Plan and Plant Now for a Bountiful Fall Harvest

Now is the time to plan and plant vegetables for a bountiful fall harvest.

Start by looking for vacant spaces in the vegetable garden that are left after harvesting lettuce, spinach and other early maturing crops. Expand your search to other plantable areas in flowerbeds and mixed borders.

Sow seeds of beans, cucumbers, carrots, beets and other short season vegetables. Simply count the number of days from planting to the date of the average first fall frost in your area. Then check the back of the seed packet for the number of days needed from planting until harvest. As long as you have enough time for the seeds to sprout, grow and produce before frost, they can be added to the garden.  Or extend the season with coldframes and floating row covers.

Those in frost-free areas can plant longer season crops that benefit from maturing during the cooler months of fall.

A bit more information: Wait for the soil to cool before planting lettuce and other vegetable seeds that require cooler temperatures to germinate. Or start the plants indoors and move them into the garden as transplants. Help keep the soil cool by mulching plantings with shredded leaves, evergreen needles or other organic mulch. For more ideas and information on late plantings watch my Melinda’s Garden Moment video Still Time to Plant Vegetables or listen to the audio tip on this topic. Or listen to the audio tip Grow a Bountiful Harvest All Season Long.

Tags

lettuce cucumber beets frost pole-beans bush-beans carrots

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