How to Grow Fleshy-Fruited Vegetables and Cole Crops
Whether you're an avid gardener or just starting out, learn everything you need to know about fleshy-fruited vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and how to take nutritious cole crop vegetables from seed to your table.
Featured Expert: Dr. Frank Williams, professor of plant and animal sciences at BYU.
Click on a topic below to view additional information.
Fleshy-fruited Vegetables
What do we mean by fleshy-fruited vegetables?
The most common fleshy-fruited vegetables are tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber, watermelon, and cantaloupe.
They are warm-season vegetables that thrive in hot climates. Not only are they subject to frost injury, but also cool night temperatures early in the season inhibit growth and cause flower abortion.
Vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplant and pepper are highly nutritious and should be a main part of the diet.
They contain lots of vitamin C, and many different minerals such as iron, calcium, and magnesium.
What do we mean by cole crops?
Cole crops include broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi and kale.
Cole crops are one of the healthiest foods we have.
Dr. Frank Williams says cole crops a day keeps the Dr. away, not apples.
Tomato
Tomatoes are a popular home garden crop.
They require a small area, bear repeatedly, are widely adapted and easy to grow, and have many culinary uses.
Tomatoes are rich in potassium, vitamins A, vitamin C, and low in calories.
They are an excellent source of lycopene, which is the pigment that makes tomatoes red and has been linked to prevention of many forms of cancer.
Is tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
Tomato is a warm-season perennial that is killed by frost and so is used as an annual.
Tomatoes can be categorized by: maturity class, fruit size, fruit color, plant size, acid content, and use. Find out more about tomatoes from this site.
Tomatoes crave heat, but they'll grow anywhere in USDA zone 3 and warmer.
When purchasing tomato plants, select stocky, dark green plants that do not have fruits. If there are fruit on the plant when it is planted it will stunt plant growth and reduce the total yield.
Hundreds of varieties of tomatoes are now available for the home gardener. They range widely in size, shape, color, plant type, disease resistance and season of maturity.
If you want tomatoes sooner in the season, plant short season varieties. Be sure to pick out healthy plants with no yellowing or speckling on the leaves.
Tomatoes taste best if you grow them yourself, keep good records and then decide which varieties you like the best.
Most garden centers and nurseries have varieties that have been proven to grow well and produce high quality, flavorful fruits for local conditions.
Soil and Fertilizer
Tomatoes can be grown on many different soil types, but a deep, loamy soil, well-drained and supplied with organic matter and nutrients is most suitable. As with most garden vegetables, tomatoes grow best in a slightly acid soil with a pH of 6.2 to 6.8.
Tomatoes respond well to fertilizer applications, especially phosphorus. Excess nitrogen fertilizer can result in plants with extremely vigorous vine growth but little fruit production. Apply 2-1/2 to 3 pounds of a complete fertilizer, such as 5-10-10, 5-20-20, or 8-16-16 per 100 square feet of garden area. Work the fertilizer into the soil about 2 weeks before planting. An additional side-dressing of a nitrogen fertilizer may be desirable after the first cluster of flowers have set fruit.
Chemical fertilizers will promote plant growth but do nothing for the taste. For great tasting tomatoes start with a rich healthy soil.
Fertilizer applied at the time of planting will not supply enough nutrients for the entire season. Too much nitrogen in the beginning brings heavy vegetative growth and poor fruit set.
Spacing and Sunlight
Tomatoes grow best when they receive full sunshine. They should receive a minimum of 8 to 10 hours of sun each day.
Set the plants 12 to 18 inches apart depending on variety (see the seed packet or plant label).
Plant tomatoes approximately 2 to 3 feet apart from each other or in rows three feet apart with the plants spaced at a foot.
Planting
How and where you plant tomatoes is an important first step for a bountiful harvest. Deep, loamy, well-drained soils are best for tomatoes.
It is OK to plant tomatoes in the garden when the temperature is a consistent 50° F, but plants won't begin to set fruit until the overnight low is regularly above 55°.
If planting seeds you need to start them inside, 6 to 8 weeks before the intended outdoor planting date.
When choosing a site, it's also important to select an area where tomatoes and other solanaceous crops (potatoes, peppers, and eggplants) have not been grown for 2 to 3 years. Solanaceous crops are susceptible to many of the same diseases.
Tomatoes can be transplanted anytime after the first true leaves appear.
Harden the tomato plants outdoors for 5 - 7 days before planting. Initially, place the plants in a shady location and then gradually expose them to longer periods of direct sunlight.
Transplants mature about 4 weeks before seeded tomatoes and are recommended for most areas.
Dig a hole the size of a basketball for each plant. Add a shovelful of compost and a handful of crushed eggshells (for needed calcium) to each hole.
Plant them deeply - up to the fourth branch from the top - to encourage new root development.
For complete instructions on planting tomatoes see this site. They also suggest placing a paper collar around each plant to deter cutworms, and covering the plants with floating row covers to protect them from insects and cool temperatures.
Click here to see a table of planting tips for vegetables.
Irrigate so that moisture goes deeply into the soil. Irregular watering (over or under) can cause blossom-end rot, a dark leathery spot on the bottom of the fruit.
Water so that the soil is moist down 6 inches.
Tomatoes need a minimum of one inch of water per week, preferably 1.5 inches in the heat of the summer.
You can harvest the remaining green tomato fruits in fall to provide fresh fruit for later ripening. Mature green tomatoes hold and ripen best at 55 to 70 degrees, and 85 to 90 percent relative humidity. Do not expect to hold them for more than a few weeks.
Pruning the top of the plants late in the season reduces further fruit set and encourages maturation of existing fruit.
One tomato plant will produce about 40 pounds of tomatoes.
Expect tomatoes to take 2 to 3 months for fruit to mature.
Pests and Diseases
The larva, of the tomato hornworm, is the damaging stage and feeds on the leaves and stems of the tomato plant leaving behind dark green or black droppings.
Nutrient deficiencies, diseases, fungi or insects may cause tomato problems.
Whitefly causes damage to leaves by feeding, which causes leaves to yellow and curl.
Blossom-end rot is a noninfectious disease or disorder of tomato fruits caused by low levels of calcium in fruit.
This site can help you assess the symptoms, of tomato problems, then make the appropriate treatment.
Check out this site to learn more about bacterial diseases of tomatoes.
For a comprehensive list of insect pests of tomatoes click here.
Aphids are sucking insects, which draw great quantities of sap, causing leaves and stems to become distorted.
Snails and slugs feast on most plants, especially young, tender transplants, leafy vegetables and succulent plant parts.
Tomato early blight shows up on the leaves, it starts as brown circular spots that are often surrounded by a yellow area. Leaf spots usually appear on the oldest leaves first and progress up the plant.
Solanaceous crop plants (tomato, potato, pepper, and egg- plant) may be infected at any age by the fungi that cause Fusarium wilt and Verticillium wilt. The wilt organisms usually enter the plant through young roots and then grow into and up the water conducting vessels of the roots and stem.
Cutworm larvae chew young plants off at the base at or near ground level.
For a comprehensive look at tomato disorders check out this site.
Leafminers are insects that feed between the two surfaces of a single leaf; they are the larvae of flies, moths, sawflies, or beetles.
Both the adults and larvae of the Colorado Potato Beetle feed by chewing the leaves and terminal growth of plants.
Tips on growing tomatoes from Frank Williams
Yellow and orange tomatoes have low acid and thus a milder flavor.
A "square tomato" is not actually square; it is simply a firmer-skinned tomato with very little gelatinous material.
Tomatoes need lots of sunlight to grow.
Too much nitrogen encourages leaves instead of fruit.
1 pound of nitrogen per 100 square feet in the spring should take your tomato plant through the season.
Some experts recommend adding nitrogen only after the first fruits appear.
If your tomato plants don't grow well "side dress" with a light amount of nitrogen.
For soil preparations make sure there is organic matter in it and that the soil will hold water and drain well.
Order free copies of most seed catalogues online.
You can plant tomato seeds in your garden 2 weeks prior to the last frost.
If you are using transplants don't plant them in your garden until 1 1/2 weeks after the last frost.
Transplants mature about 4 weeks before seeded tomatoes.
If starting your own transplants water seedlings every 1-2 days until they sprout. If you keep them too wet the seeds can rot.
If starting your own transplants from seed plan on 6 - 8 weeks for them to be ready to plant in the garden.
Tomato plants can be any size when they are transplanted.
If you start your own seeds inside, use scissors to cut out the extra small plants, instead of pulling them out, so you do not disrupt the roots of the plant you want to leave to grow bigger.
Cracking near the stem of the tomato comes from getting water on the tomato itself. Common after a rainstorm.
If you get dark leathery spots on the blossom end of your tomatoes you are either over or under watering.
To ripen the tomatoes on the vine step on the plant and break it. This will ripen all of the tomatoes on the plant. Do this so there is time for them to ripen before the first frost.
Place green tomatoes in a paper bag with a fourth of an apple and close the bag. The apple provides ethylene, which is a ripening gas.
You can choose peppers that are short and chunky, long and skinny, cone-shaped, round, or crumpled, in nearly any color imaginable, including lilac and chocolate.
Select a flavor from mild to sweet to sizzling hot and pungent.
The best-known sweet peppers are bell peppers.
A huge variety of peppers is available, but as garden plants they are somewhat demanding about conditions. This site includes a guide to pepper variety choices.
Peppers are a warm-season annual; killed by frost.
Sweet peppers grow best when daytime temperatures range between 70 and 75 F/21 and 24 C.
Hot peppers thrive at slightly warmer temperatures, 70 to 85F/21 to 29 C. For both types if night temperatures fall below 60F/16C or stay above 75F/24C, blossoms often fall off, and fruit set is poor.
For commonly asked questions about growing peppers check out this web site.
Grow hot peppers to jazz up your landscape and to spice up your food.
Check out this site for general information about growing peppers.
Be especially careful when handling the blistering hot peppers like 'Habanero' and 'Thai Dragon.' Capsaicin, the chemical that provides the 'heat' in a hot pepper, is in a volatile oil that can actually burn your fingers.
Varieties
For a list of varieties and their disease resistance see this web site.
There are hundreds of varieties of peppers, some are sweet and some are hot with many varieties of each.
Soil and Fertilizer
Peppers grow best in fertile, well-drained soil rich in organic matter.
Prepare your soil in the spring with 1lb N /100 sq ft.
Peppers benefit from being fertilized with Epsom salts; (apply 1 tablespoon dissolved in a gallon of water to produce greener foliage and larger peppers. You can wet the foliage with the solution. High-nitrogen fertilizer will cause peppers' flowers to drop off.
Space and Sunlight
For large peppers (like sweet peppers) space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 2 ½ to 3 feet apart.
Smaller peppers (like Anaheim) space 1 foot between plants and one foot between rows.
Substantial heat over a long period of time is required to make hot peppers spicy.
All peppers require full sun and a long, warm growing season.
Sweet peppers grow best when daytime temperatures range between 70 and 75 F / 21 and 24 C.
For hot peppers temperatures are slightly warmer 70 and 85 F / 21 and 29 C.
Plant
Peppers are best to plant as transplants. You can plant them from seed but you have to have an extremely long growing season for them to mature.
Peppers should be planted after the soil has warmed in the spring, or in a greenhouse. The night time temperature must remain above 55 degrees F.
Set out nursery plants in spring, 1 week after the last frost date, when the soil temperature has warmed to 65F/18C.
When first set out, transplants require thorough watering, but once established and rooted, they are remarkably drought tolerant.
Water peppers once every seven days with warm water. If you water new transplants with cold water it can kill them.
Harvest
Peppers mature from 60 to 95 days after planting.
To harvest peppers it is best to cut them off so as not to break branches or uproot the plant.
Cut peppers from the plant gently with pruning shears, being careful not to break the plant stems.
Peppers can be harvested at any stage of growth, but their flavor doesn't fully develop until they are fully mature.
Harvest peppers early and often - the more you pick, the more the plants will produce.
Allowing fruits to fully ripen enhances flavor, often at the sacrifice of yields.
Pick sweet peppers when full size; allow pimientos to turn fully red on the plants, but harvest other kinds at any color stage (flavor typically becomes sweeter as the fruit ripens)
Pick hot peppers when full size and still green, or wait until they turn yellow or red for richer flavor
If you are growing very hot peppers, wear rubber gloves, and avoid touching your eyes.
Safe methods to store, preserve, and enjoy peppers.
Yields vary from 5 to 18 pounds per 10-foot row.
Can they ripen off the vine?
Peppers do not continue to ripen off the vine. A green bell pepper is picked before it is fully mature. A red bell pepper is left on the plant until it changes color. As it matures the flavor deepens and becomes richer.
Pests and Diseases
Avoid working in the garden after a rain. Diseases can spread rapidly among wet pepper plants.
Aphids are sucking insects which draw great quantities of sap, causing leaves and stems to become distorted.
European corn borers damage stalks, tassels and ears. As their name indicates, corn borers bore into the plant; and the stalks break over when damage is severe.
Both the adults and larvae of the Colorado Potato Beetle feed by chewing the leaves and terminal growth of plants. http://www.uga.edu/vegetable/beetles.html#Colorado%20Potato
Whitefly causes damage to leaves by feeding, which causes leaves to yellow and curl.
Adult pepper weevils feed on fruit and leaf buds. Larvae feed inside the pods and cause young fruit to drop prematurely, reducing yields.
Plant parasitic nematodes, are small microscopic roundworms which live in the soil and attack the roots of plants.
Larvae of leafminers, mine between upper and lower leaf surfaces, creating winding, whitish tunnels that are initially narrow, but then widen as the larvae grow.
Problems caused by the western yellowstriped armyworm may occur if peppers are planted near alfalfa or bean fields. This pest primarily feeds on leaves.
Bacterial spot of pepper is one of the most destructive diseases of pepper in climates where high temperature and frequent rainfall occur during the growing season.
Water-soaked areas that develop near the blossom end of the pepper characterize blossom end rot. The affected tissue desiccates, becoming brown and leathery.
There are several diseases and pests that can affect peppers check out this site for a comprehensive list.
For a comprehensive list of diseases and pests of peppers see this site.
Tips on growing peppers from Frank Williams
On a hot pepper the closer you get to the stem the hotter it gets. So if you want to test it taste the blossom end first.
When you taste a hot pepper and your mouth is burning eat a piece of bread. Drinking water will spread the oil and cause your mouth to burn more.
If you water new transplants with cold water it can kill them.
Peppers need more water than tomatoes.
It is best to plant peppers as transplants.
Your pepper plants should be transplanted when they start to form the true leaves.
The depth of the pepper plant in the pot has to be the same depth in garden soil this is also true with eggplant.
Eggplant
Eggplant is extremely sensitive to the conditions under which it is grown. A warm weather plant, it demands a growing season of from 100 to 140 days with high average day and night temperatures.
For different varieties of eggplants check out this site.
Eggplant is a member of the Solanaceae or nightshade family. Other garden vegetables in this family include tomato, potato, pepper, ground cherry, and tomatillo. Find out more about growing eggplant from this site.
The cole crops, with the exception of kohlrabi, are grown for the heads they produce. Kohlrabi is grown for the turnip-like enlargement or "bulb" formation on the stem.
Kohlrabi is an excellent substitute for turnips. There are fewer problems with worms because it grows above the ground.
Cabbage
Cabbage is a cool season annual that tolerates frost but not hard freezes.
Cabbage is easy to grow if you select suitable varieties and practice proper culture and insect management.
In its raw state, cabbage contains iron, calcium, and potassium. High marks are given for its vitamin C content. Cabbage is also high in vitamins B1, B2, B3, and D.
Soil and Fertilizer
Cabbage does well in any soil, anything from a sandy to a clay soil.
Use starter fertilizer when transplanting and side-dress with nitrogen fertilizer when the plants are half grown.
Cabbage likes full sunlight at least 6 to 8 hours a day.
For cabbage transplants, set them out 12 to 24 inches apart in rows 1 to 2 feet apart.
Sow seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart, in rows 2 to 4 feet apart; thin seedlings to 12 to 24 inches apart.
Planting
Cabbage grows best from seed but if we decide to use transplants, start seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the planting date.
You should plant cabbage transplants out in the garden when they are no more than 2 or 3 inches tall. If the transplant is too large, and the temperature outdoors is cool, the plant may go to seed. See this site for answers to more questions about growing cabbage.
Sow seeds ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart, in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. Then thin seedlings 15 to 24 inches apart.
Water
Cauliflower enjoys moist soil and frequent watering. A good layer of mulch will help maintain evenness in soil moisture.
Do not allow broccoli plants to dry out, because the stems get tough and stringy in dry weather. Technically, broccoli needs about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water or rain a week.
Varieties and Blanching
If you need to blanch your cauliflower, when the head is about 2 inches wide, fold the large outer leaves over it, and secure them with twist-ties, clothespins, or elastic bands.
The mature cauliflower heads should be compact, firm and white. Harvest the heads by cutting the main stem. Leave a few green outer leaves attached to protect the heads.
Harvest before buds open. Check every 3 or 4 days around harvest time; the heads mature quickly during hot weather.
After harvesting, put the plants back in the compost and till into the soil.
Cauliflower is the most demanding of the cole crops to grow.
To harvest broccoli cut the central head with 5 to 6 inches of stem, after the head is fully developed, but before it begins to loosen and separate and the individual flowers start to open.
Pests and Diseases
Infections of downey mildew begin as irregular yellow patches on leaves; these chlorotic lesions later turn tan to light brown.
Aphids are sucking insects which draw great quantities of sap, causing leaves and stems to become distorted.
If allowed to become numerous, cabbage worms can completely defoliate plants.
Cabbage maggots damage and destroy root systems of all cole crops, riddling roots with tunnels when infestations are heavy.
