Many gardeners do not even consider fall gardening because of the winter frosts that might make an early appearance. Fall gardening will result in excellent vegetables and will extend crops long after spring planted plants are finished. Vegetables produced from fall gardening are sometimes sweeter and milder than those grown in the summer and offer a brand new taste to the same old veggies.
Choose Your Crops Carefully
What you choose to grow during your fall gardening will depend on your available space and what you like to eat, just like spring plants. Even the crops that enjoy the heat, such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, and peppers, will produce until frosts hit. This can be pretty late in the year in southern areas. However, there are some plants that will quit towards the end of summers like snap beans, summer squash, and cucumbers. When you plant certain vegetables mid summer you can be harvest them until the first frosts as well.
Hardy, tough vegetables will grow until the temperature is as low as 20 degrees. Those that aren’t as strong will only be able to grow through light frosts. You can still save root and tuber plants that have had their tops killed by a freeze the edible part by using a large amount of mulch.
When fall gardening, make sure and pick vegetables with the shortest growing season. They will be fully grown and you can pick them before the frost arrives. Most seed packages are labelled “early season”, or you can find the seeds boasting the fewest days to maturity. You may want to purchase your seeds for fall gardening in spring or early summer. They are not kept in stock all summer. Store seeds in a cool and dry location so that they will keep until you are ready to plant.
Plan Your Fall Gardening Ahead Of Time
In order to know exactly when the best time to start fall gardening is, you must know when the first hard frost will hit your area. One of the best ways to tell this is by a Farmer’s Almanac. They will give you exact dates and are rarely wrong. You will also need to know exactly how long it is going to take your plants to mature.
To get your soil ready for fall gardening you must first remove any leftover spring/summer crops and weeds. Crops left over from the last season can end up spreading bacteria and disease if left in the garden. Spread a couple of inches of compost or mulch over the garden area to increase the nutrients. Spring plants that are fertilized will not need much. Till the top layer of soil, wet it down, and let it set for about 12-24 hours. Once this has been done, you are ready to start planting.
Many gardeners will run from fall gardening so they don’t have to deal with frosts. Plant tough, sturdy vegetables that can withstand a few touches of frost and give you some wonderful tasting produce. Fall gardening gives you the chance to enjoy your vegetable garden for at least a little bit more time.
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