Gardening in the ground

Root Vegetables grow out of sight.Often you don't know if there is a problem until you harvest them.Experience is a great teacher,but here are some tips to get you started on the right track,towards growing a successful crop of all sorts of root vegetables.

A general tip for all kinds of root crops is that the soil needs to be loose enough for them  to send down roots. If the soil is compact or rocky.the roots will be come distorted and forked.If you have extremely poor soil,you will be better off growing root crops in raised bed.you could devote one section of your vegetable garden to this raised bed and rotate your root crops in it,throughout the season.

• Beets

Beets are considered a root crop,but the leaves are edible too.probably the hardest part about growing beets is thinning the plants.The seeds are in clusters and when they sprout,they are all crowed together.The good news is that you can eat any plants you thin.the tender greens are a great addition to salads and stir fries.Beets grow quickly and taste best when harvested small and young.You can pull some and reseeds,for a continual harvest.

• Carrots

Carrots are such a popular vegetable,you would think they'd be easier to grow.The long,thin carrot you most commonly see takes several months to mature.While you are patiently waiting for them to fill out,there are many pests below and  above the soil that don't wait for maturity to start eating your carrots.So growing carrots takes some experience and a watchful eye.

If you've had poor luck growing carrots you might have more success growing one of the shorter varieties,like 'paris market ' or 'Little Finger'.They mature faster,are just as sweet and crunchy as longer carrots and you can be eating earlier and replanting through out the summer.

• Garlic

If you find a garlic variety you like and that grows well for you,you have the bonus of being able to save cloves to replant year after year.The bulbs will get fatter and tastier.

Few things bother garlic,except competing weeds and drought.Garlic is generally planted in late fall and is ready for harvest early the following summer.If you're growing hard neck garlic,you'll get the added treat of garlic scapes,twirling,edible flower stalks with a subtle garlic flavour.

• Onions

Is there more useful vegetable than onions? just think of all the recipes that start  off with sauteing onions.Onions are fairly easy to grow.It's planting them that takes a lot of work. You have three options.You can start them from seed,from transplants or from sets,tiny onions bulbs.The sets are the easiest to plant and the quickest to mature.Onion seed generally needs to be started indoors,in order to give them enough time to mature in one season.And they will have to be transplanted as seedlings.

• Potatoes

While potatoes are not root crops,they grow under similar conditions and so they are included in this list potatoes are a stem tuber.There is an incredible diversity of potatoes and the only way to sample them is go grow them yourself.They are easily stared from pieces for actual potato and grow fairly easily,although there are several pests vying for their attention. Potatoes are easy to grow in containers.

• Radishes

Radishes are one of the most popular vegetables  for backyard gardeners.They're quick growing and easy to pop into tonight's salad.You wouldn't think radishes could pose so many growing problems.but they do.most radish problems happen when you try to go grow them in warm weather.Radishes need soil cool enough to keep them from bolting,but warm enough so they mature quickly.

• Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are tuberous roots and are usually grown from slips,small rooted pieces of the tubers.They aren't often grown in cooler climates because they need about a four month growing season.However there are varieties that are better suited to northern gardens and it's quite easy to start plants in containers and move them out when the soil has warmed.

source:THT Dec 16-2011