Friday, August 28, 2009

Fall Crops Post

It's a blustery cool day today, very reminiscent of the fall. Looks like weather in the low 20's(68f) is here to stay for a while so what better of a topic then fall crops. Since Aug 15th I have seeded quite a few things, both in cell packs and directly in the soil and they are all up now. All the fall crops that I started in July are doing well also.

Vates Kale, growing in the cold frame.

Spinach, growing in the cold frame.

Mache, growing in the cold frame.

Fall Broccoli, that I seeded back in July. There is Brussels Sprouts in
behind as well but the squash has badly shaded them, I don't think
they will produce because of this.

Green Onions in the poly tunnel. These were growing in the native
soil garden at the bottom of the garden. I decided to trim & transplant them
into the poly tunnel to extend their harvest.

Red Celery, growing in the poly tunnel. I started these back in July and they
are just starting to put on some good growth. I have also underplanted them
with mache which tolerates shade and can be harvested after the celery is harvested.

Merlot Lettuce, it will be growing out in the open.

Easter Egg Radish, these also will be growing out in the open.
This fall I am growing Easter Egg, Black Long & China Rose Radishes.
Some will be grown in the open well some will be grown with protection.

Crookneck Squash in a topsy. This is an attempt at a late
harvest, being in a topsy I can bring it into the shed if cold
weather comes for a few days.

Leeks. I planted these in a trench for blanching and I will be refilling
the trench this weekend. I'm hesitant to admit it but I have been fertilizing
these with lawn fertilizer. I read onions respond well to high nitrogen fertilizer
early on and these certainly have!

In behind the poly tunnel is Detroit Red Beets that I seeded in July. They are
starting to size up nicely and will be harvested in 30 days I am guessing. There also
is some Vermont Cranberry Beans (from The Conservative Gardener ) and
Fennel mixed in.

In no particular order, here we have little gem romaine, merlot lettuce, napa cabbage, bright lights chard (from Daphne's Dandelions ), sugar loaf chicory & batavian full heart. These were all started around the first of Aug and will be planted into the poly tunnel this weekend.

Here is the most recently started transplants. I have ran out of labels
and it is driving me nuts that I don't know what is what, bit of a control
freak :-) So here we have mizuna, bok choy, tatsoi (from Daphne's Dandelions)
& I think Australian Yellowleaf lettuce.

Here is a white cucumber variety that I started in July. It took the place
of the sugar snap peas that were growing in this container last spring. They are
kind of sickly looking but are putting out a couple cukes, maybe they will pick up soon.

Lastly I put a row of yellow bush beans in a few weeks ago. They are up
and I am hoping for a couple pickings before the October frosts.

8 comments:

  1. Your fall garden is looking nice. I love the little cuke. I've never grown any but the typical green variety. You will have to let us know how they taste. I put in some successions of tatsoi and komatsuna today. I still need to get my mache and spinach in. I hope I'm not too late on them. I also hope that the sow bugs and slugs don't eat them to the ground before the get going.

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  2. I haven't taken the time to blog lately, but am still enjoying yours. Your fall crops are very impressive. Hope the weather holds well for you. We're getting heavy rain today and much cooler temps.

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  3. Fall is looking great, Dan ! The broc and the leeks are really coming along.

    Summer is heading out, for sure. Ooh, you can feel it in the air. Nights are getting cooler. I covered the peppers with the cold frame the day before last. I'm this close to getting one.

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  4. Dan, it's weird that the warm weather season is almost over, because it just flew by. Even though it's in the 80's here, I know that fall is coming fast. Just today, I noticed some leaves on one of my plum trees have changed color, and fell to the ground.

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  5. Definitely feeling like fall today here too. Your seedlings look terrific and the broccoli looks to be on track to be ready soon.

    I direct seeded some lettuce and spinach a few weeks ago and they are up and growing really nicely. In the greenhouse I have a flat of Walla Walla seedlings growing out as well too. Those will go in the garden in early October to overwinter in the garden.

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  6. Fall crops.....just like me! lol. I bet you're going to be glad you made that tunnel. I'm looking forward to seeing it in action.

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  7. I just bought a cold frame from www.coldframes.com - can't wait for it to arrive. Hopefully I'll have the success you're enjoying......

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  8. You fall broccoli looks a lot happier than mine, which I sowed back in July as well. Maybe it's the New England weather that doesn't agree with them. Is there a particular variety you like to grow in the fall?

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