Text 4. Handling started seedlings

From the time vegetables and flowers emerge from their potting soil in March until they are safely in the garden many weeks later, they need the most delicate and careful attention. Poor handling of started seedlings can set them back so far they are not worth planting, and that means wasted time, work and money. Proper handling gets them off to a vigorous start, and that means harvests that are early and big.

Light

Did you know that seedlings need more intense light that mature plants? The results of insufficient light become painfully obvious, usually within a week. The stem of the seedling will grow tall but weak, with large spaces between the leaves, and it will lean in the direction of available light. Ideally, seedling plants should receive 14 to 16 hours of direct sun or bright light each day, either from the sun (at a window or in a greenhouse) or from fluorescent lights - or a combination of the two.

If you have started plants early while days are still short, you can shift them from the morning windowsill to a lighting arrangement for the evening hours. Some sort of greenhouse, sun-pit or solar room is less energy - expensive that a bank of electric lights, but often a bit trickier for the average gardener to arrange. We still use fluorescent lights, but we're reading all the information we can get about solar greenhouses.

Oversupplying a plant with light is self-defeating, though. While plant species vary in the amount of light they require, most plants need at least five hours of darkness in each 24 hours, during which they convert stored carbohydrates into a form their tissues can absorb.

When raising seedlings under lights, we keep the foliage of well-started seedlings no more than three of four inches away from the tubes. If your light fixtures are not adjustable, you can use egg cartons, piles of magazines or other household flotsam to elevate the flats to the correct height.

Nourishment

Young seedlings, still growing on the food stored in the seed, need no extra nourishment until their true leaves emerge. But once the seedling has been transplanted and is growing well with its second set of true leaves, it must have either good, rich soil or periodic feeding. The soil mix we favor is made according to Thalassa Caruso's recipe: Equal parts of: (1) leaf mold, good garden soil or purchased potting soil, (2) shredded sphagnum or peat moss, and (3)perlite (expanded volcanic rock) or sharp sand.

Generally, we give our future vegetable plants a feeding of diluted fish emulsion (follow label directions) the week after transplanting and every two weeks thereafter until we set them out in the garden. The fish emulsion is easy to use, and it is a natural source of vital elements and trace minerals.

It is important to avoid fertilizing the plants too early or too often. If your plants leaves look green and sturdy and are not few and far between, you've hit the right schedule. Heavier feeders like lettuce and cabbage require more frequent feeding than peppers or onions. Plants that receive fertilizer need plenty of light in order to make good use of the extra growth stimulation.

Text 5. TOMATO

Tomato may refer to both the plant (Solanum lycopersicum) and the edible, typically red, fruit which it produces. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler climates.

The tomato fruit is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes and sauces, and in drinks. Botanically tomato is a fruit, but in everyday life it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes. The fruit is rich in lycopene, which may have beneficial health effects. When absorbed from the stomach, lycopene is transported in the blood by various lipoproteins and accumulates in the liver, adrenal glands, and testes. As preliminary research has shown a correlation between consumption of tomatoes and cancer risk, lycopene has been considered a potential agent for prevention of some types of cancers.

The tomato belongs to the nightshade family. The plants typically grow to 1–3 meters in height and have a weak stem that often sprawls over the ground and vines over other plants. It is a perennial in its native habitat, although often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual. Early and cool-summer tomato varieties bear fruits even where nights are cool, which usually discourages fruit set. There are also varieties high in beta carotenes and vitamin A, and tomatoes which can be kept for months in storage. Tomatoes grow well with seven hours of sunlight a day. A fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 5-10-10 is often sold as a tomato fertilizer or vegetable fertilizer, although manure and compost are also used.

There are around 7,500 tomato varieties grown for various purposes. Heirloom (varietal) tomatoes are becoming increasingly popular, particularly among home gardeners and organic producers, since they tend to produce more interesting and flavorful crops at the cost of disease resistance and productivity.

Hybrid plants remain common, since they tend to be heavier producers, and sometimes combine unusual characteristics of heirloom tomatoes with the endurance of conventional commercial tomatoes.

Tomato varieties are roughly divided into several categories, based mostly on shape and size.

"Slicing" or "globe" tomatoes are the usual tomatoes for industry use and fresh market, used for a wide variety of processing and fresh eating.

Beefsteak tomatoes are large tomatoes often used for sandwiches. Their kidney-bean shape, thinner skin, and shorter shelf life make commercial use impractical.

Oxheart tomatoes can range in size up to beefsteaks, and are shaped like large strawberries.

Plum tomatoes, or paste tomatoes (including pear tomatoes), are bred with a higher solids content for use in tomato sauce and paste, and are usually oblong.

Pear tomatoes are obviously pear-shaped, and are based upon the San Marzano types for a richer gourmet paste.

Cherry tomatoes are small and round, often sweet tomatoes generally eaten whole in salads.

Grape tomatoes, a more recent introduction, are smaller and oblong, a variation on plum tomatoes, and used in salads.

Campari tomatoes are also sweet and noted for their juiciness, low acidity, and lack of mealiness. They are bigger than cherry tomatoes, but smaller than plum tomatoes.

Text 6. POTATO STORAGE

Storage facilities need to be carefully designed to keep the potatoes alive and slow the natural process of decomposition, which involves the breakdown of starch. It is crucial that the storage area is dark, well ventilated and for long-term storage maintained at temperatures near 4 °C. For short-term storage before cooking, temperatures of about 7 °C to 10 °C are preferred.

On the other hand, temperatures below 4 °C convert a starch in potatoes into sugar, which alters their taste and cooking qualities and leads to higher acrylamide levels in the cooked product, especially in deep-fried dishes — the discovery of acrylamides in starchy foods in 2002 has led to many international health concerns as they are believed to be possible carcinogens and their occurrence in cooked foods are currently under study as possible influences in potential health problems.

Under optimum conditions possible in commercial warehouses, potatoes can be stored for up to ten to twelve months. When stored in homes, the shelf life is usually only a few weeks. If potatoes develop green areas or start to sprout, these areas should be cut before using.

Commercial storage of potatoes involves several phases: drying of surface moisture; a wound healing phase at 85% to 95% relative humidity and temperatures below 25 °C; a staged cooling phase; a holding phase; and a reconditioning phase, during which the tubers are slowly warmed. Mechanical ventilation is used at various points during the process to prevent condensation and accumulation of carbon dioxide.

When stored at home, mature potatoes are optimally kept at room temperature, where they last 1 to 2 weeks in a paper bag, in a dry, cool, dark, well ventilated location. If mature potatoes are refrigerated, dark spots can occur and conversion of starch into sugar can give rise to an unpleasant sweet flavour when cooked. Only new potatoes can be refrigerated, and should be kept so, where they have a shelf life of 1 week. If kept in a too warm temperature, both mature and new potatoes will sprout and shrivel. Exposure to light causes them to turn green. Also, it is interesting to know that potatoes absorb odors produced by pears.

Text 7. TYPES OF TOMATOES

Tomatoes are commonly classified as determinate or indeterminate. Determinate, or bush, types bear a full crop all at once and top off at a specific height; they are often good choices for container growing. Determinate types are preferred by commercial growers who wish to harvest a whole field at one time, or home growers interested in canning. Indeterminate varieties develop into vines that never top off and continue producing until killed by frost. They are preferred by home growers and local-market farmers who want ripe fruit throughout the season. As an intermediate form, there are plants sometimes known as vigorous determinate or semi-determinate; these top off like determinates, but produce a second crop after the initial crop. The majority of heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate, although some determinate heirlooms exist.

Most modern tomato cultivars are smooth surfaced, but some older tomato cultivars and most modern beefsteaks often show pronounced ribbing, a feature that may have been common to virtually all pre-Columbian cultivars. While virtually all commercial tomato varieties are red, some cultivars – especially heirlooms ― produce fruit in other colors, including green, yellow, orange, pink, black, brown, ivory, white, and purple. Such fruit are not widely available in grocery stores, nor are their seedlings available in typical nurseries, but they can be bought as seed. Less common variations include fruit with stripes (Green Zebra), fuzzy skin on the fruit (Fuzzy Peach, Red Boar), multiple colors (Hillbilly, Burracker's Favorite, Lucky Cross), etc.

There is also a considerable gap between commercial and home-gardener cultivars; home cultivars are often bred for flavor to the exclusion of all other qualities, while commercial cultivars are bred for such factors as consistent size and shape, disease and pest resistance, suitability for mechanized picking and shipping, and ability to be picked before fully ripening.

 

Text 8. KEEPING THE SEEDS

To keep seeds is to prevent germination and at the same time to preserve the life of the seeds. Seeds should be thoroughly ripe and dry before they are stored. Those of pulpy fruits are removed and cleaned. If the seed-vessels are dry and hard, seeds may be left in them till sowing time, but usually they are removed.

Hard seeds, as of trees and nuts, may be buried, that is, mixed with earth exposed to frost or to moisture for a considerable time. Most seeds, however, are stored dry in paper bags or boxes in a cool dry room. The receptacles should be tight to keep out weevils; if there are any signs of bug work, a little bisulfide of carbon may be poured in the receptacle, and the vapor of it will destroy animal life. This material is inflammable, and it should be kept away from flames. If seeds at storing time are moist and the weather is damp, they may be lightly kiln-dried before put away for winter.

The influence that light exerts on germination is not definitely understood for all horticultural seeds. It is known, however, that seeds will often germinate in full sunlight, if the proper conditions of moisture and temperature can be maintained. Seeds sown on a moist surface and covered with a grass present an interesting study. They may have difficulty in getting a foodhold, and they present peculiar reactions to light.

It is well known, on the other hand, that some seeds will not germinate, or will at least appear unevenly, if subjected to sunlight. At least some of the delphiniums and Adonises germinate very imperfectly, if at all, in direct light. It is always advisable to keep germinating seeds in shade or partial darkness. Of course, the soil itself is sufficient protection if the seeds are covered.

Text 9. NEMATODES

Nematodes are small parasitic roundworms about one – sixty-fourth to one-eighth inch long. They live in the soil and usually move into the plant through the roots. Underground parts are more apt to be infected, but the infection of stems, leaves, and flower parts is fairly common. The nematodes that attack alfalfa live mainly in the plant tissue and suck juices from the cells. Alfalfa may be attacked by the root- knot nematode, the dagger nematode, or the stem nematode. Nematode damage in alfalfa has been a serious problem in Nevada, Utah and California.

Plants infected with the root – knot nematode develop galls or knot like growths on the roots. Severe infections cause the roots to become thickened, rough, and club like. Considerable rotting may occur, especially late in the season. The formation of nodules by nitrogen-fixing bacteria on alfalfa and other legume roots should not be confused with the galls and knot like growths caused by nematodes. Plants infected with stem nematodes may have swollen stem and buds, shortened internodes, and deformed leaves or other plant parts.

 

Text 10. VERTICILLIUM WILT

Verticillium wilt is a relatively new disease of alfalfa in the United States. It is considered to be a serious disease in Europe where it has been known since 1918. It was first discovered in the United States in the Pacific Northwest in1976 and was positively identified in Wisconsin in 1980. The disease is caused by a fungus that invades the vascular system of the plants and reduces the flow of water and mineral nutrients to the leaves. Early symptoms are temporary wilting of upper leaves on warm days and a yellow or pinkish- orange discoloration on some leaflets. Chlorotic, V-shaped lesions extend from the leaflet tip down the midrib. The leaflets soon become yellow, bleached, desiccated, and twisted. They are early detached from the stem, which often remains erect and green long after all the leaves have died. A key characteristic of verticillium wilt is that not all plants in a stand are affected, and within an infected plant only one to a few of the shoots shows the symptoms during the early stages. Later, as diseased plants and shoots become more prevalent, the more seriously affected plants also are stunted.