Potatoes, Peppers and Eggplant

Potatoes

Environmental Preferences

Light: Sunny.

Soil: Well-drained with moderate organic matter.

Fertility: Medium-rich.

pH: 4.8 to 6.5

Temperature: Cool (55 TO 65°F).

Moisture: Uniform moisture, especially while tubers are developing.

Culture

Planting: Plant 1 1 /2 - to 2-ounce seed pieces with at least one good eye in early spring; will resist light frost.

Spacing: 10 to 18 inches by 24 to 36 inches.

Fertilizer needs: Medium-heavy feeder. In the absence of a soil test, add high-phosphorus fertilizer before planting, using 2 1/2 lbs. 5-10-10 per 50-foot row. Sidedress 1 or 2 times after tubers begin forming, using 1 lb. 10-10-10 per 50-foot row.

Cultural Practices

Both white-skinned and red-skinned potatoes can be grown as early crops for new potatoes and as late crops for storage. Choose an early-maturing variety and a medium- to late-maturing variety.

Plant potatoes early from March 15 to April 20, depending on your location. Hard frosts and freezes may set back growth. Potatoes prefer cool springs and moisture throughout the growing season. Crops can be successfully planted as late as June for fall harvest and storage, but yield may be reduced.

Avoid a garden site in a turned-under lawn, as grub worms may damage developing tubers unless soil insecticides are used.

A soil pH of 6.0 to 6.5 is most desirable; however, scab disease will be less severe at pH 5.0 to 5.2.

Purchase certified seed stock that has been inspected for diseases that lower yields. Saving your own seed potatoes is generally not worthwhile, as viruses and diseases often appear the next year. Seed potatoes should be firm and unsprouted. Wilted and sprouted potatoes usually have lost vigor from being too warm in storage.

Seed pieces for planting should be cut to about 1 1 /2 to 2 ounces or into 1 1 /2-inch cubes. Potatoes about 6 ounces in size will cut into four pieces nicely. Each seed piece should have at least one good bud or eye. Allow to dry or cure for three to five days before planting to allow the cut surfaces to heal. Plant potatoes in furrows cut-side down, 3 to 5 inches deep. Later crops should be planted 5 to 6 inches deep.

Pull a ridge of soil over each row when planting. Cultivate the ridges just before the sprouts break through to eliminate weeds. Later cultivation should be shallow and far enough from the rows to make certain that no roots are damaged.

When the tops have grown too large to allow cultivation, a finishing cultivation, sometimes called laying-by or hilling-up, is given. Laying-by throws soil over the potatoes to prevent sun-exposure, which can cause greening or scalding. The green portions of potatoes taste bitter and contain an alkaloid. Cut off and discard green areas before using.

An alternative to planting in areas with heavy clay soil is to grow plants in above-ground straw or leaf beds. This requires 2-3 feet of organic matter and more frequent watering than in-ground production, but produces clean, easily dug tubers.

Common Problems

Diseases: Early blight; scab; late blight; tuber rots; virus complex; and fusarium, verticillium, and bacterial wilts.

Insects: Colorado potato beetles, aphids, European corn borer, grasshoppers, potato leafhopper, potato tuberworm, whitefly.

Cultural: Green skin from sun exposure; hollow heart from alternating wet and dry conditions; Black Walnut wilt from being too close to a Black Walnut tree.

Refer to the current year’s version of Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Pest Management Guide - Home Grounds and Animals, Home Vegetable Chapter for current control recommendations (https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-018/456-018.html).

Harvesting and Storage

Days to maturity: 100 to 120 days.

Harvest: Dig early potatoes when tubers are large enough to eat. Harvest potatoes for storage two weeks after the vines die down or just after the first light frost nips the vines, before heavy freezing. Avoid skinning tubers when digging and avoid long exposure to light.

Approximate yields: 10 to 20 pounds per 10-foot row.

Amount to raise: 75 to 100 pounds per person (about 15 pounds of seed potatoes).

Storage: Medium-cool (40 to 50°F), moist (90% relative humidity) conditions for six to eight months. Sprouting is a problem at higher temperatures.

Preservation: Medium-cool, moist conditions.

Peppers

Environmental Preferences

Light: Sunny.

Soil: Well-drained, loose soil with moderate organic matter.

Fertility: Medium-rich.

pH: 6.0 to 6.5

Temperature: Warm (70 to 75°F).

Moisture: Average.

Culture

Planting: Set out transplants after the soil has thoroughly warmed in the spring. Start seeds indoors six to eight weeks prior to this date.

Spacing: 18 to 24 inches by 30 to 36 inches.

Fertilizer needs: Light to medium feeder. Use a starter solution for transplants. In the absence of a soil test, sidedress cautiously after the first fruit sets with 3 tablespoons 33-0-0 per 10-foot row; too much fertilizer may cause excessive vegetative growth.

Cultural Practices

Most peppers are classified by their level of heat or mildness. The mild peppers include Bell, Banana, Pimiento, and Sweet Cherry, while the hot peppers include the Cayenne, Celestial, Large Cherry, and Tabasco.

Bell peppers, commonly measuring 3 inches wide by 4 inches long, usually have 3 to 4 lobes and a blocky appearance. Green bell peppers can be left to turn red or yellow when fully ripe. Some varieties now produce orange, purple, yellow or even chocolate colored fruit. About 200 varieties are available. Banana peppers are long and tapering and harvested when yellow, orange, or red. Another sweet pepper, Pimiento, has conical, 2 to 3 inches wide by 4 inches long, thick-walled fruit. Most Pimientos are used when red and fully ripe. Cherry peppers vary in size and flavor. Usually they are harvested when orange to deep red.

Slim, pointed, slightly twisted fruits characterize the hot Cayenne pepper group. These can be harvested either when green or red and include varieties such as Anaheim, Cayenne, Serrano, and Jalapeño. Large cherry peppers are very hot - milder than Serrano, but hotter than Jalapeño. Celestial peppers are cone-shaped, 3 /4 to 2 inches long, and very hot. They vary in color from yellow to red to purple, making them an attractive plant to grow. Slender, 1- to 3-inch, pointed Tabasco peppers taste extremely hot and include such varieties as Chili Piquin and Small Red Chili.

Peppers generally have a long growing season and suffer slow growth during cool periods. Therefore, after the soil has thoroughly warmed in the spring, set out 6- to 8-week-old transplants to get a head start toward harvest. Practice good cultivation and provide adequate moisture. Mulching can help to conserve water and reduce weeds.

Hot peppers are usually allowed to fully ripen and change color (except for Jalapeños), and they have smaller, longer, thinner, and more tapered fruits than sweet peppers. Yields are smaller for hot peppers.

Common Problems

Diseases: Tobacco mosaic virus, bacterial spot, anthracnose, Phytophthora blight and Southern blight.

Insects: Aphids, flea beetles, cutworms, European corn borer, thrips, stinkbugs.

Cultural: Blossom end rot from moisture irregularities or calcium deficiency; blossom drop from night temperatures rising above 75°F or excessive fruit set on the entire crop.

Refer to the current year’s version of Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Pest Management Guide - Home Grounds and Animals, Home Vegetable Chapter for current control recommendations (https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-018/456-018.html).

Harvesting And Storage

Days to maturity: 100 to 120 days from seed; 70 to 85 days from transplants.

Harvest: Harvest sweet peppers when they are fully mature. For maximum yield, harvest while the fruit is still green. When allowed to mature on the plant, most varieties turn red, sweeten, and increase in vitamins A and C content. Cut instead of pulling to avoid breaking branches. Most hot peppers are allowed to ripen and change color on the plant. Entire plants may be pulled and hung just before full frosts.

Approximate yields: 5 to 18 pounds per 10-foot row.

Amount to raise: 3 to 10 pounds per person.

Storage: Medium-cool (45 to 50°F), moist (95% relative humidity) conditions for two to three weeks.

Preservation: Freeze; use in pickles and relishes or dried as spices.

Eggplant

Environmental Preferences

Light: Sunny.

Soil: Well-drained, high organic matter.

Fertility: Rich. pH: 6.0 to 6.5

Temperature: Warm (70 to 85°F).

Moisture: Average.

Culture

Planting: Transplant after danger of frost, when the soil is thoroughly warm.

Spacing: 18 to 24 inches by 30 to 36 inches.

Hardiness: Very tender annual.

Fertilizer needs: Heavy feeder; use 3 tablespoons of ammonium nitrate 33-0-0 per 10-foot row. In the absence of a soil test, before planting, broadcast 3 lbs. 10-10-10 per 100 square feet. Use a starter solution on transplants. Sidedress 1 lb. 10-10-10 per 100 square feet, 3 to 4 weeks after planting, and repeat in one month if needed.

Cultural Practices

The standard eggplant produces egg-shaped, glossy, purple-black fruit that are 6 to 9 inches long. The long, slender Japanese eggplant has a thinner skin and a more delicate flavor. Both perform well in containers.

Warm to hot weather throughout the season is necessary for good production. Seeds germinate quickly at 70 to 90°F, and plants should be grown for eight to ten weeks before setting them out. Cold temperatures will stop plant and root growth, reducing plant vigor and yields. Use hot caps, cloches, or Wall-O-Water™ to protect plants from cold conditions.

Though eggplants do well in hot weather, they must have well-drained soil and do not thrive in very humid areas. When plants are about 6 inches high, nip back the growing tip to encourage branching. Pick fruits when immature, about 2 /3 maximum size. Mature fruit should not be left on the plant, as this will reduce overall productivity.

Because of the eggplant’s susceptibility to verticillium wilt, rotate plantings with other crops on the same garden soil.

Common Problems

Diseases: Verticillium wilt.

Insects: Flea beetles, aphids, lace bugs, Colorado potato beetle, red spider mites, whitefly.

Refer to the current year’s version of Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Pest Management Guide - Home Grounds and Animals, Home Vegetable Chapter for current control recommendations (https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/456/456-018/456-018.html).

Harvesting and Storage

Days to maturity: 100 to 150 days from seed; 70 to 85 days from transplants.

Harvest: Fruit should be large, shiny, and uniformly deep purple in color. When the side of the fruit is pressed slightly with the thumbnail and an indentation remains, the fruit is ripe. Long, slender, Japanese eggplant may be ready to harvest from finger to hot dog size. When fruit is dull in color and has brown seeds, it is too ripe and should be discarded. Cut fruit from the plant to avoid damage.

Approximate yields: 10-12 pounds per 10-foot row.

Amount to raise: 12 pounds per person.

Storage: Cool (45 to 50°F), moist (90% relative humidity) conditions for one week.

Preservation: Freeze, pickle.