Vegetable Growing in Indiana
Indiana's season climate allows vegetable growers to experience a wide array of crops throughout the growing season. With careful planning, gardeners can enjoy two seasons of cool-weather crops and the classic summer vegetables like melon, corn and tomatoes. New gardeners should test their soil's pH using a pH tester and also test their soil for harmful chemicals, which they can do through their cooperative extension office. Does this Spark an idea?
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Climate
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According to City Data, Indiana has both hot and cold extremes of weather in the winter and the summertime. Furthermore, temperatures vary throughout Indiana, with the southern part of the state having a longer growing season. City Data estimates that northern Indiana has a 155-day growing season in the north and a 175-day growing season in the south. The annual mean temperature runs from 49 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit in the north and 57 F in the south.
Spring Planting
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Purdue University suggests the following vegetables for spring planting in Indiana: asparagus, beet, broccoli, bush bean, pole bean, brussels sprouts, carrots, cabbage, carrot and cauliflower. These plants can be started from mid-March to April throughout the state. These early spring vegetables are cool weather vegetables, which means that they do not need summer heat to perform well.
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Summer Gardening
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As the weather heats up, Indiana gardeners can plant hot weather crops. Purdue University suggests planting summer vegetables in May and June, including the following: eggplant, melon, okra, black-eyed pea, peppers, shallot, sorrel, soybean, sweet potato, tomato and watermelon.
Fall Planting
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Indiana gardeners can plant a second round of spring crops in midsummer for a fall vegetable crop. The same plants from the spring can be planted again from early June to mid-July. The chilly fall weather gives fall plants like brussels sprouts or kale a better taste. Purdue University offers several tips to protect the fall vegetable garden from early frosts, including covering individual plants with plastic milk cartons or covering the entire bed with a garden cloth.
Soil Enriching
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To enrich your soil at the end of the growing season for the spring planting, plant a cover crop. Common cover crops include vetch, rye, buckwheat or clover. Plant a cover crop in the late fall and allow it to remain in your garden over winter. When getting your garden ready for spring, pull out the cover crop.
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References
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