Saturday, October 9, 2021
This is a time of year that most summer vegetables are winding down and cold crops are growing quickly. With frost, many summer vegetables will die and cold season crops will get sweeter. The biggest difference between spring and fall is that the days are getting shorter and cooler instead of longer and warmer. For planting in the fall, add 2 weeks to the "Days to harvest" on seed packets to compensate.
We continue to fertilize our vegetables monthly. Fertilizer stimulates new growth so don't fertilize the plants that are "tender"/susceptible to frost. This is also a great time to do a soil test. You can see what amendments are needed. Get them on now so the amendments are fully available for spring crops.
Fall is also a great time to re-mulch the garden beds to give an added blanket of protection to prolong the season. The mulch will break down over the winter, providing additional organic matter.
Be sure that you are saving seeds from your best producers for next year's garden. Seeds from plants that do well in your garden are the best to save as they are proven to like your garden conditions. Always save seed from the best tasting, best sized veggies. For any plants with disease, do not keep their seeds. Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver
I replanted cucumbers and tomatoes this year in mid-summer. Both are producing well. It is not a bad idea to replant tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini in early August each year to keep these plants at top producing vigor until frost. For tomatoes, be sure to take all the tomatoes off the vine before it frosts. You can either wrap the green tomatoes in newspaper and store in a cool place to ripen, make them into relish, or eat them as fried. For fried green tomatoes, we use Andy’s Cajun batter. Gives them a nice, spicy flavor. A late fall tradition-fried green tomatoes!
Our eggplants are still producing well this year. I am grilling our extras this year and making baba ganoush that I freeze. Grilling adds a smoky note to the dip. I have tried freezing eggplant after blanching and after cooking, but the taste just wasn't the same. Frozen baba ganoush seems to keep its taste well. We enjoy eating it with pita bread or chips.
Any plant that has a disease, do not compost! Throw away in the trash. Composting may not kill all spores and you could be spreading the disease next season wherever you use the compost. Composting is possible in small spaces or even indoors
Peppers love this time of year. They are native to the mountains so they love this weather. They will continue to produce even after frost. To prolong the season, I put the pots up against the house. You can also bring them indoors and they will produce for weeks inside. When spring comes and you put them back outside, they will get a jump start on producing next year. Peppers a Plenty in September
I had a couple of Ancho pepper plants in a pot. I have been harvesting and drying Ancho Anaheim peppers for a month or so. I dry and make chili powder. The Pimento Elite I planted this year did not produce well. I was growing in a part sun area, under hickory trees. My overwintered cayenne pepper did well in its pot. So did my sweet snacking potted pepper.
I harvested the basil and made pesto in mid-September. The basil plants are quickly regenerating. I should be able to get another harvest from them before frost hits. These are very tender annuals and will turn black with the first frost. You can dig them up and bring them in for the winter. Place them in a full sun spot. You can put them back outside again in the spring after all danger of frost has passed. Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil
I planted some tyfon, spinach, and lettuce seeds in Earthboxes and pots in mid-September. All are doing well. Many lettuce seeds have sprouted. My potted sprouting broccoli, celery, arugula, corn salad and parsley is still producing and will continue through the winter. Plant lettuce seed now for fall and winter harvest...
Cabbage, kale, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, chard, onions, arugula and other cold crops get sweeter with cool weather and a nice frost. If the taste of these are too strong for your palate right now, give them another chance after frost. Our Egyptian walking onions are lush and green. The bulbs are filling out nicely. Egyptian walking onions
This is also the perfect time of year to reseed your lawn or transplant perennials. Many herbs are perennials-garlic, sprouting onions, lavender, oregano, chives, sage, tarragon, thyme, savory, salad burnet, and rosemary. There are varieties of Bay Laurel and rosemary that are supposed to be hardy in Zone 7. So far, they haven't survived consistently in my garden. They'll make it until early spring and then get killed by a hard freeze after a warm up. I keep trying, though. Perennial veggies in the Midwest garden
Fall is a great time to cut back your herbs. Save the stems, place loosely in a paper bag, put in a dry location, and in about a month you will have all the dried herbs you and many family members will need for the next year! Make your own "Herbes de Provence"
Fall is a bountiful time for gardening. Cabbage, kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts and onions will do fine in the garden with no cover. The cold hardy greens and veggies I have planted will produce all fall and winter with the portable greenhouse cover. How to extend the garden season
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