Plant Now for Fall Greens and More

Thought the growing season was winding down? Well, for you, maybe, but not for those who want fresh homegrown vegetables for as close to four seasons as they can get ‘em. Spring may be the first season and the first planting time, but July through late August is second.

Many cool season veggies are the same ones sown in very early spring, the ones that turn up their toes as soon as the temps regularly hit the mid-upper 80’s. But in fall, those same vegetables shine, and can give you a great lease on gardening life – to say nothing of meals — when you do a second sowing right now. Root veggies like radish, carrot, beet, turnip as well as beans, lettuces, arugula, kale, and collards can all go into the ground right now. In addition to preferring the cooler weather and the increased rains we have now that the drought seems to have abated—why the dickens it doesn’t want to droppeth like the gentle dew on us throughout July is anyone’s guess — these vegetables are relatively short season i.e. they’re ready to eat in fairly short order from planting. However, when planting for fall, you need to figure on some extra time due to the waning light.

“We tell people to add 14 days, basically,” says Jon Traunfeld, fruit and vegetable specialist and State Master Gardener Coordinator at University of Maryland.  “If you expect broccoli in the spring to be ready 55 days from transplanting, add 14-15 days to that. So you back you planting up 15 days earlier.”

But even with the extra time needed, some mescluns and arugulas (clipped, dew-spangled from the garden, Yum!) can be on your salad plate about 40 days from seeding, which if you put them in this weekend, means you’ll have them by the end of the first week in October. ‘Flat of Egypt’ beets (for example) promise to be ready in 50 days in spring, so if you seed them today, they could be ready as early as the end of the second or third week of October.

“It’s a little late for carrots over here, because they might not size up in time,” says Traunfeld, who lives near Beltsville.  “Over there [on the Eastern Shore] you’re a little warmer, and might have time if you put them in this week. And there’s time for beets, and all the greens and lettuces will do well. Spinach I’ve tried, but sometimes that has trouble germinating if it’s too hot.”

However, if the weather continues to be in the low to mid-80’s during the day and 60’s at night, spinach should be fine, especially if the variety is slow-bolting, which means it can take some warmth. Late season planting can also help to sidestep some of the pest problems gardeners contend with earlier since the life cycle of the insects is at a different stage now.

“We have a lot of trouble with flea beetles in spring, so there are crops we have much better luck with in fall like: Asian greens; arugula; mustards; mizuna,” says Colchester CSA manager, Theresa Mycek

Traunfeld, who is planting turnips and broccoli seedlings in his garden this week, suggests using row covers to offer additional protection against those insects that are still busily attacking the garden as well as against foraging critters. (What they don’t see, they often by-pass.). In addition, row covers help extend the season.

“If you use a row cover, you can really push it,” Traunfeld says. “You can cover spinach and arugula, [let it go all winter] and it will come back in spring. Some people plant lettuce really late, like mid-to-late October, and keep it covered in row cover, so when the ground warms up in spring, it will start up and you won’t have to till up what might be wet ground.”

One big consideration, especially if you’re seeding into a spot that has already produced a crop this year, is fertility.

“Add compost to soil before you plant,” says Traunfeld. You can also fling in a little organic fertilizer. (Obviously, you could go the chemical route, too, but I advocate for organic gardening without apology.).

Aside from the pleasure of harvesting your own veggies, cool weather crops, like Brussels sprouts and other cole family vegetables, often taste better once they have been through a light frost or two.

“Turnips and cabbages are a little sweeter and better tasting when they’re maturing in cooler temperatures,” says Mycek, who has fields of vegetables that CSA members and farmers’ market patrons will be eating right up to Thanksgiving at least, if not almost until Christmas.