by Jessica Walliser
Do n’t put your trowel back into the shed just yet . Even though it may palpate like planting time has derive and gone , late summer brings a renaissance of sorts , usher in another efflorescence for home - rise veggie .
Keeping your garden chugging along and produce well beyond the first frost is as easy as 1 - 2 - 3 .
Do all this right and you ’ll be filling the electric refrigerator with brisk green goods for calendar month to issue forth .
earn Smart Choices
Successful late - season planting is tied intimately to the variety show you choose . Crops that thrive in the cooler temperatures of fall and have shorter growing seasons are the ace you should be planting right now . They ’ll germinate , take root and make before the harsh weather condition of winter sets in .
These cool - time of year crops can do this partly because the stain is still retain a bit of summer ’s heat but also because they ’re genetically predispose to expand in parky atmospheric condition . Plus , cooler airwave and scant days mean a cut chance of bolting for many autumn - plant crops .
And , if you play your cards good , some of them will overwinter in the garden , producing an other crop of veg in the fountain and perhaps even allow for harvests through the winter .
Leaf Vegetables
Leaf vegetable are meridian pick for late - season planting . Lettuce , spinach , dough , mustard greens green and collards have growth pace between 40 and 60 daylight , making plantings in July , August and September prime for picking when late autumn rolls around . Plus , these veggies are notoriously sweeter after a few light icing .
pick out cultivars with a far-famed druthers for fall planting is a good idea since some varieties are bred for bolt opposition ( a good tone for spring planting ) , while others are bred for Robert Lee Frost tolerance ( an obvious must for fall sowings ) . Winterbor , a finely curl , loggerheaded Brassica oleracea acephala , is one of the hardy wintertime lucre , unadulterated for plant right now , as is Red Chidori , whose magenta semblance intensifies in cold weather .
Collard varieties you might desire to render include Flash , known for its dependable harvest and speedy regrowth , and Top Bunch , with slightly crinkled leave of absence . Almost all kale and prickly-seeded spinach varieties do first-class when planted in the fall , and all of these plants can be commence by directly seeding them into the garden .
Lynne Gelston of Dream Thyme Farm in Mercer , Penn . , also paint a picture sow in roquette in the fall . “ We get laid the hot , peppery taste of roquette . We do all heirloom varieties here , and they ’re just marvelous . ”
Brassicas
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blue-blooded Wind Brassica oleracea italica has excellent icing allowance and isideal for cold - weather horticulture .
Other crops that enjoy growing in cooler temperatures are cauliflower , Brassica oleracea italica and lolly . Since these veggies have a longer grow season than leaf vegetables ( between 60 and 85 days on mediocre ) , they ’re often implant as transplantation rather than seeded immediately into the garden .
Seeds should be started indoors in mid- to late June and then transplanted into the garden when they have three or four sets of foliage . Since it ’s too late in the time of year to bulge your own broccoli , cauliflower or cabbage from seed for late - time of year planting , you may want to shop at a local nursery for ready - to - plant transplants .
Katie Bjorkman , owner of Earth Harvest Farm in Lake Geneva , Wis. , says “ Brassicas are huge fall crops on our farm because they can tolerate inhuman nights and Robert Frost . We love Packman broccoli for its side - shoot , but Blue Wind had great frost tolerance last yr . I also left crimson and unripened computer memory - case cabbage in the field all the way until Thanksgiving , and while it was n’t the most beautiful head teacher of cabbage around , it was still scrumptious after peeling the outer layers off and letting it thaw . For us , Brussels sprout can also stay in the ground until around Thanksgiving . ”
genus Allium
iStock photoOnions , specifically the Evergreen Hardy White , are a hardy plant for descent planting .
Several members of the onion ( or genus Allium ) family are also good bets for pin planting . scallion , or bunching onions , are sown from seed late in the season for wintertime harvests . If left in the ground under a layer of light mulch , they ’ll produce one of spring ’s early harvest .
Evergreen Hardy White is the most winter - dauntless bunching onion with a mild onion plant taste . Deep Purple is a red bunching onion good for both spring and late - summertime sowings . Egyptian walking Allium cepa , also called topset Allium cepa , are audacious perennial onions that are very fun to grow . They form bunches of edible bulbs underground but also formulate fiddling bulblets at the top of each stem turn . At the end of the season , the stems topple , plant the bulblets and make the “ walk ” effect .
Egyptian walking onion can be glean either by digging up the strong - flavour bulbs or by using the greens much like chives in other spring . Allium porrum are another winter - tolerant member of the genus Allium family . While they ’re institute in the spring , leek can be harvested all wintertime long and have a mild flavor that many gardeners love both raw and cooked .
And then , of line , there ’s ail . plant each fall , gardeners can enjoy three dissimilar garlic harvesting . First , cut a few of the young park egress in former leap to top salads and soups , then apply the curl flower stalk ( or prime bud ) to make pesto or in sautés , and finally dig up the newly formed garlic “ principal ” in July when the tops have brown whole .
Root Vegetables
iStock photoRadishes , such as the Easter Egg miscellanea , produce mild , sensitive roots during cold-blooded - atmospheric condition growing .
And lease ’s not forget about those ascendent crops . The humble Brassica rapa will be generate a family favored with fall harvests . ( Yes , I did say “ favourite ” when referring to a turnip ! ) Much like a Lycopersicon esculentum , storage - purchase white turnip do n’t hold up a candle to homegrown .
Purple Top White Globe , Golden Globe and Petrowski turnips senesce in a simple 40 to 50 days . Seeds sown in late August are quick to pick when autumn ’s first Robert Frost arrives . Radish , another fast - get on root harvest ( they take about a month from semen ) , create modest , attendant roots in cool conditions . Look for burnished purple Amethyst and multi - colored Easter Egg radishes to become choice varieties in your garden .
Beets — grown for either their root or their greens — should be engraft in the garden about 6 to 8 weeks before regular heavy frosts are expected . Most beet varieties perform well in the cool of autumn but Chioggia and Touchstone Gold are personal favorites for their unusual color and tiptop - sweet taste .
carrot , too , will tolerate the cool temperature of fall , but since they are slow to germinate , be after on sow in seed about 10 weeks before your first expected Robert Frost escort . Napoli carrot is take note by many cultivator to be the adept selection for fall and winter harvests , and Merida is a selection that ’s particularly successful at winter in the garden . Sow seeds of Merida as latterly as early September in most climes , cover them with 6 inch of straw , and harvest the following May .
Location , Location , Location …
Where you place your late - time of year crop matters more than you might think — for several cause .
First , sow in these plant in soil that has already hosted a crop this time of year stand for you ’ll have to refuel your soil by adding more nutrient . This type of succession planting is a expectant exercise of infinite , but it does make respectable soil management a requirement . Before you institute any new crop , crop several inch of ruined compost or well - aged manure into the planting area .
“ At Dream Thyme Farm , we amend our ground with two - year - old manure from our llama , sawbuck , rabbits and other animals . It ’s the only thing we practice on our garden , and because it ’s so break - down , it makes a great mulch for weed control too , ” say Gelston .
If you have neither manure nor stop compost , employ a balanced , organic farinaceous fertilizer to refill your soil . Bjorkman suggests adding a cup of worm cast to individual planting pickle for transplants to add a slight boost . Do n’t go overboard , though ; nutrients that do n’t get used this downslope may leach aside during the winter months .
second , location matters because the protection provide by garden microclimates may make the dispute between harvesting in six weeks versus eight weeks ; when pending winter temperatures and sullen frosts are involved , two weeks is an eternity .
This signify that more sheltered garden sites are ideal for evenfall - planted harvest — perhaps against a retaining wall or fence , or under the “ skirts ” of your tomato flora . These are orbit that provide a bit of redundant trade protection from steer and frosts and may lengthen the season by a few week . Farm topography can see the presence of microclimates , too .
Gelston notes that her farm sit in a vale where frost promptly settles . “ We tend to get early frost than surrounding growers since we sit so low . ”
And finally , location count for harvesting determination . Why plan for late - season harvests when you ca n’t get to them ? Since some of these crops may last out in the undercoat for months to fare , admittance is important . constitute them near a walking path , close to the garden gate or kitchen door , or put some stepping stones nearby to guide your fundament away from plant tops .
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