Potatoes

Humans domesticated potatoes in the cool, arid high plateaus of the
Andes where annual rainfall averages 8 to 12 inches. The species
finds our dry summer quite comfortable. Potatoes produce more
calories per unit of land than any other temperate crop. Irrigated
potatoes yield more calories and two to three times as much watery
bulk and indigestible fiber as those grown without irrigation, but
the same variety dry gardened can contain about 30 percent more
protein, far more mineral nutrients, and taste better.

_Sowing date:_ I make two sowings. The first is a good-luck ritual
done religiously on March 17th--St. Patrick's Day. Rain or shine, in
untilled mud or finely worked and deeply fluffed earth, I still
plant 10 or 12 seed potatoes of an early variety. This provides for
summer.

The main sowing waits until frost is unlikely and I can dig the
potato rows at least 12 inches deep with a spading fork, working in
fertilizer as deeply as possible and ending up with a finely
pulverized 24-inch-wide bed. At Elkton, this is usually mid-to late
April. There is no rush to plant. Potato vines are not frost hardy.
If frosted they'll regrow, but being burned back to the ground
lowers the final yield.

_Spacing:_ I presprout my seeds by spreading them out in daylight at
room temperature for a few weeks, and then plant one whole,
sprouting, medium-size potato every 18 inches down the center of the
row. Barely cover the seed potato. At maturity there should be
2[f]1/2 to 3 feet of soil unoccupied with the roots of any other
crop on each side of the row. As the vines emerge, gradually scrape
soil up over them with a hoe. Let the vines grow about 4 inches,
then pull up about 2 inches of cover. Let another 4 inches grow,
then hill up another 2 inches. Continue doing this until the vines
begin blooming. At that point there should be a mound of loose,
fluffy soil about 12 to 16 inches high gradually filling with tubers
lushly covered with blooming vines.

_Irrigation:_ Not necessary. In fact, if large water droplets
compact the loose soil you scraped up, that may interfere with
maximum tuber enlargement. However, after the vines are a foot long
or so, foliar feeding every week or 10 days will increase the yield.

_Varieties:_ The water-wise gardener's main potato problem is
too-early maturity, and then premature sprouting in storage. Early
varieties like Yukon Gold--even popular midseason ones like Yellow
Finn--don't keep well unless they're planted late enough to brown
off in late September. That's no problem if they're irrigated. But
planted in late April, earlier varieties will shrivel by August.
Potatoes only keep well when very cool, dark, and moist--conditions
almost impossible to create on the homestead during summer. The best
August compromise is to leave mature potatoes undug, but soil
temperatures are in the 70s during August, and by early October,
when potatoes should be lifted and put into storage, they'll already
be sprouting. Sprouting in October is acceptable for the remainders
of my St. Pat's Day sowing that I am keeping over for seed next
spring. It is not ok for my main winter storage crop. Our climate
requires very late, slow-maturing varieties that can be sown early
but that don't brown off until September. Late types usually yield
more, too.

Most of the seed potato varieties found in garden centers are early
or midseason types chosen by farmers for yield without regard to
flavor or nutrition. One, Nooksack Cascadian, is a very late variety
grown commercially around Bellingham, Washington. Nooksack is pretty
good if you like white, all-purpose potatoes.

There are much better homegarden varieties available in Ronniger's
catalog, all arranged according to maturity. For the ultimate in
earlies I suggest Red Gold. For main harvests I'd try Indian Pit,
Carole, German Butterball, Siberian, or a few experimental row-feet
of any other late variety taking your fancy.

Peppers

Pepper plants on raised beds spaced the usually recommended 16 to 24
inches apart undergo intense root competition even before their
leaves form a canopy. With or without unlimited irrigation, the
plants will get much larger and bear more heavily with elbow room.

_Sowing date:_ Set out transplants at the usual time. Double dig a
few square feet of soil beneath each seedling, and make sure
fertilizer gets incorporated all the way down to 2 feet deep.

_Spacing:_ Three feet apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart.

_Irrigation:_ Without any irrigation only the most vigorous,
small-fruited varieties will set anything. For an abundant harvest,
fertigate every three or four weeks. For the biggest pepper plants
you ever grew, fertigate every two weeks.

_Varieties:_ The small-fruited types, both hot and sweet, have much
more aggressive root systems and generally adapt better to our
region's cool weather. I've had best results with Cayenne Long Slim,
Gypsie, Surefire, Hot Portugal, the "cherries" both sweet and hot,
Italian Sweet, and Petite Sirah.

Peas

This early crop matures without irrigation. Both pole and bush
varieties are planted thickly in single rows about 4 feet apart. I
always overlook some pods, which go on to form mature seed. Without
overhead irrigation, this seed will sprout strongly next year.
Alaska (soup) peas grow the same way.

Parsley

_Sowing date:_ March. Parsley seed takes two to three weeks to
germinate.

_Spacing:_ Thin to 12 inches apart in a single row 4 feet wide. Five
plants should overwhelm the average kitchen.

_Irrigation:_ Not necessary unless yield falls off during summer and
that is very unlikely. Parsley's very deep, foraging root system
resembles that of its relative, the carrot.

_Varieties:_ If you use parsley for greens, variety is not critical,
though the gourmet may note slight differences in flavor or amount
of leaf curl. Another type of parsley is grown for edible roots that
taste much like parsnip. These should have their soil prepared as
carefully as though growing carrots.

Onions/Scallions

The usual spring-sown, summer-grown bulb onions and scallions only
work with abundant irrigation. But the water-short, water-wise
gardener can still supply the kitchen with onions or onion
substitutes year-round. Leeks take care of November through early
April. Overwintered bulb onions handle the rest of the year.
Scallions may also be harvested during winter.

_Sowing date:_ Started too soon, overwintered or short-day bulbing
onions (and sweet scallions) will bolt and form seed instead of
bulbing. Started too late they'll be too small and possibly not
hardy enough to survive winter. About August 15 at Elkton I sow
thickly in a well-watered and very fertile nursery bed. If you have
more than one nursery row, separate them about by 12 inches. Those
who miss this window of opportunity can start transplants in early
October and cover with a cloche immediately after germination, to
accelerate seedling growth during fall and early winter.

Start scallions in a nursery just like overwintered onions, but
earlier so they're large enough for the table during winter, I sow
them about mid-July.

_Spacing:_ When seedlings are about pencil thick (December/January
for overwintering bulb onions), transplant them about 4 or 5 inches
apart in a single row with a couple of feet of elbow room on either
side. I've found I get the best growth and largest bulbs if they
follow potatoes. After the potatoes are dug in early October I
immediately fertilize the area heavily and till, preparing the onion
bed. Klamath Basin farmers usually grow a similar rotation: hay,
potatoes, onions.

Transplant scallions in October with the fall rains, about 1 inch
apart in rows at least 2 feet apart.

_Irrigation:_ Not necessary. However, side-dressing the transplants
will result in much larger bulbs or scallions. Scallions will bolt
in April; the bulbers go tops-down and begin drying down as the soil
naturally dries out.

_Varieties:_ I prefer the sweet and tender Lisbon (TSC) for
scallions. For overwintered bulb onions, grow very mild but poorly
keeping Walla Walla Sweet (JSS), Buffalo (TSC), a better keeper, or
whatever Territorial is selling at present.

Melons

_Sowing date:_ As soon as they'll germinate outdoors: at Elkton, May
15 to June 1. Thin to a single plant per hill when there are about
three true leaves and the vines are beginning to run.

_Spacing:_ Most varieties will grow a vine reaching about 8 feet in
diameter. Space the hills 8 feet apart in all directions.

_Irrigation:_ Fertigation every two to three weeks will increase the
yield by two or three times and may make the melons sweeter. Release
the water/fertilizer mix close to the center of the vine, where the
taproot can use it.

_Varieties:_ Adaptation to our cool climate is critical with melons;
use varieties sold by our regional seed companies. Yellow Doll
watermelons (TSC) are very early and seem the most productive under
the most droughty conditions. I've had reasonable results from most
otherwise regionally adapted cantaloupes and muskmelons. Last year a
new hybrid variety, Passport (TSC), proved several weeks earlier
than I'd ever experienced and was extraordinarily prolific and
tasty.

Water-Wise Cucurbits

The root systems of this family are far more extensive than most
people realize. Usually a taproot goes down several feet and then,
soil conditions permitting, thickly occupies a large area,
ultimately reaching down 5 to 8 feet. Shallow feeder roots also
extend laterally as far as or farther than the vines reach at their
greatest extent.

Dry gardeners can do several things to assist cucurbits. First, make
sure there is absolutely no competition in their root zone. This
means[i]one plant per hill, with the hills separated in all
directions a little farther than the greatest possible extent of the
variety's ultimate growth.[i] Common garden lore states that
squashes droop their leaves in midsummer heat and that this trait
cannot be avoided and does no harm. But if they've grown as
described above, on deep, open soil, capillarity and surface
moisture reserves ensure there usually will be no midday wilting,
even if there is no watering. Two plants per hill do compete and
make each other wilt.

Second, double dig and fertilize the entire lateral root zone.
Third, as much as possible, avoid walking where the vines will
ultimately reach to avoid compaction. Finally, [i]do not transplant
them.[i] This breaks the taproot and makes the plant more dependent
on lateral roots seeking moisture in the top 18 inches of soil.

Lettuce

Spring-sown lettuce will go to large sizes, remaining sweet and
tender without irrigation if spaced 1 foot apart in a single row
with 2 feet of elbow room on each side. Lettuce cut after mid-June
usually gets bitter without regular, heavy irrigation. I reserve my
well-watered raised bed for this summer salad crop. Those very short
of water can start fall/winter lettuce in a shaded, irrigated
nursery bed mid-August through mid-September and transplant it out
after the fall rains return. Here is one situation in which
accelerating growth with cloches or cold frames would be very
helpful.

Leeks

Unwatered spring-sown bulbing onions are impossible. Leek is the
only allium I know of that may grow steadily but slowly through
severe drought; the water-short gardener can depend on leeks for a
fall/winter onion supply.

_Sowing date:_ Start a row or several short rows about 12 inches
apart on a nursery bed in March or early April at the latest. Grow
thickly, irrigate during May/June, and fertilize well so the
competing seedlings get leggy.

_Spacing:_ By mid-to late June the seedlings should be slightly
spindly, pencil-thick, and scallion size. With a sharp shovel, dig
out the nursery row, carefully retaining 5 or 6 inches of soil below
the seedlings. With a strong jet of water, blast away the soil and,
while doing this, gently separate the tangled roots so that as
little damage is done as possible. Make sure the roots don't dry out
before transplanting. After separation, I temporarily wrap bundled
seedlings in wet newspaper.

Dig out a foot-deep trench the width of an ordinary shovel and
carefully place this earth next to the trench. Sprinkle in a heavy
dose of organic fertilizer or strong compost, and spade that in so
the soil is fluffy and fertile 2 feet down. Do not immediately
refill the trench with the soil that was dug out. With a shovel
handle, poke a row of 6-inch-deep holes along the bottom of the
trench. If the nursery bed has grown well there should be about 4
inches of stem on each seedling before the first leaf attaches. If
the weather is hot and sunny, snip off about one-third to one-half
the leaf area to reduce transplanting shock. Drop one leek seedling
into each hole up to the point that the first leaf attaches to the
stalk, and mud it in with a cup or two of liquid fertilizer. As the
leeks grow, gradually refill the trench and even hill up soil around
the growing plants. This makes the better-tasting white part of the
stem get as long as possible. Avoid getting soil into the center of
the leek where new leaves emerge, or you'll not get them clean after
harvest.

Spacing of the seedlings depends on the amount of irrigation. If
absolutely none at all, set them 12 inches apart in the center of a
row 4 feet wide. If unlimited water is available, give them 2 inches
of separation. Or adjust spacing to the water available. The plants
grow slowly through summer, but in autumn growth will accelerate,
especially if they are side-dressed at this time.

_Varieties:_ For dry gardening use the hardier, more vigorous winter
leeks. Durabel (TSC) has an especially mild, sweet flavor. Other
useful varieties include Giant Carentian (ABL), Alaska (STK), and
Winter Giant (PEA).

Kohlrabi (Giant)

Spring-sown market kohlrabi are usually harvested before hot weather
makes them get woody. Irrigation is not required if they're given a
little extra elbow room. With ordinary varieties, try thinning to 5
inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart and harvest by thinning
alternate plants. Given this additional growing room, they may not
get woody until midsummer. On my irrigated, intensive bed I always
sow some more on August 1, to have tender bulbs in autumn.

Kohlrabi was once grown as European fodder crop; slow-growing
farmers, varieties grow huge like rutabagas. These field types have
been crossed with table types to make "giant" table varieties that
really suit dry gardening. What to do with a giant kohlrabi (or any
bulb getting overblown)? Peel, grate finely, add chopped onion,
dress with olive oil and black pepper, toss, and enjoy this old
Eastern European mainstay.

_Sowing date:_ Sow giant varieties during April, as late as possible
while still getting a foot-tall plant before really hot weather.

_Spacing:_ Thin to 3 feet apart in rows 4 feet apart.

_Irrigation:_ Not absolutely necessary on deep soil, but if they get
one or two thorough fertigations during summer their size may
double.

_Varieties:_ A few American seed companies, including Peace Seeds,
have a giant kohlrabi of some sort or other. The ones I've tested
tend to be woody, are crude, and throw many off-types, a high
percentage of weak plants, and/or poorly shaped roots. By the time
this book is in print, Territorial should list a unique Swiss
variety called Superschmeltz, which is uniformly huge and stays
tender into the next year.

Kale

Depending on the garden for a significant portion of my annual
caloric intake has gradually refined my eating habits. Years ago I
learned to like cabbage salads as much as lettuce. Since lettuce
freezes out many winters (19-21 degree F), this adjustment has proved
very useful. Gradually I began to appreciate kale, too, and now
value it as a salad green far more than cabbage. This personal
adaptation has proved very pro-survival, because even savoy cabbages
do not grow as readily or yield nearly as much as kale. And kale is
a tad more cold hardy than even savoy cabbage.

You may be surprised to learn that kale produces more complete
protein per area occupied per time involved than any legume,
including alfalfa. If it is steamed with potatoes and then mashed,
the two vegetables complement and flavor each other. Our region
could probably subsist quite a bit more healthfully than at present
on potatoes and kale. The key to enjoying kale as a salad component
is varietal choice, preparation, and using the right parts of the
plant. Read on.

_Sowing date:_ With irrigation, fast-growing kale is usually started
in midsummer for use in fall and winter. But kale is absolutely
biennial--started in March or April, it will not bolt until the next
spring. The water-wise gardener can conveniently sow kale while
cool, moist soil simplifies germination. Starting this early also
produces a deep root system before the soil dries much, and a much
taller, very useful central stalk on oleracea types, while early
sown Siberian (Napa) varieties tend to form multiple rosettes by
autumn, also useful at harvest time.

_Spacing: _Grow like broccoli, spaced 4 feet apart.

_Irrigation:_ Without any water, the somewhat stunted plants will
survive the summer to begin rapid growth as soon as fall rains
resume. With the help of occasional fertigation they grow lushly and
are enormous by September. Either way, there still will be plenty of
kale during fall and winter.

_Harvest:_ Bundles of strong-flavored, tough, large leaves are sold
in supermarkets but are the worst-eating part of the plant. If
chopped finely enough, big raw leaves can be masticated and
tolerated by people with good teeth. However, the tiny leaves are
far tenderer and much milder. The more rosettes developed on
Siberian kales, the more little leaves there are to be picked. By
pinching off the central growing tip in October and then gradually
stripping off the large shading leaves, _oleracea_ varieties may be
encouraged to put out dozens of clusters of small, succulent leaves
at each leaf notch along the central stalk. The taller the stalk
grown during summer, the more of these little leaves there will be.
Only home gardeners can afford the time to hand pick small leaves.

_Varieties:_ I somewhat prefer the flavor of Red Russian to the
ubiquitous green Siberian, but Red Russian is very slightly less
cold hardy. Westland Winter (TSC) and Konserva (JSS) are tall
European oleracea varieties. Winterbor F1 (JSS, TSC) is also
excellent. The dwarf "Scotch" kales, blue or green, sold by many
American seed companies are less vigorous types that don't produce
nearly as many gourmet little leaves. Dwarfs in any species tend to
have dwarfed root systems.