Table 2.  Specific Instruction on how to sample plants for particular vegetable crops and growth stages

Crop	Growth stage	Plant part to sample	No. of plants to sample
Snap Bean	Bloom stage	Uppermost mature leaves, 2-3 leaves per plant	8-10
Beet	Mid-season at harvest	Most recent fully developed leaf	4-6
Broccoli	Heading	Recently mature leaf	4-6
Cabbage	Head half grown	Young wrapper leaf, 2 leaves/plant	4-6
Carrot	Half grown or at harvest	Oldest leaf	8-10
Cauliflower	At heading	Most recently developed leaf	4-6
Collards	Mid growth	Young mature leaf	4-6
Cucumber	Prior to or at initial fruit set	Mature leaves near the growing tip of the plant	4-6
Eggplant	Prior to or bloom	Most recent fully developed leaves	4-6
Garlic	Prior to or at bulb initiation	Most recent fully developed leaf	8-10
Lettuce	Heading	Wrapper leaf	4-6
Mustard	Mid-season or at harvest	Recently mature leaves	4-6
Onion	Prior to or at bulb initiation	Most recently mature leaves	4-6
English Peas	First Bloom	Most recent fully developed leaflets	8-10
Southern Peas	Early Bloom	Most recent fully developed trifoliate leaves	8-10
Pepper	Prior to or bloom	Most recently mature leaves	4-6
Irish Potatoes	Early flowering	Uppermost mature leaves	4-6
Sweet Potatoes	Mid growth	Recently mature leaf	4-6
Radish	Half grown or at harvest	Most recent fully developed leaf	4-6
Spinach	Mid growth	Recently mature leaf	4-6
Sweet Corn	Teaseling	Ear leaf	4-6
Strawberry	At Flowering	Most recent fully mature leaf	8-10
Tomatoes	Prior to or during early bloom	Third or fourth leak from growing tip	4-6
Turnip Greens	Mid season or at harvest	Recently mature leaves	4-6
Watermelons	Prior to or at initial fruit set	Mature leaves near the growing tip of the plant	4-6