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GARDEN TALK

Reset with a Fall Garden

With the summer temperatures reaching the upper 90s and the humidity skyrocketing, many home gardeners choose to stay indoors these days. August is a too hot and uninspiring of a month to garden. It’s so hot that many folks, including myself, have almost given up on summer gardening; however, August also is an opportunity to hit the reset button and start over.

Like with a video game, gardeners get another chance to play and try again, even if the spring garden was a failure. Although many of the summer vegetables are finished and harvested, there is still time to grow another round. Most summer vegetables will grow and produce fruit right until the first frost, which on average occurs around Nov. 10. Beans, summer squash and tomatoes can be planted again for a late season crop, even as late as Christmas.

Tomatoes

Finding tomato transplants to purchase might be tricky in late summer, but gardeners could grow their own by cutting off and rooting the suckers or new growth found in the stem axils of existing plants. With enough water, they will develop roots and begin growing. Hot and dry weather makes it difficult to maintain the GARDEN moisture needed to get the cuttings

TALK to root out in the garden; therefore, it is probably best to root them in a pot placed in a shady area. Transfer the new plant back to the garden once it is actively growing and putting on new leaves. Believe it or

Shane Harris not, late summer and early fall is the scheduled time to plant the cool season vegetables in Alabama. You may laugh and say nothing is going to survive out there in this August heat. While that is true, if you plan on eating collards and turnip greens this fall, you better get to planting.

Creative vegetable gardeners know that the fall of the year could be just as

productive and perhaps even more rewarding if proper timing is followed and proper varieties are selected. Cool season plants like broccoli, collards, turnips, cabbage, lettuce and many others actually grow better in Alabama when planted in the fall instead of the spring.

But it’s not just the cooler temperatures that make a difference. Many cool season vegetables also are affected by the day length. As the days grow shorter, things like broccoli and cauliflower form tighter heads and will not go to flower like they do when planted in the spring.

Beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, collards, kale, lettuces, mustard, winter squash and turnips should be planted from seed in August. Transplants can be set out in the garden in September. Bulb onions, radishes, spinach and Swiss chard should be planted from September through October. Fast-growing, cool-season vegetables, such as leaf lettuces, arugula and radishes, could be planted every two weeks to extend the harvest period. September through October is also a good time to plant onion seed.

Here’s a closer look at the top five fall vegetable crops:

Turnip Greens

Fall gardens and turnips are made for each other. And more than likely, if you have a fall garden, you have included turnips. Turnips have a maturity date of 40 to 60 days. Plant them right on top of the planting furrow. Press seed down for good contact and cover lightly with mulch. Provide adequate moisture to prevent the soil from drying out. Some turnip varieties are grown for their greens while other varieties are grown for their turnips.

Broccoli

Broccoli is one of the best fall vegetables. Broccoli has a central green head that, when removed, forms smaller lateral heads. Broccoli is best grown from transplants that can be purchased locally or grown at home. Broccoli does best in a moderate to highly fertile, well-drained soil. Space plants about 18 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart. Maintain a fairly rapid growth rate throughout

the season with Fresh Options for Fall adequate water and Previous Pages: Cold-hardy fertilizer. Harvest and easy to grow, cabbage is the heads before flowers open and show yellow. When ready to harvest, a popular fall garden option; Above Left: Currently available, transplants could give you a headstart; Above Right: Turnip greens are a fall garden favorite, the central head as fall is the ideal time they can usually measures 3 be grown. to 6 inches across. Lateral heads that develop after harvesting the central head are much smaller. When harvesting, cut 3 to 4 inches of the stem and accompanying leaves with the head. Use or freeze broccoli soon after harvesting.

Cabbage

Cabbage is another popular fall garden crop. It is cold-hardy, easy to produce, has a long harvesting season and adapts to a wide range of soils. The crop grows best in moist soils supplied with organic matter and liberal applications of complete fertilizer. Watch plants closely for insects. Cabbage should be side-dressed with one pint of ammonium nitrate per 100 feet of row about two weeks after transplanting and again about 30 days later. Cabbage matures in 60 to 90 days and is ready to harvest after the plants develop firm heads. It will tolerate cold to 20 degrees Fahrenheit with little damage; however, late rains may stimulate growth after heads have formed, resulting in heads splitting or cracking open.

Collards

Collards do very well in the fall. Sow seeds from July through September. They grow best at temperatures of 60 to 65 degrees and in fact will withstand frosts and light-to-medium freezes. Thin seedlings to 6 to 12 inches apart to allow enough space for plants to mature. Collards should be ready for harvest 70 days after direct seeding. Entire plants may be eaten when very young, half-grown or full-grown. Tender leaves could also be harvested from full-grown plants. Store all

harvested collards in the refrigerator. In addition to being tasty, collards are rich in vitamins A and C and minerals.

Lettuce

A vegetable that takes up a small amount of space in the garden and is good to eat is lettuce. Lettuce is a cool weather crop, making it a good addition to gardens in the fall. There are four main types of lettuce, including crisphead lettuce, looseleaf lettuce, romaine lettuce and butterhead lettuce. Lettuce is sensitive to pH and needs to be grown in a soil with a pH of 6.5 to 6.8. Plant it in a well-drained soil that has the ability to hold moisture. Watch out for slugs – they love lettuce as much as we do. Most lettuces can be established by direct seed or by transplants. If there is a danger of a late frost after planting, cover the lettuce with a row cover. When interspersed with ornamental plantings, lettuce adds interesting colors and textures to accent the garden.

Fall gardens can be very successful but may need more attention than spring gardens. Gardeners will still have to help the fall vegetables along by watering during dry periods in the fall. Eliminate all existing weeds and control future weeds with the help of mulches and herbicides. Scout the garden weekly, or better yet, even daily, for insect pests such as caterpillars. After the summer growing season, some pest numbers may be high in or around the garden.

The summer heat will soon go away and the cooler weather of fall will be quite refreshing. Plant a fall vegetable garden, and it may do so well that it is not only satisfying but the rewards are appetizing.

For help on other home and garden questions, contact your local county Extension office or visit us online at www.aces.edu.

Shane Harris is the County Extension Coordinator for Tallapoosa County.

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