Fall Garden Plan
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I’m in the midst of planning my fall garden. Here in my US Zone 7a garden my first frost date is October 21. Using August 1 as a “start” date, that gives me 83 days before that first frost. Many cool weather crops will grow beyond that first frost date as well. Despite the given frost date, we actually rarely get a frost before November. I’m taking a small risk with some of the warmer weather plants but I don’t feel there is much of a downside to trying.
A Second Summer
I am actually starting a couple veggies that are usually considered summer crops: green beans, squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. Tomatoes? Have I lost my mind? Well, yes, but that is another story. Stick with me here for a few minutes and I’ll explain.
I am planting yellow Straightneck “summer” squash and Table Queen “winter” acorn squash. The Straightneck squash has a 45 day maturity so that gives me plenty of time to harvest before the first frost. The Table Queen is a bush variety. I’m cutting it close on this one, it has an 80 day maturity, but I started these in late July so I got a couple extra days in there.
The beans I’m planting are both bush varieties with 50-55 days to maturity. Calima Bush are “green” beans commonly called string beans, snap beans or French beans. We will also be planting Roma II variety. Since they are both bush beans, they should all mature fairly close together. These are good beans for canning and freezing so its actually handy that they all mature around the same time. I will probably do two plantings a couple weeks apart for a double round.
I will also be planting Tendergreen Burpless cucumbers. Like the beans, these have a 55 day maturity so I have plenty of time. This variety is good for pickling as well as fresh eating so we’ll put up any that we don’t eat fresh.
Finally the tomatoes. We are starting some Grappoli D’Iverno tomatoes. They have a 75 day maturity but I did start these in late July as well. This variety is known as the “winter grape” and is a storage type. The fruit does not actually mature on the vine, it matures after harvesting. In Italy, you can see these tied in ristras. They are hung in a cool place and stored for months. Not very flavorful for eating fresh, they develop a lovely sweet taste when dried, roasted or cooked into a sauce.
All of these “summer” crops are warm weather loving plants. Most, if not all, of them will die off with the first frost. If they work out we’ll have some lovely fresh summery produce in the fall. If they don’t work out we’ll have learned lessons for next year.
Leafy Greens
This is the time of year I grow salad greens. Its way too hot here during the summer to grow most greens, they bolt too quickly. I’ll start with Slo Bolt lettuce and Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard. I will succession plant over the next few weeks and will plant Buttercrunch and Red Romaine towards the end of August. I will follow up another succession planting of Buttercrunch and Red Romain a couple weeks later.
I will also be planting a lot of spinach as well. We put spinach in eggs, soups or just eat it with butter. Its a favorite for us but another green that doesn’t like the hot, humid summer heat. I will probably wait until late August or early September to get the spinach going.
Somewhere along the way I want to get some red vein sorrell going as well. Sorrell is actually a perennial in zones 6-10 but I haven’t started any yet.
I should be able to grow most of my greens under cover throughout the winter in a sunny location. Growth will slow in midwinter due to the shorter daylight hours. We will be doing “cut and come again” harvesting.
Root Veggies
Radishes are fast growing and I will do a few successions of them between now and the beginning of October. I’m not particularly fond of them but Mr. Gnome really likes them so I grow some for him.
I’ll also be starting a couple rounds of Scarlet Nantes carrots. These will also be succession planted with the earlier rounds harvested for canning or freezing. The later plantings will be left in the ground for “cold” storage. We’ll put a heavy layer of mulch over the top of the beds and harvest as needed.
I’m really late for parsnips but going to give some a try, not expecting it to work but I’ll interplant them with the radishes. They have a long maturity period of more than 100 days. However, I might have time and the roots taste better after a frost or two anyway.
Finally, well get some beets in as well.
Brassicas
The cold hardy garden friends everyone thinks of in a fall garden. We actually love all the brassicas. I’ll start all the brassicas inside to keep them out of the worst of the summer heat and humidity. They will get transplanted into the beds by the middle of September. We are planting kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and bok choy.
What’s in Your Garden?
What can you grow before your first frost dates? What can you start now that will survive a few frosts? Can you get some plants to maturity and then under cover before the colder weather and shorter days. Find your frost date, count back to today’s date to find out what you can grow in the remaining time and get planting!!!