If you are not getting Green Thumb Prints via your mail box, and if you would like to, send us a request including your name and postal mailing address.

The Fall Vegetable Garden

I realize that with both temperature and humidity in the 90s, planting fall vegetables is likely not high on your list of things I’d really like to do today. Somewhere behind go to Alaska and sit near the AC with a cold drink. And those who are merely spring gardeners can ignore this one.

But for those of you who are hard-core vegetable gardeners, there may be little more than 100 days until frost. Hard to believe, huh? But it’s so. Depending on what you want from the fall garden, it may be time to look at “days to maturity” and select things that need to be planted soon. And as the squash vine borers and cowpea curculios work their will on your summer plants, it’s time to consider what needs to come out and what can follow.

Some things you can plant in July or August:

Beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, summer squash, winter squash, tomatoes, and turnips!

August is our primary month for planting fall crops, and some short season varieties can wait until early September. Fall tomatoes need to be planted now!

In general, seeds planted in the summer can go deeper than spring plantings. At 1˝ to 2 times as deep, we don’t have to be concerned with cool soils but we do have to be concerned with drying at the surface. Push the seeds on down.

Varieties that we transplant in the spring may be seeded now. Whatever method you use, be ready to provide water as necessary. And be ready to thin if necessary; produce is a result not of the number of plants but of competition for limited resources. Don’t crowd.

Be prepared to deal with insects. Many insects have multiple generations per year. By late summer, insect pressure can be pretty high. Learn what insects you can expect for each crop. Work to keep vegetables vigorous and growing; healthy plants develop thicker “skins” to protect against invaders. Inspect plants frequently, and be ready to implement whatever strategy you have determined to use for the predicted pests.

Manage the water. Plants can usually handle the heat if the water is available. Use mulch and/or soaker hoses. Fertilize just as you would for spring plantings.

And be ready to enter your prize produce in the State Fair.