The Vegetable Garden

Well-rotted manure can be dug into the soil or spread over it as a mulch, especially if it contains plenty of straw. Don t let it touch living plant stems. The main use for manures is in the vegetable garden, on hungry crops such as potatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, squashes, tomatoes, and brassicas. They also make a good topdressing for roses that are pruned hard every year, and for herbaceous plants, applied every two or three years. 

Vilmorin-Andrieux, M. M. 1885. The Vegetable Garden. London John Murray. (Reprint 1976)... 

Robinson, W., The Vegetable Garden by Vilmorin-Andriewc, J. Murray, London, 1920. 

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN, 11618 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, "B 301-468-9301 www.thevegetablegarden.com. Price . Chinese, 100% meatless, vegan options, organic produce. Hours Open daily, ll 30am-10pm. 

The Vegetable Garden s Web site (www.thevegetablegarden.com) includes the restaurant s philosophy, menu, and a list of common ingredients. You ll also find a schedule of special cooking classes run by the head chef. 

Any monoculture creates a pest and disease paradise, so it is worth growing a diversity of plants where possible—in all parts of the garden, not just the vegetable patch. Mixed planting can be effective and attractive, and if particular combinations work in your garden, stick with them. What works in one situation may not be effective in another. 

Edible landscaping offers the creative gardener the opportunity to try out all sorts of unusual planting combinations. Vegetables may be chosen for color, leaf shape and texture, and overall form, and as visual statements. They can be trained up screens, trellises, or other plants... 

The beet family is botanically named the Chenopodiaceae, or goosefoot family. As well as the crops below, it includes the grain quinoa, and several "edible weeds" such as fat hen, which loves the fertile soil in a vegetable garden. 

Leafy herbs such as parsley, chervil, cilantro, summer savory, and dill all enjoy the slightly richer soil found in a vegetable garden. These types of herbs are best sown direct in the spring once the soil is warm enough. 

Plant supports can be an important part of the organic garden. They make plants easier to tend and harvest and extend the harvest season. More importantly, supported vegetable plants have fewer disease and insect problems because of improved air circulation and less contact with wet, disease-infested soil. 

Several commercial brands of soap are especially formulated and labeled for use on garden vegetables. Some of these may be mixed with other pesticides to increase the effectiveness of both. Commercially labeled soaps are the only soaps recommended for use in the home garden. Be sure to use them only as recommended on the label. 

---