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Post by Kathy on Jul 23, 2007 23:13:25 GMT -5
Well, this is going to be a new experience for me-fall gardens.
I'm going to be planting broccoli, beans, greens, beets, spinach & lettuces.
This may be crazy but I'm also going to try planting cukes-I failed to get mine in last spring so this is my final hurrah for 2007. Does anyone know if cukes will grow and produce if planted in late July in zone 7?
Who else plants a second garden for fall & winter harvests & what do you plant?
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Post by bbird on Jul 24, 2007 12:25:32 GMT -5
Oh gosh no...never have done a second planting. Got that cold weather thing going on.  I am excited though, here it is the 24th of July and I have green tomatos! I bought bigger tomato plants this year, and that has been the winning ticket on "maybe" getting some red tomatos this year before the season ends. Usually I am stuck with green tomatos! I bet your garden is keeping you busy Kathy! Sounds like it has been very successful, I would love to get so much from the garden! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2007 12:26:27 GMT -5
I don't know about the cukes, Kathy. I know they need a warm growing season, but I don't know how long it stays "warm" down there where you are. I'm going to TRY planting a fall garden this year (what the heck, it can only fail!). I always have such a hard time growing greens here. By the time it's done snowing and freezing, there just isn't enough "spring" with cool rainy weather. I have a few weeks of hot/cold, then it's all HOT. So everything I plant in the spring either croaks in the heat, or bolts and gets bitter before I've had a chance to eat it. So I'm going to try some lettuce and spinach, and just maybe, some peas. The lettuce won't sprout at temps above 77 (or so I've read), so I don't know how that will work. My second planting of lettuce this "spring" didn't come up because it was too hot already, and the first planting is already bitter and going to seed, so it's chicken food now. I'll let you know in a couple of months whether it works or not.  ~Lannie |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2007 12:28:22 GMT -5
Don't you just love these Google ads? We're talking about a "fall" garden, so there's ads for fall protection (as in falling on your keester) equipment! ~Lannie |
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Post by Kathy on Jul 24, 2007 12:52:53 GMT -5
According to my landlord/neighbor we have about 6-8 wks of hot weather left and here greens are usable all winter. I don't think we actually freeze until about early Dec.  I'm like you, I got my cucumber seeds for 10 cents a pack so the most I'll be out is a dime. And if they grow I'll have a ton of pickles for winter. ;D |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2007 13:34:33 GMT -5
Sheesh, if all you want is PICKLES! I canned so many pickles year before last, I don't think we'll ever get through them all! Too bad you don't live closer, I'd GIVE you some! LOL! I'm trying to grow cukes again this year, just for eating, but I don't know if the seeds are old, or that bad spell of rain we had drowned them, but they're not doing very well. They're growing about an inch a month (!!) and some of them have just up and died. I only have 3 plants left, and one of those has a little deformed baby cucumber on it. Between the 3 plants, there are maybe 5 flowers! LOL!
I do have some Romas getting red now, though, which is nice. A couple more days and I'll be able to eat one! The rest of the tomatoes are all covered with lots of green ones, and I started them all from seed, so that's not too bad. And the spaghetti squash is doing really well. I saved seeds out of a storebought one last year and planted them a couple months ago and they're going like gangbusters. I have some squash already that are about 8 inches long and several more that are little babies yet. The other two varieties (butternut and straightneck) are lagging, with lots of flowers but no fruit yet. I really think my seeds are too old. The spaghetti squash came up with two or three plants in each hill (I planted 6 seeds per hill) but the butternut only has two plants on one hill and nothing on the other two, and the straightneck has two plants on one hill, one on another hill, and nothing on the third hill. I guess before next spring I have to buy all new seeds. There seems to be a limit to how frugal I can be! LOL!
~Lannie
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Post by momo on Jul 24, 2007 18:26:33 GMT -5
I'm probably in the same zone as you Kathy. Lettuce and spinach actually do better in the fall. They won't bolt like they do in the heat. All of the cruciferous veggies (brussel sprouts, brocolli etc) do better with a light frost so they will grow even longer. Our first frost is usually early Dec. It has come as early as a few days after Thanksgiving or as late as Christmas. One year I still had fresh red maters for Christmas dinner!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2007 7:40:07 GMT -5
Great word!  I'm going to try giving it a go, also. I'm going to hold off on the lettuce for now but was wondering about carrots. I'm in zone 6b and I know they like to germinate when it's cool but I'm afraid if I wait that long, it'll be too late in the fall by the time they're ready. I just can't see them germinating here in August, though.  /Via |
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Post by Kathy on Jul 30, 2007 7:58:42 GMT -5
Great word! I'm going to try giving it a go, also. I'm going to hold off on the lettuce for now but was wondering about carrots. I'm in zone 6b and I know they like to germinate when it's cool but I'm afraid if I wait that long, it'll be too late in the fall by the time they're ready. I just can't see them germinating here in August, though. /Via I wondered about carrots too, I'm going to try putting a shade cloth over the row during the hot part of the day. I have the cloth already so it won't be any added expense. I'm also going to mulch the patch with old straw-not thick but just enough to hopefully keep the ground maybe 7-10 degrees cooler. Isn't experimentation fun?? Tomorrow I'm planting my green beans, we'll see how that goes. I do know I'll have to water every day; we haven't had any rain for 3 wks and yesterday the skies darkened and it started to thunder-we got maybe a 2 min shower.  It didn't even wet the ground under any of the trees or plant foilage.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2007 8:00:36 GMT -5
I've always heard carrots can be planted right up until the middle of July, so they must be able to germinate in warmer weather. I had planted a second planting of them about a month after my first planting (so around the middle of May), and my second planting didn't come up very well, but I think it was the birds, not that the seed didn't sprout. By the time I planted those other carrot seeds, the birds had figured out there were good eats in the garden! LOL! My spinach is all bolting now, so I'm going to pull it up and eat it (wish me luck!), and try planting some more greens in its place. The lettuce I have left is starting to bolt as well, and it's already bitter, so I guess I'll give it to the critters and see if I can't get something else to take its place. I really would like to have a good lettuce harvest someday... But on the bright side, I have tomatoes starting to ripen, and lots of spaghetti squash (boy that stuff's quick!), so at least I'm getting something out of my garden this year.  ~Lannie |
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Post by Kathy on Jul 30, 2007 12:59:27 GMT -5
Lannie, if you like them all of the cruciferous greens such as turnip, kale & mustard greens grow really well this time of year. That's the other thing I'll be planting this week; 3-40' rows of greens. Here they stay edible through most of the winter but even in the north you would get greens for late fall meals. I also cook them up and freeze them for quick sides in the winter. If you don't know how to fix greens let me know-I make a mean pot o' greens. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2007 13:11:22 GMT -5
I do like turnips and rutabagas and cabbage, but I've never even tried kale or chard or any of those, so I don't know. Maybe my problem is I've been trying to grow delicate prima dona greens (lettuce & spinach) and I should be growing "Ahnie" greens! LOL! Does kale or chard taste similar to anything else? Maybe I should try some. I've always wanted to grow brussels sprouts or broccoli, but I don't think they'll do well here, so I haven't wasted my time on them. I've heard kale will overwinter in most places (prob'ly not here) but maybe at least it would last well into the fall, if not through the winter. And yes, I'd love to know how to preserve some greens! Not mustard greens, though. Well, I don't know, I've only ever tasted wild mustard and I don't think it's the same thing, so maybe I should try it before I say I don't like it!  It would be great to have something besides tomatoes and green beans over the winter. ~Lannie |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2007 13:23:51 GMT -5
If you don't know how to fix greens let me know-I make a mean pot o' greens. Please help me! I tried to fix spinach once - I put a little water in the bottom of a pot and filled the rest of the pot with spinach. It was NASTY. Sort of stringy/chewy. *barf* I'd be glad for any greens recipes you'd care to share. Also, do you have any that could be made on the healthy side - not so much butter or bacon? /Via |
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