Instructors: Extension Master Gardeners Susan Wilhelm and Dona Lee
Are you a gardener with some experience growing summer vegetables and looking to have some fun while upping your garden game? Join Extension Master Gardeners Dona Lee and Susan Wilhelm to learn about practical strategies for getting the most out of your gardening space while addressing environmental impacts such as summer heat, pests, and diseases. Topics include the use of simple techniques to improve germination and growth, succession planting, interplanting/companion planting, and cover crops to create a healthy garden ecosystem.
Zoom session, recorded March 10, 2023
Chapter Breaks
- 0:00 Introduction
- 2:15 Increasing Summer Garden Yield: Compost, Mulch & Smart Watering Practices
- 3:37 Increasing Summer Garden Yield: Vertical Space
- 7:37 Increasing Summer Garden Yield: Interplanting/Companion Planting
- 16:30 Increasing Summer Garden Yield: Succession Planting
- 20:26 Questions
- 23:37 Expand the Growing Season: Adding Alliums
- 26:00 Expand the Growing Season: Expand the Planting Season
- 36:27 Expand the Growing Season: Cover Crops
- 38:57 Questions
- 49:17 Address Pests & Diseases: Preventive Measures
- 54:58 Address Pests & Diseases: Focused Companion Planting
- 57:56 Address Pests & Diseases: 2 Season Garden
- 58:52 Address Pests & Diseases: Crop Rotation
- 1:00:50 Questions
- 1:05:17 Make Gardening Easier
- 1:08:36 Questions
Additional Resources
Presentation Slides
- Planting Dates for Arlington & Alexandria
- Recommended Spacing for Vegetable Planting
- Selected Cover Crops for Vegetable Gardens
- Summary of Strategies to Advance Gardening Goals
References for Advance Vegetable Gardening – pdf
Cover Crops
- Building Health Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered (Cornell Cooperative Extension)
https://cpb-us- e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.cornell.edu/dist/3/1229/files/2015/05/Garden-Profs- Cover-Crop-Series-1ivs0n9.pdf
For Cold Frames and Row Covers
- Clips for Row Covers
- Automatic Open/Close Foundation Vent for cold frame
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-16-in-x-8-in-Automatic-Open-Close-Foundation-Vent-in-Black-FVRABL/202067979
Interplanting/Companion Planting
- Intensive Gardening Methods (Virginia Cooperative Extension)
https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-335/426-335.html - Onions, Garlic, and Shallots
https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-411/426-411.html - Sustainable Gardening Practices (Virginia State University College of Agriculture)
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56bb6533c2ea51c6431244f6/t/5bad20931905f433f71d1202/1538072737472/Sustainable++Gardening+Practices.pdf
Pests/Diseases
- 2023 Pest Management Guide—Home Grounds and Animals (Virginia Cooperative Extension) https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-018/456-018.html
- Integrated Pest Management (University of Maryland Cooperative Extension)
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/ipm-prevent-identify-and-manage-plant-problems - MGNV Beating the Bugs
https://mgnv.org/plants/veg-herbs/betweenrows/beating-the-bugs/ - Vegetable Garden Disease Factsheets (Cornell Cooperative Extension)
https://www.vegetables.cornell.edu/pest-management/disease-factsheets/ - VA Tech Plant Problem Image Gallery: https://apps.cals.vt.edu/ppig/
- Symptoms and Signs for Plant Problem Diagnosis – An Illustrated Glossary
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-164-W.pdf
Pollinators/Beneficial Insects
- Habitat Planning for Beneficial Insects Guidelines for Conservation Biological Control (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation)
https://ncipmhort.cfans.umn.edu/sites/ncipmhort.cfans.umn.edu/files/2020-05/beneficial%20insects%20biological%20control%20xerces.pdf - Plant Flowers to Encourage Beneficial Insects (University of Wisconsin Extension)
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/plant-flowers-to-encourage-beneficial-insects/ - Pollinators and Other Wildlife (Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia)
https://mgnv.org/pollinators-and-more/
Succession Planting
- Planting Vegetables in Succession (University of Maryland Extension)
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/planting-vegetables-succession - Winter Sowing Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wintersown/learning_content
Vertical Planting
- Vertical Gardening using Trellises, Stakes, and Cages (Virginia Cooperative Extension)
https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/pubs_ext_vt_edu/HORT/HORT-189/SPES-450.pdf - Trellising, Staking, and Caging—Vertical gardening techniques for vine-type vegetables (West Virginia Cooperative Extension) https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0145/8808/4272/files/A3933-01.pdf
- How to Florida Weave Tomatoes (Louisiana State University AgCenter) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fayxT-telMA Interplanting/Companion Planting
Resources for Gardeners Living Outside of Northern Virginia
- Find Your Local Cooperative Extension Office
https://nifa.usda.gov/land-grantcolleges-and-universities-partner-website-directory?state=All&type=Extension - USDA Plant Hardiness Zones
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/ - Plant Maps including Hardiness Zone Maps, First/Last Frost Maps, Gardening Maps, Climate Maps and Horticultural Maps
https://www.plantmaps.com/
Other MGNV Resources
- Between the Rows – MGNV’s online monthly guide on WHAT to do WHEN for veggie gardening
https://mgnv.org/veg-herbs/between-rows/ - Vegetable Gardening Online Resources
https://mgnv.org/resources/veg_references/ - Master Gardener Virtual Classroom: Vegetable Gardening
https://mgnv.org/mg-virtualclassroom/#vegetables