Vegetable Gardening Online Resources

Originally compiled by Catherine Connor, Extension Master Gardener
January 2022 update –  Extension Master Gardener Susan Wilhelm

Planning | What & When | Soil & Water | Pests & Disease | Additional Resources

Planning & Selecting an Approach

Maintaining a vegetable garden is a rewarding, albeit time-consuming endeavor. As you start or join a garden, you will want to give thought to goals, space limitations, and other considerations.

• VT Pub 426-312 – Planning the Vegetable Garden
• UMD – Types of Vegetable Gardens
• NCSU – How to Organize a Community Garden
• NCSU – Eat Smart, Move More: Growing Communities through Gardens

Once you have a space in mind, you should refine your approach and consider the structures needed to support your plants. For example, you might grow in raised beds, using intensive gardening methods, or you might grow in containers on a patio, balcony, or rooftop. Here are a few places to start:

• VT Pub 426-335 – Intensive Gardening Methods
• K-State – Intensive Spacing for Raised Beds
• VT Pub HORT-189 – Vertical Gardening Using Trellises, Stakes & Cages
• UMD – Raised Beds
• VT Pub 426-381 – Season Extenders
• UMD Row Covers
• VT Pub 426-336 – Vegetable Gardening in Containers
• VSU Presentation – Container Gardening for Small Spaces
• NCSU – How to Create a Container Garden for Edibles in the North Carolina Piedmont
• UMD – Container Gardening
• DIY Self-Watering Containers – My Balcony Jungle by Jeff Haase

What and When to Grow

Your approach must consider available space, the purpose of growing and your climate.  Your plants’ performance is governed by the length of the growing season (i.e., time between frost dates), winter lows, summer highs, timing and amount of rainfall, wind, and humidity. It is also governed by the microclimate of your garden, such as sun and wind exposure and other considerations.

• Frost Dates by Zip Code (10%-90% probability of temps between 16^oF and 36^oF)    
• USDA Plant Hardiness Zones (2012 – average extreme cold temperatures)  
• AHS Heat Zones (average number of days above 86^oF)   
• VCE-MGNV – Planting Dates for Arlington and Alexandria
• UMD – When to Plant Vegetables in Maryland
• UMD – Vegetables That Grow Well In Maryland
• VT Pub 426-420 – Herb Culture and Use
• VT Pub 426-840 – Small Fruit in the Home Garden
• VT Pub HORT-225 – What in the World – International Produce Takes a Stand at Virginia Farmers Markets
• Winter-Kill Temperatures of Cold-Hardy Vegetables – Sustainable Market Farming
• 30+ Vegetables That Grow in Shade by Rachel Arsenault

In planning the garden, you should consider incompatible and companion plants, as well as the need to rotate crops over time to ensure plant and soil health. As you develop a crop growing sequence, you might also consider the use of cover crops in the rotation. Cover crops prevent erosion, fix soil nitrogen, and replenish organic material, improving tilth and fertility

• VSU Fact Sheet 08-17 – Companion Planting in Gardening
• UW – Using Crop Rotation in The Home Garden
• SARE – Crop Rotation on Organic Farms
• Cornell – Building Healthy Soils in Vegetable Gardens: Cover Crops Have Got It Covered
• ATTRA – Overview of Cover Crops and Green Manures (from Cornell blog)

In selecting varieties, a basic understanding of terminology, such as hybrid, open-pollinated, and heirloom varieties will be helpful in making choices, especially if saving seeds is a consideration. You will also need to decide whether to plant from seeds (direct sowing), transplant seedlings you grow yourself, or transplant seedlings you purchase at a store. Methods for growing seedlings vary. While it is common to grow seedlings for spring planting indoors, you can also grow them outdoors, as in “winter sowing.”

• UMD – Define your terms! Hybrid, heirloom, GMO, etc.
• VSU Fact Sheet 08-21 – Pruning of Tomato Plants (explains the different types of tomatoes)
• UMD – Planting Vegetables
• VT Pub 426-001 – Plant Propagation from Seed
• VT Pub 426-316 – Seed for the Garden
• Virginia’s Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide: Recommended Planting Dates and Amounts to Plant
• UMaine – Bulletin #2750 – An Introduction to Seed Saving for the Home Gardener
• Oregon State – Soil Temperature Conditions for Vegetable Seed Germination
• UMD – Starting Seeds Indoors
• Winter Sowing 101 by Kevin Lee Jacobs

Healthy Soil, Water Quality & Irrigation Options

Healthy soil and adequate water are essential to plant health. Understanding what constitutes “healthy soil,” and the relationship between soil, water, and plant roots will help guide gardening practices.

Wise selection of irrigation options will contribute to crop health, conserve water, reduce erosion, and protect watersheds.

As previously mentioned, the use of cover crops can improve and maintain soil health. Another time-honored method for improving soil fertility over time is the use of good-quality compost as an amendment, something you can produce yourself. Composting is a great way to reduce food waste that would otherwise go to the landfill.

Limiting the use of chemicals in your garden will help both soil and waterways.   Finally, you should periodically have your soil tested.

Manage Pest & Disease – Attracting Pollinators & Other Beneficials

From time to time, you will encounter problems while growing your crop. Understanding the concept of “integrated pest management” (IPM) will help you select effective practices that consider the entire ecosystem, not just the garden bed itself. If you use pesticides, even when they are approved for organic gardening (and then as a last resort), you should be mindful that certain products may harm pollinators, and that inappropriate use of chemicals may pollute waterways.

Making a deliberate effort to attract pollinators and beneficial insects, your garden helpers, will improve the health and fertility of a kitchen garden. You may also need to manage rabbits, deer, and other wildlife that might otherwise enjoy your crop.

If you need to call the Extension Office for help, be prepared to provide details, including insect and plant specimens.

• VT Pub 426-708 – Integrated Pest Management Ideas for Vegetable Gardens
• NCSU – Integrated Pest Management( Chapter 8 of NC Extension Gardener Handbook)
• NCSU – Reducing Deer Damage in Landscapes
• Vegetable Diseases – UMD (comprehensive site has plenty of photos and addresses cultural & environmental problems, diseases, insect pests, wildlife, garden helpers, and more)
• VT Pub 426-070 – Backyard Wildlife Habitats
• VT Pub 426-363 – Selected Vegetable Diseases
• UCANR Pub 8099 – Vegetable Diseases Caused by Soilborne Pathogens
• VT Pub 426-615 – The Virginia Gardener Guide to Pest Management for Water Quality
• FWS – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Attracting Pollinators to the Garden
  See Also: FWS – Pollinators page
• SARE – Cover Cropping for Pollinators & Beneficial Insects
• FS – U.S. Forest Service – Pollinators page
• VT Pub 426-714 – Diagnosing Plant Problems (general approach and the questions you will likely be asked when calling the Arlington/Alexandria Extension Master Gardener Help Desk)

Additional Resources

• MGNV – Between the Rows – A Guide to Vegetable Gardening 
• Gardening Resources—University of Maryland
• Virginia Cooperative Extension: Home Vegetable Gardening 
• Virginia Cooperative Extension – VSU – Sustainable & Urban Agriculture
• University of Maryland Extension – Home & Garden Information Center 
• University of North Carolina Extension – Publications, Factsheets & More
• VCE – Community, Local, and Regional Food Systems
• Food for the Cities Program – City Region Food Systems (U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization – FAO)
• Improved rural urban linkages: Building sustainable food systems (video)
• Why Do We Need to Change Our Food System? (video)
• AFAC – Arlington Food Assistance Center – Plot Against Hunger Program
• Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Help Desk for City of Alexandria and Arlington County
• Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
• Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture