Upcoming Fall Plans and Crops…TBD Are you looking to plant veggie crops for the fall growing season? Great, so am I! I look forward to fall. In fact, it’s my favorite season. Some of my summer crops do very well continuing into the months fo September through November and I don’t need to overwinter them until the Thanksgiving time (it used to get colder sooner, but that’s another story.) I’ll have some tomatoes until the first frost.
To recap….
We got lots of peppers….in fact I ‘m still picking Thai chilis today this evening. August is brutal. I told John the other day we should think about making some row covers. A few crops just got way too hot. Last week we had a few triple-digit days. Ugh. It’ll be dry for a week and then rain for a week -weird.
But if you are looking to supplement your elevated beds with crops that flourish in the autumn months you’ve got the right article.
If your looking to sow new seeds, for the upcoming fall season, remember the importance of crop rotation: Do not plant the same type of crop in that same space for at least a couple of years. The nutrients will need to be replenished that went into that crops’ growth, and it will be more prone to pests or diseases i and soil-borne pathogens. So be sure to plan accordingly and designate different bed arrangements for the next season.
If you need to draw up a layout…That’s why I take pictures, so I can remember what I planted and grew and in which beds, and what season and year. If you’re more the journal and diary type a garden planner can be helpful here.
So here is the rundown on the best fall crops, and keep in mind timing is everything, when you planted them will have a big impact on your fall harvest.
Some of our end of summer plants…
Good crops to plant in the fall include:
Things in the leafy green category. This includes kale, spinach, chard. . all of these can thrive in cooler temperatures. You probably have heard a great deal about how all the dark leafy greens are such good sources of vitamins A-B and in the “superfood” category- well it’s not far off .
You may have less interest in salad now that the temperatures are starting to drop off, but thee’s a lot fo other things you can do with these kinds of greens. Iceberg lettuce is very bland, and I’ve always preferred Romaine, radicchio, and the butter types.
Collards and mustard greens – Another favorite down here. These can be a great fall crop. People in the South love to serve these with rutabega pieces or chunks of ham. I for some reason, like collards much better sauteed.
Microgreens…Microgreens are a good choice. We hope to try again with these as our first planting didn’t go very well. I think we may have planted our seeds too early.
Punpkins…They’re great to harvest in the fall…the idyllic scene of a pumpkin patch always sticks in our minds. but since they have a longer germination period (about 120 days) you really have to get started much sooner. Ideally, depending on your zone, you should be sowing by June at least.
Butternut and all of the autumn squashes, like acorn, spaghetti, buttercups, etc., are good crops for this time of year. WE have butternuts in one of the backyard beds adn two in the front bed. They do need a fair amount of room to thrive.
Potatoes…As a root crop, these should be considered. Our whole second bed was devoted to spuds…and they turned out well. We have another bag of seed potatoes that we may start a new croop with -of course, in a different bed. I am seeing them produce the yellow flowers, but the jury is still out.
Well, that’s pretty much it, hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend. I’ll talk to you again soon! And let you know what we’ll be up to this fall with our crops.
