Thursday, August 7, 2008

Fall Crops

No new photos from the garden today, but my musings for fall crops. In SFG Box # 3, all of the corn has died from lack of water. Partial my fault, I moved the sprinkler, so it only hit box 1 and 2 and missed box 3 completely. It has been fixed now, but time to pull the dead corn.

And to replace the corn, I have four empty squares. What should I plant?

Here are my ideas:

-Broccoli
-More carrots
-Garlic
-Lettuce
-Spinach
-Peas

Anyone have any other suggestions?

I've never planted broccoli before, so it will be a fun experience. I plan to plant the seeds in small containers and transplant the seedlings at a later time. I read that was the best method.

We do have carrots in the garden, but we haven't pulled them. We don't know how long to wait before pulling them. We want nice-sized carrots to eat. So should I plant more carrot seeds? They take so long to grow.

Below: The carrot leaves before the zucchini got huge and covered them up


Tina from In the Garden had an amazing garlic harvest earlier this year. She said they were pretty easy to grow, so I'm gonna give them a try this fall. Tina--When is the best time to plant the garlic?

I grew lettuce in the garden earlier this year, and I had a nice harvest... until the slugs started eating the lettuce leaves. That was rather disgusting. I think this time around, I will not attempt another lettuce head variety. Maybe I'll experiment and grow romaine or iceberg. I love romaine lettuce... Maye red lettuce.

Below: My beautiful and yummy lettuce before it bolted and became inedible


We grew spinach this spring too. They were delicious when we ate them, but sadly, as soon as it got hot, the spinach flowered, and then died. Yikes. I may give it another go-around.

Finally peas. I planted them from seed this summer, but I guess the heat got to them, and they all died. I think they will be better suited this fall.

Below: The healthy seedlings before the heat got to them


Who knows if I'll actually get around to planting all these vegetables, but who knows? I just might!

Thanks to Dan from Urban Veggie Garden Blog for the info about fall crops.

10 comments:

Frances, said...

Hi DP, your letttuce was very pretty. I have ordered garlic from seed savers exchange and they ship at the right time to plant for our area, mid September. They are easy to grow and delicious. Peas are best sown in late winter, Valentine's day. They do best in cool temp soil. Arugula and spinach and both good fall greens. Mid August is the right time to plant seeds. It is hard to keep the slugs and snails off them. I have heard lately of using dryer lint around the plantings. I have been saving mine to try it. Good luck.

Susie said...

D.P. I can't advise you on fall gardening. I have not done this before. But after reading your post I may give it a try. I actually grew elephant garlic this year. I only grew one plant to experiment with. I didn't harvest it because I loved the bloom and I want it to come back.

tina said...

Hi DP! Thanks for the link. Speaking of garlic, I had some today. Wow, it was hotter than I like it. I plant my garlic in Oct/Nov. Never before, so now is probably too early. I would suggest you plant some starts of broccoli (once they hit the stores), maybe some cauliflower too. Small starts will do fine and mature when it is cool which is what you want plus the bugs and worms shouldn't bother you. Carrots also work. I just planted some Broccoli Raab the other day. Any greens are good but will need some shade and good moister. Don't despair on the corn. I bet it wasn't even due to lack of water. Corn can be hard for the home gardener. Hope I helped!

Eve said...

Turnips and beets are good to plant now. You can harvest them when they are babies and they are delicious. The turnip tops can be used for greens, so it like a double crop.

tina said...

Susie, You can still harvest your elephant garlic. Harvest it, split it into cloves and replant in OCT/Nov and you will have tons more blooms next year. Save a few cloves to eat too. :)

Dave said...

You could try taters! I'd better get on the ball and figure out some stuff as well. Thanks for the reminder!

Gail said...

Good luck, it looks like you are getting great advice. Dp, I love your garden enthusiasm and am hoping it rubs off on me! Fresh home grown vegetables does sound good!

gail

Skeeter said...

I have never tried fall veggie garden either so will be curious to see how you fair. Looks like you have lots of choices to make with all the advice above. Good Luck wishes being blown your way for success!

DP Nguyen said...

Hi Frances- I checked out the seed savers exchange, thank you! I will definitely order some garlic and other veggies from there. It seems like a great place. Thanks for the info about the beans, I had no idea. I will plan to plant them next Feb. Hmm, the dryer lint is kind of funny, but I will try it with the lettuce and other greens. I love arugula too- thanks for the tip!

Hi Susie-The blooms on the garlic can be very pretty, but check out Tina's comment below.

Hi Tina- I guess garlic has to taste much stronger when you plant it. It's like any other veggie. It always taste so much better or stronger, lol. Thanks for your advice. I'll watch out for those starts when it hits the stores.

Hi Eve- I'm not much of a turnip or turnip greens type of person, lol. I don't like it very much. But I do love beets. Yum. I've only eaten it out of cans, but I bet fresh is also delicious. I pickle it with red wine vinegar.

Hi Dave- I thought potatoes were normally a summer crop. I'd love some. I bet they would be just delicious! Yum! I can't wait to see what you end up with in your garden this fall.

Hi Gail- Thank you for your comment. I think you'd enjoy growing vegetables. I think you get the best of both worlds. Very pretty blooms and delicious fruit afterwards!

Hi Skeeter- Thanks for the good wishes. Hopefully the frost won't come early and kill everything. It will be fun to see how the garden does in this fall, especially since it gets a little nippy.

Dan said...

I never even thought of garlic. I will have to plant some of them later in the season as well.

Looks like we are going to have full veggie patches this fall.

I would recommend you go with broccoli as well for one of your fall crops. It is suppose to be at its best in the fall and it tastes so good.