Vegetables Gardening - Growing Organic Vegetables

Hello:

We are trying our first Mittleider Garden and I have some questions.

I am using a 3:1 sawdust/sand mixture for my custom soil in my 20' x 4' growbeds.

1. I planted broc, caul, and cel seeds in seed flats. So far I am not having much luck with germination in the same custom soil mixture. I have had several germinate but then die within a few hours. I have kept them damp and put them in the morning sun as we are having 112 degree temps right now.

(Temperatures in a narrow range of 70-90 degrees are critical for new seedlings. Shade cloth is imperative in hot weather - JK

I also planted some seeds in a potting soil mixture and am having great success with germination.

Any ideas on what I may be doing wrong with the custom soil mixture?

(Likely it's not the soil, but rather the temperatures. Do make sure you have proper drainage, and that the water is moist but not wet. You can also kill plants with too much water - JK)

2. I have native southwest cowpeas and tepary bean transplants, that I planted from seed, that have done very well in my seed flats using the custom made soil mixture.

However, I need some clarification on how to plant these particular crops into a Mittleider garden box.

The spacing chart states 4 inches on bush beans. Although the Teparies are not officially bush beans, I have been reading that they should be grown as such, but 4 inches seems a little close.

I watched a Tohono O Odham video on Teparies and they plant them 4-6 " apart and allow them to bush out on top of each other.

Although I cannot find a video on the cowpeas, I did find some photos.

The cowpeas appear to grow like a bush as well, although somewhat taller, achieving heights of up to 36".

Would I grow teparies and cowpeas with the idea of twining them for a vertical growth with the spacing of 4" or should I plant and allow them to grow as a bush bean would?

(Different varieties of beans need different spacing. It all depends on their size at maturity. If you cannot find what that size is you will need to experiment. From what you're saying it sounds as if you should consider planting further apart - JK)

Also, I read that beans produce their own nitrogen. Should I still spread some nitrogen and water in for the teparies and cow peas or should I not?

(Use the Mittleider Pre-Plant and Weekly Feed mixes according to the instructions in the books, along with a shot of nitrogen fertilizer one time at transplanting for seedlings - JK.)

Thank you for your help.

Rachel

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