Water those veggies

Question:

I have a small area for a vegetable garden. Last year, my garlic grew nicely but I would also like to squeeze in tomato plants and pole beans. But last year my tomatoes were stunted and dried out.

Was it because I had them next to the garlic?

- Heidi Naman, email Answer:

No, it isn't due to the garlic. I suspect your tomatoes didn't get enough water last year. It was a very long, dry hot summer. Tomatoes and pole beans need lots of water at their roots.

But by July garlic needs dry conditions. That's when garlic leaves start to yellow and wither. This is a sign the garlic bulbs are getting ready to be harvested.

If garlic is watered when it's ripening your crop can develop rot.

This means that just based on water requirements, tomatoes and pole beans aren't good companions for garlic.

I wonder if you could place your tomatoes at one end of the garlic rows and pole beans at the other.

This would work if you plant from north to south because the pole beans could be put at the north end and the tomatoes at the south end.

By the time the tomato plants get big, sunlight won't be such a crucial factor for the garlic and in any case the sun is so high in the sky at that time of year that most areas of vegetable gardens get sun unless very tall plants are placed to the south.

As well, you could separate the watering requirements by raising part of your veggie bed so that the garlic could be better drained while nearby crops are being watered.

If this is just a hill (not a wooden-edge raised bed) you could rotate crops by relocating the hill every spring.

Question:

What is the best type of manure to use for potatoes, tomatoes or root vegetables?

- Gerry, email Answer:

The most important thing is that manure is old and thoroughly composted. One year is usually enough for it to mellow.

Two years is safer.

It's also vital to be very cautious with high-nitrogen manure around root vegetables unless you want small roots with extravagant foliage. Leafy crops do well with high-nitrogen feeding.

Many gardeners in farming areas where manure is free routinely use old manure in vegetable gardens.

Horse manure is very gentle but higher in nitrogen and potash than phosphorous. It usually has more weed seed than other manures.

Sheep and llama manure has a similar balance of ingredients. This is a 'hot' manure which burns roots if not thoroughly composted.

Another 'hot' manure comes from chicken and turkeys and contains high phosphorous and nitrogen but low potash.

Steer manure is very balanced and can be used without getting an overdose of nitrogen. It's a good all-purpose manure for almost anything.

So is pig manure: nutritionally balanced and very light. Unfortunately pig manure is hard to find.

Mushroom manure is generally good for vegetable gardens (though not for potatoes and other acid-soil lovers). It's quite alkaline - occasionally very alkaline - but for veggie gardens that grow moss in winter it's a good corrective.

So, Gerry, my vote is for steer or pig manure since these are nutritionally balanced and can be used for many types of vegetables.

Anne Marrison is happy to answer garden questions. Send them to her via [email protected].