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25th Issue Vol. 3 No. 10 ISSN 2094-1765 October 2010

Growing GarlicGarlic takes about eight months to mature. Buyselected garlic bulbs at a reputable vegetablenursery. Plant cloves directly in the groundduring the end of the rainy season to beharvested late summer

Choose a garden site that gets full sun. Thoughgarlic will grow in soil with any pH from 5.0 to 8.0,it does best in the slightly acid range (6.2 to 6.8).

The Philippine native variety of garlic is much smaller than this, and has a much stronger flavor compared to the Taiwanese variety (left). Two kids posed for a photo, while selling packed garlic inQuiapo, Manila.

Dig to a depth of 8 to 12 inches, andamend the soil with plenty of compostto ensure the ideal combination of fertility, good drainage and moisture

retention. Remove all traces of weeds;they'll easily win out over garlic'sgrasslike foliage.

Plant only the largest cloves from thebulb, and discard any that are pitted or tinged blue-green - both are signs of mold.

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Set unpeeled cloves, pointy end up,2 inches deep and 5 inches apart.For giant "elephant" garlic, increasethe depth to 3 inches and thespacing to 10.

Top-dress the plants with compost,and mulch with rice straw to retainmoisture and deter weeds.

Add a fresh layer of mulch when newgrowth begins. To ensure largebulbs, cut back any flower stalks thatdevelop, and spray young plants withvermin-compost tea or a dilutesynthetic fertilizer rich in nitrogen.

Provide an inch of water a week until the foliage turns yellow or falls over - indications thatbulbs are nearing maturity.

Clip garlic leaves to use any time, but remove no more than 1/4 of a plant's top growth or you'll reduce bulb size.

Begin harvesting bulbs when about 3/4 of the tops are yellow. Garlic is the most importantspices as it is regularly used in all Filipino dishes, specially in sauting meat, fish, poultry or vegetables in garlic, onions and tomatoes.

Growing Ginger in a Container

Buy fresh ginger roots at a grocery store .Look for fat tubers with numerous buds.

Plant ginger during the end of the rainyseason or summer. Use a container that'sabout 14 inches across and 12 inches deepand has excellent drainage. This size will holdthree average-size tubers comfortably.

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Fill the container with potting soil enriched with plenty of compost.

Soak the tubers in warm water overnight, then set them in the pot just below the soilsurface, spacing them evenly, with the buds facing up.

Set the container in light shade, indoors or out, depending on the temperature.

Water lightly at first, then more heavily when growth starts.

Expect plants to reach maturity, and a height of 2 to 4 feet, in 10 months to a year.

Dig up new, young sprouts thatappear in front of the main plants(they form their own tubers), usewhat you need, replant the rest.Clip young, tender stems anytime.

Tips & WarningsNaturally, ginger foliage withersafter about 10 months and theroots are harvested. If you growginger in a greenhouse, you mightbe treated to its seldom-seenblooms: exotic-looking, usuallypink flowers that resembleminiature pineapples

Growing Lettuce

Purchase Lettuce seeds from reputablevegetable seed stores and sow seedsdirectly outdoors as soon as the soil canbe worked usually after the rainy seasonor in a pot inside a covered greenhouse.Choose a site that gets full sun to partialshade. The ideal pH is 6.0 to 7.0

If to be planted on the ground, till the soilthoroughly, breaking up soil clumps andremoving stones and other debris.(Lettuce seeds are tiny, and any obstaclecan hinder germination.)

Dig in plenty of compost and well-cured manure to ensure the kind of soil lettuce needs:well-draining yet moisture-retentive, and rich in the nitrogen necessary for good leaf development.

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Set plants 8 to 16 inches apart,depending on the variety. (Checkthe plant label or a comprehensivegardening book for mature size.)When in doubt, err on the side of distance - crowded plants and poor air circulation invite disease andinsect problems.

Keep the soil moist, but avoidwatering in the evening: Foliagethat stays wet overnight is prone todisease. Mulch to conservemoisture and keep the soil cool,and feed every three weeks withseaweed extract or compost tea.

Ensure a full season's worth of greens by making successivesowings 10 days apart and by choosing heat-resistant varieties. Begin cutting leaf lettucesas soon as they're big enough to use. Harvest heading types when the heads are firm andfully formed.

Tips & Warnings

Lettuce grows well and looks stunning in containers of any size or shape. Place containersin partial shade and fill them with potting soil enriched with compost. Keep plants well-watered, and feed them every two weeks with compost tea or a diluted mixture of seaweedextract and fish emulsion. To find the best lettuce varieties for your taste and your territory,peruse seed catalogs and garden books or visit a nearby test garden. .If slugs are a

problem where you live, avoid mulching lettuce; it's like throwing an open house for the slimycritters. Instead, simply weed diligently and keep the soil cultivated.

Growing Onions

Onions have both medicinal and nutritional value. Today,most people simply eat them, raw or cooked, in about athousand different ways. Onions are warm-season veggiesand, however you plan to use them, you can grow themanywhere.

Buy seeds from reputable plant nurseries or stores.

Choose a site that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day andhas soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Onions need moderatelyfertile soil that is well-drained but retains moisture. Diggingin plenty of compost before you plant will ensure the rightcombination.

Till the soil to a depth of at least 8 inches to allow good

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bulb development, and remove all traces of weeds - they can easily overtake young onionplants.

Sow seedlings in seedling trays and harden off transplants by exposing them in brighter lightand fertilizing with a dilute solution of calcium nitrate.

Set plants into the ground slightly deeper than they were growing in their pots, spacing them2 to 6 inches apart, depending on how big the mature bulbs will be.

Cover the seedlings with floating row covers to keep maggot flies from laying eggs. Weedfrequently, taking care not to disturb fragile onion roots.

Feed plants with vermin-compost tea or any dilute solution of complete or balanced fertilizer three times: three weeks after planting, again when the tops are 6 inches tall, and finally

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when the bulbs begin to swell. Avoid fertilizers high in nitrogen; they encourage lush topsand tiny bulbs.

Cover bulbs lightlywith compost or other organic mulch if theystart pushing out of theground. The exposedsurfaces are prone tosunscald.

Provide about an inchof water a week untilthe tops begin to fallover or turn yellow -signs that the bulbsare reaching maturity -then stop watering.

Start harvestingscallions, or green

onions, when the tops are about 6 inches tall; the larger the plants grow, the stronger their flavor becomes. Begin pulling onion bulbs as soon as they're large enough to use.

Growing Sweet Potato

Sweet potato is one of the mostpopular vegetable as its roots are usedas a substitute for rice in mountainous

provinces, while the tender shoots areboiled and used as a vegetable inmost dishes with fish or pork. The teaderived from boiling its tender shootsare a cure for Dengue hemorrhagicfever and contains lots of vitamins.Growing sweet potatoes is easy withthese simple steps. Sweet potatoesare not grown from seeds, but fromvine cuttings called slips.

Choose a couple of nice sweetpotatoes from your local grocery store.You can grow several bushels of sweet potatoes from the slips takenfrom just a couple of sweet potatoes.Or you can also start from slips(shoots) purchased from the grocery.

Grow your slips from the sweetpotatoes. There are several ways to

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The Urban Gardener is an official electronic publication (in PDF Format) of the PlantBiotechnology Project, Research & Development Center, Rizal Technological University, BoniAvenue, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. It is published monthly. For more information, pleaseinquire thru email: rdc_rtu@yahoo.com or plantbiotech_rtu@yahoo.com and landline (+632)

534-8267 Local 135 or Fax (+632) 534-9710.

Edited by N.R. Bautista October 2010

The Plant Biotechnology Project Committee is composed of: Alexander B. Quilang,Norberto R. Bautista, & Jovita A. Anit.

do this. Bury the mature sweet potato halfway into moist potting soil and keep the soil moist.Or put enough toothpicks in the midsection of the sweet potatoes to hold the potato up in a

jar of water.

Cut the slips off the mother sweet potato when they are six to eight inches long. Remember to handle the slips gently at this point because they are easy to damage.

Transplant the slips in the garden when the soil. Lay the slips on their sides with most of theslip buried a half inch under the soil.

Plant the slips 12 to 18 inches apart in rows that are three to four feet apart. Sweet potatovines will cover the ground; therefore, they need a lot of space in the garden. You canharvest sweet potato shoots every now and then from the garden. As the plant matures,sweet potato roots will enlarge and will be ready for harvesting.

Dry the sweet potatoes on the groundtwo or three hours after harvesting.Then allow them another 10 to 14days of curing in a warm room with moderate humidity. Afterwards, they should be placed ina cool room for storage until ready to be cooked.