Fall Gardening?

[Greenthumb18]

Hi,
Just wanted to know how everyone's fall gardening is going?, what kind of crops are you looking to harvest in the fall? I myself am still waiting on some seeds i ordered but i'm sure they'll get here. I just cant see putting my garden to an end, it makes me a little sad but with a fall harvest plan i'm looking to lengthen the season. Maybe even through the winter months if i place row covers over the plants. I read that by covering the plants you raise the temperature by 2 to 5 degrees, which should protect against a few frosts i'm sure. I'll do whatever i can to make the harvest season longer. It would be especially nice to have harvests come in time during the holidays, like harvesting some collards and others.

Hope everyones fall gardening is doing great !!

 

[vfem]

I am sad about it too... I still have not let me tomatoes go, and I will not until I find and get my order or onions. Oh, how I hate ending summer. It just breaks my heart.

This was my first garden ever!

 

[injunjoe]

I am sad about it too... I still have not let me tomatoes go, and I will not until I find and get my order or onions. Oh, how I hate ending summer. It just breaks my heart.

This was my first garden ever!

First Garden, I would have thought you were a seasoned garden vet.
I am very impressed with such skills and being a rookie to boot .

 

[digitS']

We do have one full week of summer remaining with no frost on the horizon here near the 49th parallel.
I don't suppose I should count my late planting of green beans - planted in mid-July. I should be picking them this weekend. Or, the zucchini plants I set out about the same time. They look great and have been kicking out nice zukes for a week now . . .

The 1st mess of mustard greens was harvested about a week ago, also. The ground they are growing in was where I began harvesting the potatoes near the end of July. Radish planted after the last of the peas were taken out have been available for about a week, too. Lettuce should be ready real soon.

What am I anticipating in October? Snow peas and bok choy . . . along with the mustard greens and lettuce. Radish planted after the sweet onions came out will be along about then. I noticed new radish sprouts today in front of the very last of the sweet onions.
Of course, there will still be kale. And, carrots along with the parsnips will be available for quite awhile . . . have I forgotten anything else in October . . . ?

Steve

 

[vfem]

I am sad about it too... I still have not let me tomatoes go, and I will not until I find and get my order or onions. Oh, how I hate ending summer. It just breaks my heart.

This was my first garden ever!

First Garden, I would have thought you were a seasoned garden vet.
I am very impressed with such skills and being a rookie to boot .

Thanks to good old TEG!!! I can promise you that!!! Without this site I would be crying next to my blight killed potatoes, tomatoes and grapes!!!!!!!!

 

[injunjoe]

We do have one full week of summer remaining with no frost on the horizon here near the 49th parallel.

Amazing the weather around the country.
I am at Lat. 28.349 N
Looking at the low 90's again with rain.

I planted a lot of leaf type crop this week. The summer is to hot for them but I think now is the right time. but what would I know?

 

[Ridgerunner]

At the end of July, I planted store-bought russet potatoes that were sprouting. I was unable to get the potatoes I grew earlier to sprout so I went with the store bought. Although they were sprouting, only about half came up but that half is looking good. Interestingly, the bugs have left them alone.

I planted peas, radishes, lettuce, mesclun, spinach, chard, kale, bok choi, leeks, carrots, beets, and cucumbers at the end of August. I also put out several cabbage and broccoli plants. Like a lot of other people, I'll plant garlic next month.

I was surprised to see cucumbers on the list from the extension office of what could be planted then. I'm a little sceptical on them but willing to try it. My Edmundson's did not produce at all like I thought they should. I did not mulch them since I thought that would give hiding places for the creepy-crawlies, but I think that was a mistake. I'll probably do it differently next year.

A lot of this I will harvest this fall, but I expect the chard and kale to produce some, then last through the winter. It should start producing again early next spring. The leeks will also over-winter and start growing in the spring. I expect to have leeks big enough for soup late spring. When I planted leeks in the spring, it was late fall before I had any I could use, although they did over-winter well.

I'm not sure how the beets will produce, but I will be happy with beet greens. Any actual beets will just be a bonus. These carrots are not for canning or freezing. I'll leave them in the ground and eat on them all winter. I did that last year and they stayed sweet until they started to grow in the spring. As soon as they started to grow in the spring they turned bitter, but during the cold weather they were sweeter than my spring-grown carrots.

Another trip to the thrift store is in order to get some more sheets. I bought some last year for $1.25 each but I have more winter garden this year than last. I cover the stuff I overwinter whenever the temperature is forecast for the mid-20's. I also mulch to try to keep the roots warmer and give some protection against that cold, drying wind. Seems to work for me.

It has been a very unusual month. It has been rainy and overcast since I planted so everything came up well. The disadvantage is, so have the weeds. It has been too wet to get out there and weed, so I expect a real chore this weekend if the forecast holds out and we actually dry out some. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about the rain. I'll gladly take care of the weeds for the germination rate and early growth I got for a summer planting.

 

[digitS']

Amazing the weather around the country.
I am at Lat. 28.349 N
Looking at the low 90's again with rain.

I planted a lot of leaf type crop this week. The summer is to hot for them but I think now is the right time. but what would I know?

Joe, the forecast high tomorrow for here is above 90 . . . it certainly will NOT rain but we are flirting with record heat.

At the end of July, I planted store-bought russet potatoes that were sprouting. I was unable to get the potatoes I grew earlier to sprout so I went with the store bought. Although they were sprouting, only about half came up but that half is looking good. Interestingly, the bugs have left them alone.

Last year, I tried "encouraging" my Caribe potatoes to sprout after they had matured in July. The encouragement was just harvesting most and replanting a few, watering . . . Those didn't emerge until spring, and didn't do all that well producing a crop, either.

I'd always read not to allow the early varieties to stay in the ground after the tops had died back. They may sprout. I thought, "Hey, I can make 2 crops out of them if'n they start growing again in July!" Even had a guy in Virginia tell me that this was possible and an old technique there.

Now your store-bought russets are probably from 'o8, Ridgerunner. But, I'm just guessing about that. I'd still like to grow 2 crops of spuds in a single year but guess I'll just have to keep an early variety like Yukons or Caribe in the fridge until July and plant late. Spuds have become FUN since there are so many varieties out there these days .

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'd still like to grow 2 crops of spuds in a single year but guess I'll just have to keep an early variety like Yukons or Caribe in the fridge until July and plant late. Spuds have become FUN since there are so many varieties out there these days .

Steve

I asked my county extension agent about it and got no real help, just an article that said it was possible. I was looking for a "how to", not a "it is possible". When I researched it, about all I could find was fumigating with some nasty chemicals to break dormancy. No, won't try that.

I plan to take two tacks next year. One is to keep some seed potatoes in a fridge with no apples or other fruit to see if I can use them in July. I'll also go to the Natural Foods Store in June and get some to try to sprout so I can plant them in July. I read a bit about physiological age of potatoes. I won't go into too much detail, but, once dormancy is broken, if the physiological age is too young, you only get a few eyes to sprout so there are not enough tops for good production. If they are too old, they won't produce. I want to try both ways to see if I can get either to work and if there is any difference in production.

 

[obsessed]

I got some spuds at the store (organic) in July in hopes of planting them in Sept. But they didn't really have any sprouts when the begining of September started. Very small eyes or none at all. I got the russets, yukon gold, and red. So maybe purchasing the spuds sooner than June/July for a fall planting.

As of now only the reds have anything eye like. Not the russets or the golds.