Fall Gardening

Extending the Growing Season

Because of the risk of early frosts which could harm the plants, most gardeners don’t even think about gardening in the fall. Fall gardening, however, can give you wonderful vegetable crops and make your growing season much longer. The vegetables often taste different in the fall, which can be an interesting and welcomed change. They tent to taste sweeter and milder.

Just like when you plant in the spring, what you plant in the fall will depend on your personal tastes in vegetables and how much space you have. Many plants will produce vegetables until the first frost. Examples of these are tomatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, an peppers. Other plants, however, won’t grow well after summer no matter what. These plants include snap-beans, summer squash, and cucumbers. If they are planted in mid-summer however, they will grow fine and can be harvested until the first frost. There are some plants that can live through the frosts, until temperatures get as low as 20 degrees. With root and tuber plants, the tops of the plants can be killed by frost, while the edible part of the plant will still be fine. Using plenty of mulch will help to protect this part of the plant from the cold.

Choosing vegetables that grow quickly is the best strategy for fall gardening. By doing this, they can be fully grown and harvested before the weather gets too cold. The seed package will often say how many days it takes for the plant to reach maturity. You may have to buy the seeds earlier in the year than you want to plant them, since they are often not stocked in the stores for fall planting. After you buy them, you should store them in a cool, dry place until you are ready to plant them.

You should check the Farmer’s Almanac to find out when the first frost will likely be in your area. This will help you to decide exactly when to plant the vegetables in the fall. The almanac is rarely wrong. By knowing when the frost will be and exactly how long it will take the plants to mature, you can calculate the perfect time to start your fall gardening.

You will need to clean up and leftover crops from the spring and summer crops before planting your fall crops. Old crops and weeds can pread bacteria and diseases to your new crops. Unless your spring plants were heavily fertilized, you should spread a couple inches of compost over the area to add nutrients to the oil. You should then till the top layer of soil. After you do this, you should wet it and let it sit for 12-24 hours before you start planting.

You can enjoy your vegetable garden longer into the season than you thought possible by fall gardening. Simply choose strong plants that can withstand some cold and time your planting correctly.