Time to plant for fall & winter harvests

Friday, July 27, 2012

August is the month to sow arugula, beans, beets, carrots, cauliflower, chinese cabbage, collards, cucumber, edamame, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mustard, okra, onions, parsley, old fashioned parsnips, peas, radish, rutabaga, scallions, sorrel, squash, spinach, swiss chard, and turnips.

Transplants of broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, and scallions can be planted this month also.

To know when to plant, back up the maturity date from your first frost and add 2-3 weeks as growth will not be as quick in cool fall weather as it is in spring.

Some lettuce seeds have a hard time sprouting if night time temperatures rise stay above 70 degrees.

You will need to keep the freshly sown seeds damp.  This can cause the dirt to crust over, creating a hard surface that the sprouts cannot break through.  A couple of options to prevent this.  Just depress the soil and put the seed in it without covering; watering will bring enough soil over to provide the cover needed or you can just use organic potting soil to cover the seeds.   

Another option is to plant in plastic flats you have around the garage.  You can more easily put these where they get some shade and are the most convenient to water.

I like putting some mycorrhizal fungi and worm compost in with the soil when I plant.

Don’t forget that garlic is planted in October.  If you wait too long, the variety you want can be gone.  Now is the time to browse the catalogs and order what you want to plant.  They will mail them when it is time for planting in your area.