FALL Gardening!

[me&thegals]

I love planting crops all season long. I have lots of brassicas under grow lights in the house for planting in a couple weeks. Will plant lots more beets, carrots, lettuce, spinach, arugula and beans. Can't wait for that amazing fall harvest--that's the most fun harvesting for me. It feels good to be stocking up for winter rather than having to buy veggies in Nov/Dec.

 

[yotetrapper]

Please explain more! I would love to plant carrots and beans (dried kind). Are you saying it's not too late??? If not, when do I plant them?? I live in the midwest, zone 5.

 

[curly_kate]

I tried some cauliflower in the fall (also tried it 2x this spring!), but didn't have much luck. Our fall last year was just as hot & dry as the summer. Anyway, I'm in Indiana (zone 6A), and found a gardening calendar through the Purdue extension website. It broke the state down into 4 more zones, and states the dates that you should plant everything in spring and fall. If you're not in IN, check your local Ag college - they might have something similar.

 

[fletamae]

I grow turnips in the fall.

 

[patandchickens]

Please explain more! I would love to plant carrots and beans (dried kind). Are you saying it's not too late??? If not, when do I plant them?? I live in the midwest, zone 5.

I am pretty sure it is considerably too late for you to plant shelling beans - they take a pretty long season to mature enough to harvest, even if you plant the faster varieties, and they need a good amount of hotness in the weather towards the end.

Carrots you could try I suppose, but google (I've never done fall carrots myself) sez that you need to seed them no less than 10 wks before your first Fall frost. Ten weeks from today would be the last weekend in September. Which may be getting close to your first frost date? OTOH if you have carrot seeds sitting around you may as well TRY, the loss is not great if they don't work out or if the weather is uncooperative

The big thing when seeding into the soil in summer is to make REALLY REALLY SURE that you do not let the row dry out or crust over. There is a lot to be said IMO for covering the seeds with sand, rather than with soil, and putting something of a shading rain-breaking nature over them, like shade screens or cut pine boughs. Then water very gently and lightly, with a fine spray or mist, every day or two as needed to keep the soil good.

Good luck and have fun,

Pat

 

[bearzhere]

Hi, I was late getting my summer garden in and alas alot didnt even get planted. But aha, I was reading my seed directions yesterday and I found I can still plant almost everything I hadnt got to yet. With the exception of melons, winter squash and pumpkins which are kind of winter squash! So this week I am retilling and gettng my fall garden started, corn, brassicas, leafy greens, beets, carrots summer squash and some other things that I bought seed for in the spring. Good luck to all who are heading into the fall garden season.