roots warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Find more information at the Yard & Garden | Vegetables | Compost webpage.

How to...

Apply composted organic matter and organic mulching materials freely each year since organic matter content is difficult to maintain.  Use as much as 2,000 lbs. of rotted compost for each 1,000 square feet of area (approximately six inches or more).

Organic matter that is not well composted can be very harmful since the rotting materials will compete for nutrients with the growing plants.

Avoid applications of saw dust.  Saw dust ties up nitrogen, reduces soil aeration, and can make plants more susceptible to diseases.

 

Do I need fertilizer in my garden?

Most garden soils in Arkansas need to be supplied with plant food.  A garden soil may be too acidic for normal plant growth. A pH level ranging from 5.8 to 6.8 would be satisfactory for most vegetable crops. A soil test will show whether or not lime may be needed to correct soil acidity.  A soil test will also determine the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium in the garden soil. Your county Extension agent will have information on this procedure. After the soil test is made, the county Extension agent will recommend the amount and kind of fertilizer that your garden soil needs.

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are generally the food elements most needed in garden soils. Calcium may be needed as a plant food and to correct pH or acidity levels. Minor elements are usually sufficient for normal growth, although boron, magnesium and manganese may be below normal levels in some soils. 

What can I use for fertilizer?

Commercial fertilizer, animal manures, chicken litter, compost or decomposed organic matter can be used to provide plant nutrients for growing crops.

Commercial fertilizer may contain only nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium, or all three in various combinations. If a soil test is not available, use a mixed fertilizer such as 12-12-12 (12% nitrogen, 12% phosphorus and 12% potassium) or 12-20-20. Additional nitrogen may be needed and can be supplied by applying nitrate of soda, ammonium nitrate, or urea.

Some commercial fertilizers, in addition to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, may contain small amounts of various minor elements.

How to...

Where a soil test has not been made, apply 6-8 lbs. of a mixed fertilizer per 100 feet of row or 300 square feet. For most crops, additional nitrogen as side or top dressing may be made one or more times, using 1 lb. of ammonium nitrate or 2 lbs. of nitrate of soda per 100 feet of row.

Damaging vegetable plants by using excessive amounts of fertilizer is possible. Such damage can occur from the seedling stage to full plant development.

Apply mixed fertilizer broadcast or under the row. Under the row applications may be done by opening a furrow 3-4 in. deep, placing the fertilizer in the bottom of the furrow, mixing it with the soil, and then leveling or filling in the furrow. Or, the fertilizer could be placed in bands at one or both sides of the row. Apply mixed fertilizer ten days to two weeks before planting seed or setting plants.

Make broadcast fertilizer applications on the garden soil after spading or plowing, then work into the soil as the ground is raked and leveled.

 

Feed the garden by using cover crops also known as "green manure."  Cover crops are a valuable tool for improving the garden soil by returning large amounts of biomass to the soil and adding needed nutrients.

Warm season cover crops include buckwheat, southern peas, and sudan grass.  These can be planted between spring and fall crops.  Mow these crops down and till them into the soil before they go to seed or you may see them return when you plant your vegetables.

Cool season cover crops are more varied:

• Grasses - oats, wheat, and rye - grow quickly and produce large amounts of biomass.
• Legumes - winter peas, and vetch - can return significant amounts of nitrogen to the soil.
• Crucifers - turnips and forage radishes - improve the soil and help prevent soil erosion.  The added benefit of turnips is that you get roots and greens to eat until they are tilled back into the soil.

The use of transplants shortens the period to harvest and allows the gardener to complete a crop before it gets too hot or cold. 

     •  In the spring we often go from too cold to too hot for plants such as tomatoes.  Transplants will grow in soil that is too cool for seed to germinate. 

     •  In the fall we may use transplants because of delays caused by summer crops not being mature when cool season crops need to be planted. 

How to...

Choose quality transplants with good root volume.

Starter solution helps plants grow quickly by providing nutrients to the plant quickly.  Make a solution by mixing one tablespoon of a soluble fertilizer such as 10-20-10, in one gallon of water. Pour 1 cup of this solution around each plant as you set it out.

You can grow your own transplants by starting seed three to eight weeks prior to planting in the garden.  Green beans and cucumbers are ready to plant in three weeks, while tomatoes and peppers take six to eight weeks to grow a transplant.

Some vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower should be transplanted as small plants rather than planted as seed.

Always remove plastic, or paper pots from transplants and crack peat pots to allow roots to grow easily and unrestricted into the soil.

How to...

In general, small seed like those of lettuce, mustard, radish or turnip should be planted about 1/4 - 1/2 in. deep.

Large seed such as beans, squash, pumpkin and corn can be planted deeper 1 to 1 1/2 in deep.

Spacing of vegetables will be different with various cultivation methods. Tractors need wide rows. Rows in small gardens may be placed close together since weeding may be done by hand. To assure a good stand, it is often better to plant seed thickly and thin later. However, seed is normally expensive and should not be wasted. Plan carefully and buy only seed that is needed. If seed is left over, put it into a dry container and refrigerate for use later. Gardeners may be successful in using one-year-old seed, but old seed loses strength. Germination tests will not indicate seed strength, which is sometimes called "vigor."

Use of good seed is very important. Buy only from dealers who have a reputation for handling good seed. Saving vegetable seeds grown in Arkansas is not a good practice. Many vegetable diseases are transmitted through seed and planting diseased seed often results in severe losses.

Elevating the plants off the ground helps to improve air circulation around the plant and control plant diseases.  This also makes a much more efficient use of space in the small garden.

Tomatoes and peppers are usually grown with cages or stakes to keep them elevated.

Poles, fencing panels, and towers are used for elevating cucumbers, gourds , squash, small melons, and pole beans.

Some vegetables have a short harvest season. If only one planting is make, these vegetables will be available for a limited time.

Two or three plantings of these crops may be made a week or 10 days apart. This gives a much longer harvesting period.

Some of the crops that have a short harvest period are radishes, leaf lettuce, spinach, bush snap beans, green onions and sweet corn.

A mulch is anything that acts as a barrier between the plant and the soil. 

Mulch can be anything from plastic film or landscape fabric, to newspaper or craft paper. 

Mulches help control loss of moisture from the soil, weeds and plant diseases.

It is often necessary to thin a stand for individual plants to develop satisfactorily. This is especially so of the fine seed crops where a surplus of seed should be planted to obtain a stand. 

Lettuce, onions, and beets should be thinned to allow the remaining plants to grow and properly develop.

Insect control in the vegetable garden requires an integrated effort using, cultural, mechanical and chemical methods of insect control. This is often referred to as IPM.

By knowing the biology of both the host and the pest insect problems can be avoided or reduced.  Sometimes just picking off the eggs or the larvae will control the insects.

 

Gardeners use a number of tools to control both biological and physiological plant diseases.  Like insect control, this is also IPM. 

Cultural methods should always be the first line of defense against diseases.  Genetic resistance, crop rotation, use of mulches , use of cages, and minimizing the time free water is on the plant will help to avoid or control diseases.

Controlling plant diseases during the growing cycle, harvesting at the proper stage, and using the proper storage conditions will allow the gardener to enjoy certain vegetables for many weeks after they are harvested.

 

Weeds compete with vegetable plants for water, sunlight and plant nutrients. Destroy them so that the vegetables develop properly.  Weed control in the vegetable garden requires a coordinated effort using, cultural, mechanical and chemical methods.

• Cover crops and crop rotation will help to prevent the build up of a weed seed population. 

• Mulches are an effective way to prevent the growth of most weeds, except nutsedge.

• Cold, hard, steel the garden hoe is still one of the most effective ways to control weeds.

•  Generally, practice shallow cultivation. After a vegetable plant has obtained good size, many of its roots are in the upper two inches of soil.  Deep cultivation injures roots and decreases growth and yield.