Growing a Vegetable Garden doesn’t take a lot of space or skill. Start with a small garden that will grow enough for your family to enjoy season after season of fresh-off-the-vine tomatoes, leafy greens and other favorites.

Look for a location that receives a full day’s sun, and be sure it is close to a source of water (garden hose hook-up or rain barrel). Water new seeds and transplants daily until established.

The Parker F. Scripture Botanical Gardens, located at Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) in Oneida County, 121 Second St., Oriskany, will host a 2023 Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners Citizen Science Project Trail Garden.

Planted and maintained together by Child Care Council staff and Master Gardener Volunteers, this Cornell Garden-Based learning project is a statewide effort for CCE programs cultivating vegetable demonstration gardens.

The gardens are open to the public during daylight hours, seven days a week.

The 2023 theme is “Cultural Roots of Eastern Asia,” featuring vegetables with ties to China, Japan, and Korea grown from seeds provided by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company.  

One of the vegetable beds, labeled Heat and Sweet Peppers of Korea and Japan, will show Hot Pepper “Korean Dark Green” (Capsicum annuum) and Sweet Pepper “Manganji” (Capsicum annuum).

Peppers are best grown in full sun. These plants will thrive in warm weather.  

Hot Pepper “Korean Dark Green” is an heirloom from Korea. It will grow to 2 feet tall. One can use cages or stakes to help support the plant’s growth. This plant will produce slender peppers that are dark green to red in color.

The fruit at maturity (takes 80 days) reaches 3-4 inches long. This is a very spicy and hot pepper to taste! Culinary uses: add to Korean dishes and great for making kimchi.

Sweet Pepper “Manganji” is a sweet chili pepper from historical Japan. These peppers will mature in 80 to 90 days. The fruit will ripen to a red color.

Culinary uses for this sweet-tasting pepper, which can offer a bit of heat; try making it into a mild salsa, grilling, or roasting them.  

Child Care Council staff is planting the Noodle Bean teepee for children to enjoy in the Extension’s Parker F. Scripture Botanical Gardens.

This bean “Chinese Red Noodle” (Vigna unguiculate subsp. Sesquipedalis) has deep red, 18-inch pods. This bean variety is a vining type best grown on a trellis or poles for support. 

Plants can start flowering slowly, but once pods are set, they grow very well. Produce all summer long and can tolerate extreme heat and high humidity. This bean plant matures in 80 days.

The plant blooms may attract aphids and ants. One can use a stream of solid water to disperse them and use care not to harm blossoms. 

Tomato “Korean Long” (Solanum lycopersicum) will be growing in another bed, a paste tomato. This tomato has a meaty flesh and superb flavor.

The fruit grows long, slightly curved pointed end that is 6 to 14 ounces. Some fruit is more heart-shaped and pink in color. Crack resistant. Fruit matures 85-90 days.

There will be nine different 3’ x 3’ size beds growing vegetables of this theme.

Cornell Vegetable Varieties is a Citizen Science project. The public is invited to rate and review vegetable plants from their gardens.

Researchers gain new insight into vegetable varieties and their performance by involving knowledgeable gardeners to input observations.

Visit Cornell’s Garden Based Learning website gardening.cals.cornell.edu  and click on Citizen Science to learn more. Watch the brief tutorial on how to use the Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners database. 

Home and garden questions can be emailed to homeandgarden@cornell.edu or call 315-736-3394, press 1, and then ext. 333. Leave your question, name, and phone number. Questions are answered on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, visit our website at cceoneida.com or phone 315-736-3394, press 1, and then Ext 100.

Source: romesentinel.com