CHANGE
Growing the same plant in one place for a long time leads to a reduction in its yield, therefore, such a sequence of plants in the bed is recommended, that is, changing, in order to eliminate the unfavorable phenomena causing a reduction in yields. By determining the order of the cultivated plants, many factors are taken into account, how: nutritional requirements, root system coverage, sensitivity to the content of humus, what is the structure and water capacity of the soil related to it, sensitivity to weed infestation, common diseases and pests.
To prevent one-sided depletion of an ingredient from the soil, belongs to a plant with a high nitrogen requirement, and a small amount for phosphorus, cultivate the plant that draws these nutrients from the soil in the reverse quantity. When arranging the rotation, species with different root depths are selected in this way, that the individual layers of soil are evenly used. Plants with a shallow root system, demanding soils with good structure and high water capacity, therefore the most sensitive to the lack of humus in the soil (e.g. onion, cucumber, celery and cauliflower), should be cultivated in the first year after digging the manure in the garden. Also legumes, which shade the soil surface well and do not require inter-row tillage, have a positive effect on the soil structure. These plants should be followed by plants that require particularly good structure, e.g. onions, cucumber. Plants that root deeply and use the water contained in the deeper layers of the soil, like a tomato, carrot, beetroot, can be cultivated in the following years after manure and on relatively dry soils. Vegetables, which have slowly germinating seeds (onion, carrot, parsley), should be grown after plants leaving the field uninfected, e.g. after the cabbage, potatoes.
FOREPLATES, HALF AND MIDDLE
In order to better use the cultivated area of the garden and obtain higher yields, all kinds of forecrops are used, catch crops and catch crops. The forecrop is grown before the plants, which due to high thermal requirements, e.g. beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, we sow or plant late or before late varieties, e.g. late cabbage, late cauliflowers. Vegetables with a short growing season are selected as the forecrop, and so: radish, lettuce, spinach, mold.
These plants can also be grown as an aftercrop then, when after harvesting the main plant, there is so long until autumn frosts, that they will have time to develop usable parts. For example, after early vegetables, which usually meet during July (early cauliflowers, kalarepa, carrot, early potatoes, green peas, string-bean), can be grown as an aftercrop of radish, radish, brukiew, turnip, lettuce, green beans, spinach, broccoli.
We can also get a lot of vegetables by using mid-crop, which consists in growing different vegetables in one bed at the same time. One – with a longer growing season – constitute the main crop, the second is harvested before the first grows. For example, in a field of carrots and parsley, which take a long time to sprout and grow slowly, or cucumbers or tomatoes, we can plant lettuce or kohlrabi in the rows, or sow radish or spinach. You can also sow immediately with carrot seeds, parsley or onion radish seeds, spinach or lettuce. The latter germinate quickly, they will delimit the rows, which will facilitate weed control and soil loosening. However, do not use too much seed from a mid-crops, so that it does not choke the main vegetable.
SOWING INTO THE GROUND
On the leveled surface of the part of the garden intended for the cultivation of vegetables, the width of the beds is marked out with a string 120 cm, separated by a path of width 20-30 cm. In dry terrain, it is enough to tread the path, too humid, the earth is chosen from it, throwing to the surface of the bed yes, that there is a shallow furrow. We start sowing on the prepared fields. The most common method is manual row seeding with grooves marked with a string and made with a stick. The seeds are sown, as shown in fig. 62, by passing them between your thumb and forefinger or by using a folded sheet of paper, on which we previously sprinkled some seeds. Before sowing, we should dress the seeds against diseases and pests.
By sowing small seeds, it is good to mix them with dry sand (1 part of the seeds on 5-10 parts of sand), which facilitates their even distribution in the groove. The sowing depth depends on the size of the seed and the type of soil. In general, it is recommended to cover the seeds with a layer of soil 3-4 times their diameter. Large seeds are sown deeper, which, after germination, do not protrude the cotyledons above the soil surface, e.g. pea, cotyledon species are sown shallower, e.g. beans. For larger areas of cultivated vegetables, you can use a manual seeder, for sale in garden stores.
The seeds are covered, scooping the soil from the inter-rows into the grooves and lightly pressing it with an inverted rake or a special plank, to increase water infiltration. Some vegetables, e.g. broad bean, beans, we nest (kupkowo), i.e.. in the designated places in the row, we make holes with a hoe, in which we throw a few (3-5) seeds and cover with soil. In case of drought, it is recommended to water the soil after sowing. We also water after sowing soaked seeds, in order to accelerate the emergence.