The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast (Regional Vegetable Gardening Series) - Softcover

Vine-ripened tomatoes, succulent figs, crisp winter salads, corn on the cob, and sweet braised greens are just a few of the delights awaiting gardeners in the Southeast. Temperate winters and hot summers grant southern gardeners a long growing season capable of yielding an ever-changing menu of seasonal food. But how do you use that hot, humid summer weather to grow the most delicious tomatoes? Which months are the best for sowing carrot or beet seeds? And during the mild winter months, how can you make the most of your bountiful harvest?
 
Ira Wallace answers all these questions and more while covering the many eccentricities of gardening in the Southeast. Monthly planning guides show exactly what you can do in the garden from January through December. The skill sets go beyond the basics with tutorials on seed saving, drip irrigation, canning, and worm bins.

Whether you are just starting your season or looking for ways to extend it, this is your guide to producing a bountiful, year-round harvest in the Southeast.
 

Preface
Vine-ripened tomatoes, succulent figs, crisp winter salads, corn on the cob, and sweet braised greens are just a few of the fresh-from-the-garden delights awaiting gardeners in the Southeast. Working with long, hot summers and mild, uneven winters, southern gardeners from Thomas Jefferson to Barbara Kingsolver have feasted abundantly in every season. Every year at the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello, a celebration of heirloom varieties, local food, and sustainable agriculture at Jefferson’s mountaintop home, I have the privilege of meeting hundreds of eager gardeners. The bountiful harvest on display at the festival is an inspiration to new gardeners. With a little planning and knowing how to make the right choices for a southeastern garden, even beginning gardeners can have that abundance throughout the year.
    
I often run workshops on year-round gardening and growing garlic and perennial onions at the Monticello and Mother Earth News fairs, and afterward, eager participants frequently ask if I have a book. Finally, this is my offering, sharing what I have learned about year-round food growing in over 40 years as an organic gardener and over 20 years as an advocate and producer of heirloom organic seeds at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (SESE) in central Virginia. Our motto at SESE is “Saving the Past for the Future”; we strive to preserve the knowledge that lets farmers enjoy abundant harvests without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Our farm is certified organic and I am committed to keeping our spot of earth healthy and productive. Throughout this book, I have shared the information you’ll need to make your own garden equally rich.
    
My gardening roots trace back to my grandmother’s backyard in Florida where I grew up. We had something growing every month, although all I remember growing in late summer were black-eyed peas, okra, and sweet potatoes. That was the slow time, but it didn’t last long. As soon as the weather started cooling off a little we went all out with greens, squash, peppers, tomatoes, and beans. Winter brought on lettuce, celery, and even more greens. I don’t think I grew broccoli and other more refined members of the cabbage family until after I went off to college. But, boy, did we have some fine cabbages, collards, turnips, and mustards. These memories make fall and winter gardening special for me. Fall harvests provide fresh organic food just when it is most expensive in the markets and less available from local farms. And growing a fall garden is actually easier than summer gardening, once you get the timing down. In the July and August chapters, I’ll go through the basics of summer planting for an abundant fall and winter harvest. I share the techniques and timing that work for us to start seeds in the heat.
    
In these hectic, modern times, many of you might feel that it is hard to find the time you need to produce your own food. Well, let me tell you that I struggle with having enough time myself. It’s one reason that I am always looking for new ways—like creating no-dig “lasagna beds”—to make gardening easier. Gardening is still a lot of fun for me. I always make time to try out something new in the garden each year. This is how I find new and exotic tastes like Thai Red roselle for jams and refreshing drinks or delicious new-to-me heirlooms like Shronce’s Deep Black peanut. I have tried to share many of my favorite heirloom varieties for those of you who want to be able to save seeds as well as enjoy fine flavors. I have included basic seed-saving instructions for each of the vegetables in the Edibles A to Z section.
    
There are almost as many reasons for gardening as there are gardeners. But whatever the reasons, in the last five years we have seen the number of new gardeners buying our seeds increase by 10 to 20 percent every year and the attendance at the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello has quadrupled. The question of what is going into our food and where it comes from has led many of us toward local and organic food, and that excitement is only growing. And what food is more local than the food from your own backyard? Whether you are new to gardening or an old hand looking for tips, I hope this book will give you the tools and motivation you need to get gardening straight away.