Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Conditions Ideal For Planting

C. Richard Maples

Extension Communications Specialist

If spring-like weather has given you the itch to garden, go ahead and scratch. Conditions are ideal for planting early cool season vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, radishes, greens, sugar snap peas and English peas. You can also put out onion sets and seed potatoes.

"How well the plants grow will depend on the type of weather we have over the rest of the winter," says Janet Carson, horticulturist for the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas.

"If the warm weather continues, we'll have an early bounty. The soil temperature is much warmer than it usually is, so plants will get established quicker and grow faster," she said.

"But who can predict the weather? I would keep some mulch on hand in case it turns colder that it's been," she warned.

Carson suggests having your soil tested by the University of Arkansas to determine if fertilizer nutrients are needed. Soil testing is a free service offered through you county Extension office.

"In the absence of a soil test report, the general fertilizer application is 10 pounds of 13-13-13 per 1,000 square feet," says Carson.

"Don't work your garden if the soil is too wet," she instructed. "You could destroy the soil's structure. And remember that all vegetables require at least six hours of sunlight to produce high yields."

Carson notes that a new publication, Vegetable Gardening in Arkansas, is available from the Cooperative Extension Service.

This 199-page-how-to book on producing vegetables and herbs costs $7. Order forms will soon be available at your local Extension office, or you can order direct from the state Extension headquarters.

Send your check (the price includes postage) to Business Office, Publication Sales, P.O. Box 391, Little Rock, AR 72203. Note the publication you want. Make the check out to the Cooperative Extension Service.

If you have access to the Internet, you can find gardening guidelines at the extension website. The address is http://www.uaex.edu. Click on "News and Information" and then "Horticulture Fact sheets."