Getting Ready for Fall's Vegetable Garden

It's not too late to plant vegetables. So if you didn't get around to planting a spring vegetable plot, or if your spring veggie garden has bare spots where you've harvest up food, now's the time to think about planting cool season crops. Spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale, carrots, beets, parsnips, Brussel sprouts, Swiss chard, radishes, broccoli, kohlrabi, collards, cabbage, garlic, leek, peas, and cauliflower...imagine eating them fresh from the garden well into fall and perhaps even winter! It's possible in most areas of the United States. Not all cool season crops survive hard frosts, but carrots, parsnips, kale, lettuce, spinach, Brussel sprouts, and cabbage don't mind a light frost. Carrots and parsnips will survive all winter in the ground if you cover them with at least a foot of mulch. (But do bear in mind, the longer those root crops stay in the soil beyond their maturity date, the tougher they'll become.)

For successful fall planting: 1. Know your first estimated frost date. You can quickly unearth this info by visiting the website of your local extension office. 2. Add about 21 days to the estimated date of maturity found on the seed packet. (For example, if the packet says the vegetable is ready to harvest in 60 days, plan on it being more like 81 days.) 3. Count backwards from the frost date to determine when you should sow seeds. (For example, if your first estimated frost date is October 1st, and you have a vegetable that needs 60 days to mature, plant the seeds by August 2nd.) In my garden, I've already planted collards, chard, carrots, beets, and kohlrabi for the coming fall season. Soon I'll plant lettuce and spinach, too. What are your fall gardening plans?
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2 comments

  1. Hi Kristina, we finally bought a house with enough acreage to plant a garden. Of course, we weren't able to do one for spring and fall since we moved in June. But I definitely want to do one for fall. I have No clue where to begin. Do you have books or websites you could steer me to?? I love all the vegetables you mentioned on this post and to have them fresh would be yummy!!!

    thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us!! :)

    Tereza

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  2. How exciting, Teresa!! I would start with my Gardening 101 posts: http://proverbsthirtyonewoman.blogspot.com/search/label/Gardening%20101 There are articles about testing an amending your soil there, as well as the various types of gardens you might want to try. Also "The Backyard Homestead" has good, basic info on growing edibles: http://proverbsthirtyonewoman.blogspot.com/2009/11/growing-your-own-food-in-suburbs.html

    As for fall gardening, I would check with your local extension office: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/ Their website might have info on fall gardening. If not, give them a call. That's what they are there for!

    And, of course, you can always shoot questions my way, too.

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