As
much as I love fresh sweet corn and Cherokee purple tomatoes, my most favorite
fresh vegetables come out of the fall garden.
I know it’s hard to think about fall in July, but it is time to start
planning how you can continue to enjoy your garden through the fall season. You
can plant a variety of produce in Kentucky gardens in the coming weeks allowing
fresh items to be available well into the fall.
According
to UK Extension Specialist for Consumer Horticulture, the cooler nights
experienced later in the year as these vegetables mature may increase the sugar
content of many crops and thus increase their quality. Cooler nights also slow
growth, so crops can take longer to mature than in the summer. Keep this slower
pace in mind when you check seeds for days to maturity.
Late
July or early August would be the time to make a last planting of bush beans,
carrots, sweet corn, kale, collards, bibb lettuce, turnips and cole crops such
as kohlrabi, Chinese cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and
broccoli. For late August and into September try planting mustard greens,
spinach greens, radishes, turnip greens and leaf lettuce.
Before
planting, remove any existing debris including crops and weeds to the compost
bin and cultivate the soil.
If
the previous crop was well fertilized and grew vigorously you may need to add
little if any additional fertilizer, otherwise apply about 2 to 3 pounds of a
complete fertilizer such as 5-10-10 or 10-10-10 per 100 square feet of planting
area.
Remember
to keep fall gardens well watered as this tends to be a fairly dry time in
Kentucky. A weekly irrigation sufficient to wet the soil to 6 or 8 inches
should be adequate. This is more or less equivalent to a weekly one-inch rain.
To
learn more about fall gardening options, contact the McLean County Cooperative
Extension Service. Educational programs
of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of
race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
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