What Are You Planting For Fall?

[so lucky]

I can't believe it is August already. Time to start the fall garden? Or is it past time? I want to get some greens going for the low tunnel, but the sweet potatoes are in the way. Maybe I'll move the low tunnel this year. That spot where the rabbits have kept the bush beans from growing might be a good spot.
Spinach, mustard, kale, I guess. I wonder if cabbage and broccoli planted now would do anything? Who has experience in low tunnels/unheated greenhouses? Do you grow greens in the winter?

 

[journey11]

I am ready for a rebound now, after this disastrous summer. I'm clearing everything out of the big garden today and have decided I will go ahead and till a couple of rows for green beans, summer squash, beets, and some sunflowers I have with a 55 dtm. I am on the fence about broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts. They really should have gone in the first week of July for me. But if I can still find any transplants for sale, I will give it a go.

Still a little early for another round of lettuce, radishes and bok choy. No hurry to get out the kale, mustard or turnips either, but soon. The ground needs to be cooler for those. Maybe I'll put them in the shady spot behind the corn. We're down to short season crops or frost tolerant crops now.

Low tunnels are really easy to do and make a big difference. I've done spinach, radishes and lettuce in one and kept them going until December before. Best radishes I've ever tasted too.

Kale will survive the whole winter and leaf back out in the spring. Carrots you can mulch heavily and harvest all winter. Still time left to plant some herbs too.

 

[so lucky]

Believe it or not, my kale and mustard lasted throughout the awful cold we had last year, under an agribon tunnel with plastic on top of that. I just need to plant more this year!

 

[thistlebloom]

I'm trying some bok choy this year. Taking my cues from Steve.
I should get some kale in the ground too and see what it does before the end of the season.

 

[digitS']

I just need to plant more this year!

That's the spirit!

Except for another sprinkle or two of bok choy seed, I figure I'm done. I'm trying to have small transplants to move into the greenhouse for overwintering. It seems probable that all the bok choy and choy sum I've sown so far will be too mature by the onset of cold weather.

The snow pea seed I'd planned to plant this week couldn't be found. This is getting chronic! I need a better system of organizing seed. (“If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning.”) Anyway, I planted snap peas, instead.

Benjamin Bunny has been doing a job on the final sowing of beans, from about the 15th. The rat!! I think only some of the seedlings are untouched.

Steve

 

[majorcatfish]

hum this fall planting.. hopefully we will not get our first frost till mid to late november, of course this means i need to adjust for dtm on certain plants..
thinking about doing a 4th planting of corn which means it should be ready around 1st week of october, if i do it today...
otherwise will be planting a little smarter this fall, in past have done mass plantings of everything and ending up with giving away major portions of them,which we do not mind people are awestruck getting fresh veggies late fall. depending on the veggie going to stagger plantings so we can eat or give away at our leisure and not worry about if we can find a home for them before they pass their prime..

but shortly will do a couple mass plantings for canning or freezing, they are peas and beets the dw told me that the peas from this spring/early summer are almost gone.. and the beets she tried freezing them turned out to be a disaster but they will still but good for adding to soups and what not..

but after that it will be the usual..
lettuce.... really enjoyed the butter heads, and the oakleaf we were not too crazy about the joker lettuce it was to thin for our liking.
bok chio.... we have tried a couple different types, we enjoy the black summer variety it has a better taste to it not so mustardy.
radishes...found a good variety finally call cherriette they produced large and had an mild flavor to them, so we will see how they do this fall..
carrots... start off with using up the few colored seeds that i have left along with some regular carrots and then a whole bed for overwintering and tormenting
@thistlebloom all winter long...
spinach... will do a couple half beds early, last year they handled the winter ok,but after a couple hard frosts it was not worth picking. so this year going to try them under plastic.
beets.. the second planting knowing darn well they will not get big but they were so tasty roasted..
brussel sprouts.. are growing now will be able to pick some in november the rest will pick and freeze after a couple good hard frosts..
eggplant.. they should keep producing till the temperature really drops....

do have some winter squash and cucumbers in pots and will transplant them into the main garden next weekend.

will extend once again the growing season with the low tech tunnels like i did last year, really loved how it can keep the garden going till old man winter said enough..

 

[digitS']

I liked that Black Summer bok choy, Major'.

My first experience with everything in the mustard family was probably from the soopermarket. That likely even included cabbage. Was completely underwhelmed. I know that southerners ate some of these things so I figured that they had to be good but the food industry's interest, first and foremost - how long will it keep_?

Most of it - they can keep it. I can remember when I first had Jersey Wakefield cabbage. I left the big white-stemmed bok choy to Safeway as soon as I figured out what they were giving me in a good Chinese restaurant. These days, I figure that what I'm getting, easily surpasses what is available to me anywhere I'm likely to turn up with my hard-earned cash.

This "lettuce" for that lettuce? Maybe not. Aren't those butterheads good? I think 90% of the enjoyment people have with restaurant salads is when they start and finish with quality and freshness.

Growing thru the winter has surprised me. I guess I should have expected that a sheet of plastic (or 2) would allow for more tender leaves. It's a fortunate thing that I can have about 60sqft of veggies so easily. I'd almost be willing to only grow during winter months (thinking). As much covered ground as I bother with in the spring would be waaay too much for winter. We approach my ideal of only so much ground as is necessary to feed me . The extra 40sqft I went for last winter (front bed), proved too shady to be of much value until about the first of March. Maybe I should haul in some soil for a raised bed and make a real commitment to it.

... I could also just give up summer growing and just go fishing.

Steve
thinking out loud.

 

[majorcatfish]

@digitS' yes the black summer variety out of all the types i have grown is definitely our favorite and will be the only type i will grow from now on. it is funny how people down here they have turned up their noses at the chance to eat it, even though they had in chinese food..go figure... only know 2 people who like it besides us so i grow a couple extra for them...the stuff you buy in the store is embarrassing and at a ridiculous price to boot....

personally i think the butterhead lettuces have an outstanding flavor and texture plus once picked they hold up very well in the fridge,as for the oakleaf variety will do over again as well...

it is amazing how a little plastic does extend the season, had a couple morning of 30's pulled back the plastic thought that everything was toast from being frozen, but a couple hours of sun on them they looked like nothing ever happened.. someday would like to build a small heated greenhouse for those really cold january /february nights..
have been doing some couch engineering this summer on how to improve the tunnels for this winter, nothing major...

nope you're like me, we'll never stop growing in the summer to many wonderful tasting fruits and vegetables we just can not grow during the winter.. and by the way you're going to sweat just the same fishing as gardening in the summer..

did pull the 1st round of corn stalks up and ran the cultivator though it, was going to plant more corn but alis common sense took over. can start planting other things in a couple weeks so going to let that bed rest till then....

 

[digitS']

I've neglected lettuce what with the blast of summer heat this year.

It seems to grow too slowly to make a good fall crop for me but I've set out lettuce plants well into summer before. Doing that rather than sowing seeds has seemed to offer greater success but takes some bother while they are still in containers. I've direct-sown a little seed in this year just to see if this new weather pattern might mean that they will be nice plants in 6 weeks or so.

Johnny's makes a real commitment in offering varieties. It could be just a selection problem. Oh boy! More seed packets and plant markers in the garden .

Anyway, you may want to check out Johnny's Batavians - what they call Summer Crisps. Nevada does well in my garden.

Steve

 

[Carol Dee]

PEAS. we only got a few from our 1st planting. We where out of town on vacation when they where at the peak. Then plants got dry and peas overripe by the time we got to them. So all puled up and a 2nd planting sown, crossing finger that we get some.