September 23, 2011

Fall Garden Beginnings

Not much to show. Not much to tell. Yet. Hopefully I'm not too late with some things. It was hard to get motivated to plant a fall garden when temps were still in the upper 80s and low 90s.

Drizzly day photo of my fall garden.
Field corn in the background, summer garden remains on far right.

Planted so far:
  • Lettuce, red salad bowl
  • Radishes, Cherry Belle
  • Radishes, China Rose
  • Parsnips, All American
  • Beets, Red Detroit
  • Carrots, Scarlet Nantes
  • Collards, Georgia Southern
  • Turnips, white globe purple top
  • Onions, Egyptian Walking
  • Cabbage seeds, Late Flat Dutch
  • Cabbage collard plants, Morris Heading
  • Broccoli, Waltham 29
  • Kale, Dwarf Siberian

It's a start. 

22 comments:

Dani said...

That's a start? I reckon that's a harvest waiting to happen LOL

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a fabulous start! Wish I could have gotten a hoop house up to do some over the winter, but didn't happen this year.

Lap Dog Knits said...

Good luck with the plantings...I'll be following along to see your success - love the kitchen planning and cabinets!

Nina said...

I do envy the ability to have a fall garden. I didn't get anything planted in July or early Aug, which would have given a late harvest here. We could have frost at any time. Lucky though, I'm still harvesting tomatoes, a few beans, onions and that volunteer Swiss Chard, which doesn't want to give up.
It will be fun to hear of your successes, especially if we get an early bit of snow and frosty weather.

Leigh said...

Dani, I love that! "A harvest waiting to happen." May it be as you say!

Stephanie, every year I put either a hoop house or hoop row covers on my goal list. So far I haven't done either! I'd love to see how long things stay green under one.

Kyle, thanks! That's encouraging!

Nina, here's hoping mine does well. Sounds like you're still getting a better harvest from your summer garden than me, mine is pretty much played out. I reckon we're all wondering about that first frost!

Mama Pea said...

I'd say it's a great start! Your area is so different than ours. Can you give an idea (approximate, of course) of when some of your fall plantings will be ready for harvest? Gardening in the widely divergent areas of the U.S. is so interesting!

DebbieB said...

Yikes! I'd better get a bed ready if I'm going to have a fall garden. Thanks for the reminder.

Susan said...

Start? I'd be all done with that list! Hope the temps cool down so it feels more like fall.

CaliforniaGrammy said...

Fall? but wait, is summer over? Right now it's 10:30 in the morning and is already 90° outside! . . . you are such an organized gardener. By the looks of your garden area I see no kind of fencing to keep critters out such as ground squirrels, bushy-tailed squirrels, or rabbits. How lucky you must not have that problem.

Leigh said...

Mama Pea, I can start thinning the beet greens now actually. The root crops pretty much seem to follow what the packaging says, around 60 days depending upon the variety. When we start to get freezing weather, they slow down and the greens often die back, but if I mulch heavily, I can harvest all winter long. The other things like lettuces and broccoli, seem to take forever, in fact, I doubt I'll get any until next spring. I need to try to cover these, just to see, but we've got so much going on, I'm not sure I'll manage that this year.

Debbie, it's hard to think about when the weather is hot!

Susan, well, it's mostly planted. I need to get garlic in and I'd like to try some onions as well. I'll probably plant more radishes for a steady supply and more lettuce as well. Maybe some peas too. And anything else I can think of!

CaliforniaGrammy, I know what you mean! About the heat, not about being an organized gardener. Most of the time I'm running behind schedule.

We do have critters, in fact something has been eating my buckwheat, chicory, and echinacea. We've had a lot of rabbits this year, and I'm amazed none have made it into the garden. They mostly stay in the goat pasture on the other side of the house. Riley gets credit I think, being a fantastic hunter. He keeps our mouse, chipmunk, squirrel, and rabbit population down really well. The deer though, are a tad too big. Katy's more of a butterfly gal, so I don't have to worry about any big bad butterflies terrorizing anything. :)

trump said...

Happy fall everyone, and i need to get off the pot the next time and start some kind of garden!. Richard

The Weekend Homesteader said...

Oh, look at all of that beautiful gardening space! I envy you, but I also know how the hot muggy weather feels right now.

Suzan said...

Looks like yu have great soil!
Wanted to share with you-
Goats in a Tree!
http://suzzz45.blogspot.com/

Alison said...

If I get that much in the ground, I'll be delighted. In fact, I plan to make a start today. Hmm.

Leigh said...

Richard, yes you do! :)

Candace thanks! And it's true, there's nothing worse than hot muggy weather to put a damper on fall gardening!

Suzan, those goats are amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Alison, it's not what gets put in the ground, it's what comes up! ;)

Tami said...

Oh, good for you Leigh! I just finished a post (for tomorrow) about why I've decided to "chuck" the fall garden thing for this year. No hoop house for me. Maybe next year.

Andrew said...

Hey, I just tried something for the first time, I put all my corn stalks through a wood chipper then tilled them into the garden. Whole lot quicker and more efficient than my previous method of pulling each and every stalk and hauling them into a pile outside the garden that gets moved three times before I get around to burning in the spring. Maybe it's a good idea or maybe its bad. I just saw something in the latest mother earth about it and wanted to give it a try. It looks good and I sewed wheat directly on top of it all. Never too late! Rain's gotta count as much as temperature. :)

Leigh said...

Aw Tami, I know how it is though and doubt we'll get a hoop house up either. Hopefully we'll get some fall garden harvest though.

Andrew, actually I think that's a great idea. I've noticed that our goats will eat the dried corn leaves so this year I'm going to pull them and put them in the hay mow for winter treats. Last winter we did like you, pulled them up and had to move the stacks around several times. I read somewhere that they can be used in compost piles to help aerate them, and I did try that. They didn't decompose very quickly, but I transferred them to the next compost pile and eventually the composted too. A chipper would be a better way to go. Either for compost or mulch right where it lies.

Jen said...

It's too late to plant anything here. I might be able to get some lettuce in the hoophouse but I doubt it.

reba said...

I enjoyed your blog so much...looks like you had a great garden, so I can say you are a great gardener. Blessings and have a nice day.

JeffJustJeff said...

Looks great. I need to write about mine. It's growing very well. I have the row cover, but haven't made the wickets and don't have anything for the hoop house. We'll see. It's starting to get a little chilly here in Central Ohio at night (low 40's). I want to have a large garden bounty for Thanksgiving. Our goal is to provide as much of the meal as possible from our farm. Good luck with your garden!

Leigh said...

Limette, I'm hoping it isn't too late here. Some things could have gone in at the end of July, but it was too hot and dry to think about!

Just Me, thank you! Let's just say I'm a great gardener in progress. :)

Jeff, thanks! What an excellent goal. Really, that's what Thanksgiving should be all about. And do write about your garden soon! I think we all learn from one another. I've picked up ideas and tips even from folks with different climates. Plus it's encouraging to share.