Fall Gardening
Many gardeners do not even consider fall
gardening because of the winter frosts that might make an early
appearance. On the contrary, fall gardening will result in excellent
vegetables and will extend crops long after spring planted plants
are finished. Vegetables produced from fall gardening are sometimes
sweeter and milder than those grow in the summer and offer a brand
new taste to the same old veggies.
What you choose to grow during you fall gardening will depend on
your available space and what you like to eat, just like spring
plants. Even the crops that enjoy the heat, such as tomatoes, sweet
potatoes, okra, and peppers, will produce until frosts hit, which
can be pretty late in the year in southern areas. However, there are
some plants that will quit towards the end of summer like
snap-beans, summer squash, and cucumbers. If these vegetables are
planted around the middle of the summer they can be harvested until
the first frosts as well. Hardy, tough vegetables will grow until
the temperature is as low as 20 degrees, but those that aren’t as
strong will only be able to grow through light frosts. Remember that
if you have root and tuber plants and the tops are killed by a
freeze the edible part can be saved if a large amount of mulch is
used.
When fall gardening, make sure and pick the vegetables with the
shortest growing season so they can be full grown and harvested
before the frost arrives. Most seed packages will be labeled “early
season”, or you can find the seeds boasting the fewest days to
maturity. You may want to go after your seeds for fall gardening in
spring or early summer; they are usually not kept in stock towards
the end of summer. If they are stored in a cool and dry location
they will keep until you are ready to plant.
In order to know exactly when the best time to start fall gardening,
you must know about when the first hard frost will hit your area.
One of the best ways to tell this is by a Farmer’s Almanac. They
will give you exact dates and are rarely wrong. You will also need
to know exactly how long it is going to take your plants to mature.
To get your soil ready for fall gardening you must first remove any
leftover spring/summer crops and weeds. Crops leftover from the last
season can end up spreading bacteria and disease if left in the
garden. Spread a couple of inches of compost or mulch over the
garden area to increase the nutrients, however, if spring plants
were fertilized heavily it may not need much, if any. Till the top
layer of soil, wet it down, and let it set for about 12-24 hours.
Once this has been done, you are ready to start planting.
Many gardeners will run from fall gardening so they don’t have to
deal with frosts, but if tough, sturdy vegetables are planted they
can withstand a few frosts and give you some wonderful tasting
produce. Fall gardening gives you the chance to enjoy your vegetable
garden for at least a little bit more time.
About the Author: D. Benjamin is the owner of
iapsales.com LLC - a family business specializing in HVAC products. We
are distributors of
Qmark Heaters,
electric tankless water heaters,
bathroom heaters,
patio heaters, electric heaters,
portable air
conditioners & electric towel warmers. Shop on line at
www.heateroutlet.com for these great home improvement products.
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