The summer may be over, and we may be due for some 40 degree nights (tonight in fact), but it is still possible to get some more growth out of the garden.
Here’s an article from the Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer (They may be in Georgia, but some of their recommendations are still possible in our protected valleys):
Keep your vegetable garden going with cool-season crops
This month is the ideal time to put in your cool-season crops, like spinach, onions, collards, garlic and kale.
TRY THESE
-Winterbor kale. This nutritious leafy green is a vigorous producer that endures winter easily, even in very cold climates. Cut the outer leaves so that the center continues growing. Space transplants about 12 inches apart
-Georgia collards. Another leafy green similar to kale, collards offer a larger, stronger, sweet cabbage-like flavor. Leaves taste best when young. Space transplants 36 inches apart.
-Romaine lettuce. Rich in fiber, vitamin C, and beta-carotene, romaine is an especially good vegetable for overall health. Space transplants 18 inches apart.
-Early Dividend broccoli. Popular, productive and easy to grow, this broccoli is high in fiber and calcium. Set transplants 18 inches apart
-Mustard greens. Offering spicy hot leaves, this is a very fast-growing, nutritious vegetable. Mustard greens always taste sweeter when nipped by frost. Space plants 12 inches apart
After a few days of rain–my rain gauge registered over 4 inches on Saturday (that’s 10 inches total for the past week–wow!)–the sun came out and it was a must to get out in the yard…
I cut the grass. It was wet and I really should have waited a few days, but then I am headed out of town on Tuesday. There was no way that I was going to miss mowing for a week after 10 inches of rain…
I planted some of my SFG boxes with fall crops. I will finish them off next weekend and hope for a few weeks before a hard frost (By the way, we have projected low 40′s weather this coming week–can you say chilly?).
I emptied my rain barrels so that they can refill…they had a little bit of algae in them and need to be emptied every month or so…It only takes about about .75 inches of rain to save 110 gallons of water with my system. We should get that in the coming week or so. (Do the math–how many gallons could I have saved if I had all of my gutters outfitted with barrels and caught all ten inches of rain?–Answer: over 5000 gallons)
Tomorrow is a work day…hope you have had a good weekend.
It has been a grey and wet day in WNC.
Not sure about the rain totals. The once trusty Ray’s Weather station located on the top of Mast General Store claims that we have had just over 1.1 inches as of 7:00 PM. That is the heaviest inch of rain I have ever seen. My own rain gauge had an inch early in the day, and it has poured for a few more hours. The dog doesn’t even want to go outside it is so wet. Based on my intuition, we have had over 2 inches. I’ll report when it is dry enough to go out and check the gauge.
As for all of the garden chores planned for the weekend, those went down the drain. I have some grape tomatoes that i was planning to uproot today. i was also going to move some boxes around and do some planting. Didn’t happen.
Looks like it will be a Sunday afternoon in the garden…never fear, I find it meditative and relaxing.
(This was cross-posted at: A Few Square Feet)
The summer garden is coming to an end, but there is still time to plant for the fall-winter garden…I looked back at last year’s planting schedule, and I had several crops that were just going into the ground.
We are never sure about the last frost here in the mountains (we had snow in October last year)…but there are plenty of cold hardy plants that will go well into into December. I had a number of greens that lasted into late December that were protected in the Hoop House.
Here are selections from an article i received from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in my email yesterday:
There’s still time to plant
In frost-free climates, you can plant cool-weather crops outside to harvest throughout the fall and winter. These include arugula, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collards, kale, lettuce, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabaga, spinach, and turnips. Leafy herbs also do well in winter, so plant chives, cilantro, dill, and parsley.
In mild winter climates, you can plant cool-weather crops under row cover or in the hoophouse to protect them from frost. Their growth won’t be as quick as in spring because of the declining day length, but you will be able to harvest many vegetables this fall and winter. Leafy greens and root crops are easy at this time of year. Plant arugula, beets, carrots, collards, kale, lettuce, onions, radishes, spinach, and turnips.
And if you’re in a region where hard freezes are common, you can still plant under row cover and overwinter crops that will be ready to harvest early in spring. Onions and spinach will do just fine in most places, given appropriate protection. A hoophouse or Quick Hoops (see Product Spotlight at right) will give you a harvest a month ahead of spring-sown crops next year.
Read the entire article at their blog:
JSS Advantage October 2009