Vegetables

There are few things that are as satisfying to a home gardener, than to wander out to the vegetable garden, harvest and consume the fruits of their labor.

What do you and your family like to eat?

Does the thought of a salad with crisp lettuce fresh from your garden whet your appetite?

Do you enjoy the smooth sweetness of eggplant grilled or fried to perfection? Does the dark green color and rich taste of fresh broccoli add the perfect finish to your meal? Or do you relish the simplicity of a handful of freshly steamed green beans?

We have vegetables to satisfy any taste or gardening skill level. We’ll be glad to help you plan your garden or find something new to add to it.

Lettuce

Plant	Description
Boston Esmaralda	a 68-day good, green Boston type grown for the Northeast, slow bolting.
Red Fire M1	loose leaf type with excellent red color and slow to bolt.
Optima M1	a 70-day dark green heavily leafed.
Iceberg	good strong head lettuce, crispy.
Butterhead	a 52-day loose leaf head with a soft heart.

Bush Beans

Plant	Days to Maturity	Uses	Description
Tenderpod	55 days	fresh / canned / frozen	Its name says it all. A very tender and flavorful bean.
Blue Lake	70 days	fresh / canned	Unique flavor and high yields.
Pencil Pod Black Wax	48 days	fresh / canned / frozen	Great tasting yellow bean.
Roma II	58 days	fresh / canned / frozen	Excellently flavored flat Italian bean.

Artichoke

Plant	Days to Maturity	Description
Imperial Star	(85 days)	Imperial Star produces artichokes the first season. Typically 6-8 mature buds average 3″-4″ in diameter per plant. Plants 3’ – 4’ tall. Our plants have gone through a cold treatment to help set buds.

Onions

Plant	Description
Bottleneck	Best onion for scallions or green onions. Plant Bottleneck Onions 4-6″ deep. This will produce 4-6″ of white, without a bulb. If planted 1″ deep, a large oblong onion will be produced which is good for slicing and also stores well.
Stuttgarter from Holland	Best keeping onion. Plant this onion 1″ deep and it will produce a nice round onion that will store up to 7 months if conditions are right.

Eggplant

For best taste, always pick young fruit!

Plant	Days to Maturity	Description
Satin Beauty	(65 days – Plants available mid-May)	The new standard in Eggplant! Strong plants producing very uniform, egg-shaped fruit with deep blackish-purple skin. Satin Beauty ripens 2 weeks earlier than the older variety Black Beauty.
Dourga White	(65 days)	Perfect Gourmet Items! Cylindrical, pure white fruits make perfect gourmet items. Plus, more tender, smaller & more flavorful than dark-skinned.

Broccoli

Plant	Days to Maturity	Description
Packman	(50 days – Plants available April)	Great All-around Variety! Large firm 8″ heads. Very good standard variety for early spring and fall planting.
Early Dividend	(46 days – Plants available April)	A Cut-and-Come-Again Variety! One of the earliest varieties that bears medium sized heads. Once cut, it quickly produces 3-4″ secondary heads, so cut often for extra harvest.
Marathon	(68 days – Plants available July)	Produces a great fall crop! The number one fall variety. Plant in early or mid-July for fall harvest. Many gardeners say that fall broccoli is easier to grow and yields better than spring-planted broccoli.
Gypsy	(58 days Plants available early and late for fall harvest)	Heat Tolerant for summer or fall! Heads are well-domed and uniform with a medium-small head & medium-sized stem. Widely adapted to different soil & weather conditions.

Broccoli Tip: Mix a handful of Garden-Tone Organic Fertilizer into the planting hole. Water plants once a week with Blossom Booster. Broccoli does not like wet soil, so water only once a week unless it starts to wilt.

Cabbage

Plant	Days to Maturity	Description
Discovery (F2)		You will not find a sweeter tasting cabbage than Discovery. This cabbage produces 4# heads that are infused with a melt-in-your mouth flavor that is sweeter than other cabbages, even when raw!
Tendersweet (F1)	(71 days)	MOST DELICIOUS SUMMER & FALL CABBAGE! Mid-sized heads have a flat shape and stand well without splitting. Tender leaves are super thin, sweet and crispy –perfect for cole slaw or stirfries.
Savoy Express	(Early Cabbage 55 days)	An All American Winner for 2000. Very compact plants with miniature heads (1-1 ½ lb.) Can be grown with closer spacing – 10 to 12 inches apart.
Savoy Blue	(A main season cabbage 80 days)	Dark blue-green leaves producing 3 to 6 lb heads that are heavily savoyed (curly). Good holding ability. Short core.
Ruby Perfection	(Late Cabbage 85 days)	The #1 mid-to-late red cabbage. Medium-sized, round and uniform heads with good storage qualities.

Cabbage Hints:

Keep well fed and watered during entire growing season.
Cabbage is shallow rooted, so DO NOT cultivate too deeply.
Keep plants dusted with Sevin or Dipel.
Fertilize often with Blossom Booster.
When planting add a handful of organic fertilizer such as Garden-tone Organic Fertilizer along with 2 tablespoons of nitrate of soda to get the plants off to a good start.

Different Greens

Here are a few greens that you should consider trying this season.

Plant	Days to Maturity	Description
Vining Spinach (Red Malabar Spinach)		It’s heat-loving and frost sensitive, but it is not really a spinach! This vigorous, climbing vine grows through summer into fall. Its glossy, thick, savoyed leaves resemble spinach. It has a mild Swiss chard taste with a somewhat slippery texture when eaten raw. Use young leaves and stems in salads or lightly cooked in stirfries. Best if trellised.
TSOI — SIM	40 days	A tasteful Chinese green that is used in salads, stirfries, soups, etc. Harvest young stalks with a few flower buds, like Italian Rapine or rappa.
Minutina	(50 days)	Great for early spring, summer, fall and winter salads. A small plant with a rosette of slender, green leaves. Provides salads with a crunchy texture without fiber. Flower buds are also edible. Regrows after cutting.
Claytonia Miners Lettuce	(40 days)	Quantities of heart-shaped leaf pairs, each wrapped around a white-flowered stem. The taste of the young leaves is wild & fresh! Roots are edible raw or cooked. Pick as needed and it will regrow readily. Can tolerate frost, so be sure to plant some for late fall.
Yuki Chinese Cabbage	(70 days)	One of the best Chinese Cabbages. Slow to bolt. Plants available in July for fall harvest harvest.
Arugula	(35 days)	Mix leaves in salads for a peppery flavor. High temperatures increase flavor. Easy to grow.
Radicchio Chioggia Red Perco	(60 days)	Early & bolt tolerant. Well-folded leaves. Plant in spring and then again for fall.

Vegetables Seeded Into the Garden

Refer to the following planting table for recommended planting dates. A late or wet spring may delay plantings. When this happens, plantings should be made as soon as conditions permit. An early spring may permit plantings earlier than normal. Unfavorable growing conditions often make extremely early plantings less productive than those made during the recommended planting dates.

Plant	When to Plant or Sow	Depth to Plant (inches)	Seeds / 100′ of Row	Days to Maturity	Planting Distance		Yield / 100′ of Row
Plant	When to Plant or Sow	Depth to Plant (inches)	Seeds / 100′ of Row	Days to Maturity	Within the Row	Between theRows	Yield / 100′ of Row
Asparagus, crowns	March-April	6-8**	60 crowns	no harvest 1st year	18	48-60	30 lbs
Beans, bush lima	May 20-June 10	1/2-1	1 lb	65-85	6	24-30	50 lbs
Beans, bush snap	May 15-Aug 1	1/2-1	1 lb	50-60	3	24	50 lbs
Beans, dry shell	May 15-June 1	1/2-1	1 lb	90-100	3	24	50 lbs
Beans, green shell	May 15-July 1	1/2-1	1 1/2 lbs	60-100	3	24
Beans, pole limas	May 20-June 1	1/2-1	3/4 lb	70-100	4	36
Beans, pole snap	May 15-June 1	1/2-1	1/2 lb	65-90	4	36
Beets	April 15-Aug 1	1/2	1/2 oz	50-70	3	18	100 lbs
Cabbage, Chinese	Aug 1	1/4	1 pkt	80-90	15	24	80 heads
Carrots	April 1-July 15	1/4	1/2 oz	55-75	3	18	100 lbs
Chard, Swiss	April 1-April 10	1/2	1/2 oz	50-60	8	24	50 lbs
Collards	April 1-Aug 1	1/4	1 pkt	65	15	24	50 lbs
Corn Sweet	May 1-July 1	1-2	4 oz	64-90	12	24	100 ears
Cucumber	May 10-June 1	1-2	1/2 oz	50-70	12	60	12-15 fruit
Endive	Aug 1	1/2	1 pkt	90-100	15	24	50 lbs
Kale	April 1-Aug 1	1/2	1 pkt	50-70	18	24	75 lbs
Kohlrabi	April 1-Aug 1	1/2	1/4 oz	50-70	4	18	100 lbs
Lettuce, head	Aug 1	1/4	1 pkt	60	12	24	50 lbs
Lettuce, leaf	April 1-Aug 1	1/4	1 pkt	40-50	6	18	50 lbs
Muskmelon	May 15	1-2	1/2 oz	70-100	30	60	50 fruits
Mustard	April 1-Aug 1	1/4	1 pkt	40	8	24	50 lbs
Okra	May	1/2	1/2 oz	65	15	30
Onions, seed	April 1	1/2	1 oz	110-150	3	18	50-100 fruits
Onions, sets	April 1	1-2	2 lbs	100-140	3	18
Onions, winter	Sept 1-Oct 1	1-2	3 lbs		2	18
Parsley	April 1-April 10	1/8-1/4	1 pkt	55-60	6	18	50 lbs
Parsnips	April 1	1/2	1/2 oz	130-140	3	24	100 lbs
Peas	April	1/2	1 lb	50-60	1	18	40 lbs (pods)
Potatoes, early	April	3-4	10 lbs	90-110	9	24	100 lbs
Potatoes, late	May 15	3-4	9 lbs	110-140	12	24
Pumpkin	May 20	1-2	1/2 oz	90-110	48	84	75 fruits
Radish	April 1-Aug 1	1/2	1 oz	25-35	1	18	25 lbs
Rhubarb	April	2-3	50 crowns	365	24	36
Rutabaga	July 1-July 15	1/2	1/4 oz	100-120	6	24	150 lbs
Salsify	April 1-April 10	1/2	1/2 oz	140-150	2-3	18	75 lbs
Spinach	April 1 & Sept 1	1/2	1/2 oz	40-50	6	18	50 lbs
Spinach, New Zealand	April 10-May 1	1/2	1/2 oz	60-80	15-18	30
Squash, bush	May 1-June 1	1-2	1/2 oz	50-65	36	48
Squash, summer vine	May 1-June 1	1-2	1/2 oz	50-65	60	84
Squash, winter	June 1- June 15	1-2	1/2 oz	60-110	60	84	100 fruits
Turnips	April 1-June 1 & Aug 15	1/2	1/4 oz	50-60	3	18	100 lbs
Watermelon	May 20	1-2	1/2 oz	110-130	96	96

VEGETABLES

Cabbage Hints:

Kiski Garden Center, 991 S Leechburg Hill Rd, Leechburg, PA 15656

724-845-8201