Growing a drop vegetable garden can produce a bountiful harvest of vegetables. The season for fall vegetable gardens begins when temperatures reach their peak and have begun to fall, that could be as early as August 5th for cities in northern Michigan or as late as September 17th for Miami, FL. In many cities, however, there’s ample time for most cool weather vegetables to develop, including broccoli, cauliflower, gourmet greens, spinach, lettuce, carrots, shallots, and turnips. Growers in cities with temperate climates can even grow a late harvest of cucumbers, parsnips, peas, and rutabagas.
There is a strategy to successful fall gardens, however:
- Select varieties with a shorter growth cycle – given two varieties, it’s generally best to choose the variety with the shorter days to maturity. This increases your chances the plant will mature and produce a harvest before extreme temperatures set in.
- Be prepared to plant seeds indoors – the season for fall gardens begins when peak temperatures have already been reached and the thermostat begins the trek downward. Temperatures can still be too warm as of this stage to support the germination temperatures requirements of the plant. Planting seeds indoors and then transplanting to the garden may increase the number of varieties available for your fall garden.
- Know perhaps the plant is sensitive to frost. Plants with a low tolerance to frost generally should really be avoided if your region is susceptible to frost.
- Consider the growth period temperature requirements of the plant – ensure sufficient days remain with suitable temperatures. Otherwise, the plant will not thrive.
- Check the expected temperatures at the time of harvest. Are they still within the product range that the plant will tolerate? Or even, it may not be worth planting the variety due to the risk of unsuccessful harvest.
- Don’t just forget about succession plantings! Calculate the final date you are able to plant seeds for every single variety, and plant a few each week to make certain you harvest as long as possible to the fall.
Calculating temperature requirements and date ranges can be tedious and time-consuming. For many who don’t enjoy this sort of work, consider utilizing a garden planner application which performs the calculations and identifies suitable varieties for the garden plan.
When building your garden, consider dedicating a garden bed or two for fall gardens. In this way, your fall vegetable garden won’t compete for space in your summer garden beds, which are likely to remain full well into fall as a result of succession plantings of one’s summer vegetable crop. During the time your fall garden bed is unplanted in the spring and early summer, plant legume cover crops such as for example Bell Beans to construct biomass and add nitrogen to your soil. Your fall garden will reward you for this, producing robust, healthy, and nutrient-rich vegetables.
Heather Lynds is the founder of http://EZGarden.com, an on line vegetable garden planner for your home garden. Predicated on your neighborhood climate, vegetable preferences, and desired servings of vegetables, the EZ Garden planner generates a garden design and planting schedule that matches your family perfectly. EZ Garden uses the Square Foot Gardening technique in the planting plans it generates. You only follow the program, and harvest fresh, organic vegetables from your house garden. Visit EZGarden.com today to plan your fall vegetable garden!
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