VEGETABLES - World Food: Production and Use - page 137

Figure 4.7. Tray for starting vegetables and on the left a plug that can be planted.
the soil before planting. Planting is then done inside the box. This method leaves a nice
walkway between beds and beds can be covered if need be.
After initial working of the soil, it is often raked and seed planted. However, in many
places, including tropical climates, it is common to start vegetable plants, particularly
tomatoes and peppers, in separate containers and transplant them to the garden when
the climate allows. Plants may be removed from soil for transplanting or the plant plus
the soil it is growing in is removed from the starting chamber and the whole thing,
called a plug (Fig. 4.7), is planted resulting in minimal disturbance to the plant.
Transplanting is a particularly common practice where the farmer wants to have
plants produce more quickly and so starts vegetable plants in the house or greenhouse
or purchases them from a commercial supplier. In this way plants can be started when it
is too cold outside for them to survive, and they can be transplanted into the garden
when danger of cold weather is past. The plants start producing faster and have a
longer time to produce during the growing season.
Starting plants in containers in a screen house or otherwise away from fields is also
practiced in subtropical and tropical climates. The advantages for this approach are
varied. It may allow farmers to start plants before rains come, to start plants before
fields are ready to plant, or to protect young plants from insects or other pests.
Produce is harvested by hand as it becomes ripe and used immediately or, if there is
excess, stored, canned, or frozen for later use.
There are large farms specializing in the production of one or several vegetable
crops for the commercial market; see Figure 4.8. In all cases the soil is worked,
plowed, and cultivated to produce a fine seedbed. Vegetable seeds may be directly