Fall Gardening by Byron Chitwood
In the heat of the summer, it is difficult to think about starting a new garden. However, this is the time to begin thinking about a fall garden. You can plant almost everything in a fall garden that you do for spring except asparagus. You might have to start with seeds for most of the vegetables that you plan to grow.
The first two that need to be planted are tomatoes and peppers. These are usually not available in our area until much later. The best way to start tomato and pepper plants from seeds is to start them in small pots in the house or some cool place. If you started them in mid June, they will be ready to transplant to the garden in mid to late July. Before transplanting, clear out the bed by pulling all the old plants or tilling them under. Till the plot several times to completely break up the clods. Before the second pass with the tiller, add some slow release high nitrogen fertilizer and then till this in. The slow release will insure that the young plants have enough fertilizer to last throughout their growing and producing cycle. Dig small holes and plant the transplants about an inch deeper than the level of the soil in the pot. Take care in this process to not break or otherwise damage the delicate stem of the young transplants. Keep the young plants moist while they are getting acquainted to their new environment. During this time of the year, it might be advisable to water lightly at least one time a day. After the plants are established, water deeply as needed.
Another vegetable that can be grown in the fall is potatoes. You won’t find any seed potatoes at the nursery but if you still have some that you harvested in the fall; some of them will be starting to bud at the “eyes”. Use these for your seed potatoes. Cut the individual potatoes into several pieces which have at least one eye per piece. Also, you might have some of your spring potatoes that you missed when harvesting that are starting to sprout. These can be easily transplanted or left to grow where they are. Plant the potato seeds in trenches that are 4 to 6 inches deep and about a foot wide. If you have some bagged leaves or compost, cover the potatoes in the bottom of the trench with this organic material and then add back the soil that was dug to form the trenches.
Again, I will emphasize that fall gardens are great. You will have fewer insects and sooner or later will get some rain that will keep the soil moist longer during the cooler season. Salad greens such as lettuce and spinach will thrive in the fall and be much tastier than some of the spring ones. Also, the fall is a perfect season for growing all kinds of greens such as Swiss chard, mustard greens, collards, kale and turnips. Plant plenty of these for both your own use and to give to some of your closest friends.
Every year, I preach about the benefits of a fall garden and a lot of folks are catching on. For my planting guide, email me at: chitwood@geusnet and I will send you a copy at the earliest possible time