What are some things to plant in a fall garden? I'm still watering my tomato vines, even though they look the pits. I know from experience they will start blooming again, and bear. Problem is I have never gotten a fall crop of RED tomatoes. I've gotten many pounds of green ones, but not the ripe ones, because we always have a cold snap before they turn, and I have to go pick them. Soooo............I'm considering pulling up these vines and preparing that bed for a fall garden. I've never had one, so what do you think.
What I'd really like to plant is spaghetti squash, but I figure that's a summer squash. That darn stuff is so expensive, even at Walmart!
fall garden
hahahaha, just googled this subject, and it looks I'm too late for the fall garden trick. Oh well.
I realize I am south, but I just planted my second six pack of early cabbage(60 days), sowed some leaf lettuce, radish and spinach seeds. I put a six pack of Brussels sprouts near the house on the south. Lettuce and spinach don't take long, well neither do radishes. I am trying some carrots, sowing them in a container.
Joy
Sybram, Plant cabbage, broccoli, lettuces, root crops like carrots, beets. The cold doesn't hurt them. Also, if you can rig up a way to get past that first cold snap with your tomatoes, there is usually a month or so after that to get some ripe ones.
This message was edited Sep 14, 2013 5:45 PM
I planted my Fall tomatoes at the end of July and have some green ones about to turn. I've tried to keep my Spring tomatoes through Fall but they are just too tired to reproduce well.
Plant lots of lettuce, arugula and mache (a French lettuce-type that I can't think of the name in English right now) and you should have salad ingredients until the heat strikes next late Spring. steadycam is right- all of the Brassica family; Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, plus Winter squash (like acorn) and root crops are good to plant now. Spinach, kale and Swiss chard too.
all good suggestions. I guess I could replant acorn squash (my summer planting failed to produce) and maybe orange hubbard squash? I just put in broccoli and fresh swiss chard last week, scattered scarlet clover in the bed for a weed blocking cover crop til the veggies come up.
Wow, thanks for the suggestions, guys. I notice most of you are down Houston way and don't have our scorching weather. I keep thinking this has got to be the end of the scorchers, but then we have another 100s day out here. I can't imagine anything not shrivling up that I planted now.
Oh, no. We're scorched here! Even the natives are shriveled.
I agree with sweetmommy, we have tons of scorching weather which is why we have a problem starting winter veggies. I just checked my cabbages. Out of 12, I only have 7 that are still growing. I am hoping that by the time the spinach and lettuce come up, the weather will be better. Hot weather makes them bitter.
HOT, Hot, hot here too. Sooner or later it has to cool down!
I start new tomato plants in July and we must have had a rare night of cooler temps, I actually have a few that have pollinated.
I have found it easier to start new (short Days To Maturity) tomatoes instead of keeping the spring tomatoes watered and going through the heat of summer. This year I am only growing cherry tomatoes and suspect they will do fine before our first freeze which is usually around Thanksgiving.
I agree on all of the above suggestions. Collards, cabbage, radishes, lettuces, Swiss chard, Mache which is commonly known as corn salad.
I also find that many herbs grow well through winter. I have winter success with parsley (including cilantro), chervil and dill. This fall I am also trying lovage, winter savory and salad burnet. I just try to start the herbs before cold and they will do on their own all winter once established.
October is also the time of year to plant garlic or onions also. They grow over winter in this zone and will harvest in May or June as the foliage dies down.
It is amazing to see the winter plants shake off the frost and keep growing. So I'll vote for pulling up the vines and start your fall garden!
When I take my tomatoes through from the summer to fall, I find that if I give them a haircut, they do better in the fall. Or I will tack a stem down to the dirt and let it root, then transplant to a new spot. I didn't do that with my east bed of tomatoes and they are sprawling and show no signs of fresh blooms. My front beds which are northern, are doing better, having had a small haircut back in July and getting late afternoon shade. I have tons of lemon tomatoes, Roma's, and a couple Black Krims.
Wow, Joy, that's awesome.
Joy, you sound like you've learned how to do it. I'm still stuck between my weary Spring tomato plants and my teenage Fall tomato plants. It's just pure luck if I get any fruit in the Fall!
It is frustrating in the fall. Invariably I protect repeatedly when I hear there will be a frost only to get caught by a surprise one. Then we will have weeks of nice weather that could have produced tomatoes.
Yep, Joy, exactly my experience, too. Every time when I get antsy after listening to a cold weather forecast and go pick all those greenies, it has never gotten that cold, and the maters would have been fine. ;-(
A blanket is fine for a light freeze
Well, if I had a big honkin' blanket or two, I guess it might work, but my mater patch was 12 X 18 feet. I know, waaaaaay too big.
I have a collection of old sheets and a pile of rocks and a moving blanket from who knows where and I overlap. In a bad freeze, special plant, I put my stock tank over top and pile mulch around the perimeter. Got my swiss chard through the deep freeze of 2009-2010
Gypsi, you have really made me look into my heart, and what I see is someone with not ½ the dedication to my greenies that you have to yours. My hat's off to you.
By the time I wade water, snow, ? to feed horses, start an old crotchity truck to put out hay and maybe doctor one of my pasture buddies (seldom, but I'm trying to sound pitiful), I'm done.
Actually i am lazy. I concentrate what I would protect from freezing in the smallest area possible, because by the time I run a business, get the truck fixed, walk the dogs, feed the cats, do the lttterbox, cook, have toddler granddaughters visit and whatever else I do, it is all I can do to cover what I plan on EATING for the next month, so usually it only takes 1 sheet, 1 blanket, 8 rocks
hahahahah, good job, Gypsi.
I've been such a lucky duck this week, too. Madeline has been here for a few days, and I've so enjoyed her. We gave those horses fits this afternoon and had such fun. We've got everything ready to hit the ground running in the morning. Her family and others will be here for Sunday dinner (lunch), and it takes some doing to get lunch going and the house picked up before leaving for Bible study. It's always fun, but this weather will make it great!
In late july I planted some zucchini in two separate beds they came up and grew quickly only did not produce any female blooms I fussed over this for over a week then I realized it was up to me to do something ..first step was to add Epsom salts ==no change so finally the little light bulb went on in my head and I checked the PH of each bed it was way high so I added ironite to one bed but not the other..The results were nothing short of astounding the bed with the Ironite turned a darker and grew a lot taller and started blooming with some female blooms I think you will be able to see the diference in this pic
Wow, Grits, that's fantastic. Gotta remember that.............Ironite to lower ph.
But I have no idea what a "female" bloom is. To me, a bloom is a bloom is a bloom. Maybe that's why my stuff doesn't do so great...........................hmmmmm..................?
A female bloom is capable of making fruit, has the center part. The male brooms have 4 or 5 stamens with male pollen on them, that when applied to a female bloom, makes a fruit. I did NOT know pH could affect the female bloom count.
Guess mine is ok. I used a lot of oak compost this year, and bone meal and epsom salts so I didn't end up with too much nitrogen and get all leaves. Still picking zucchini from the late summer planting
I'm copying and pasting this stuff about female bloooms and how to get them, because when the time comes that I need to remember it, I won't have a clue.
I don't have many female blooms on my zucchini either. I need to try this. Thanks for sharing!
I can tell you that Burleson has super-alkaline soil. Some friends of mine bought a place down there in the 1990's, they planted stuff, it died. The water is also very very alkaline. They took up container gardening with rain barrels as a water source and finally got veggies a couple of years ago.
Good to know. Thanks, Gypsi.
I know I am quite north but we still get some late heat,My biggest ally for getting seeds started late is Shade cloth ,I have turnips,mustard ,chard,radishes and Collards the collards will stand more cold than most any of the fall crops A frost will not hurt the mustard or turnips let me modify that statement a bit a frost willhurt them but most likely will not kill them I planted some Zucchini as a late summer crop and it is doing fair No insects in it so far every year I get more and more into the fall veggies I did not do any fall tomatos because frankly I was sick of maters by now LOL