The green vibrant bounty of our summer garden is gone.
Pretty much the only thing left producing-is Okra. I wanted to plant a fall garden last year-but time got away from me. This year I’ve waited till the very last days to plant.
Wanting to follow the signs-(I still want to know if it works or not)-I’ve been checking the Farmer’s Almanac site. The days that were ‘right’ in August were either not convenient or too wet to plant.
The 13th and the 14th were the last 2 ‘best days’ to plant below ground crops in September.
I used one of my larger raised beds to plant turnips in and a couple of smaller raised beds to plant radishes. This way The Deer Hunter didn’t have to crank the tiller.
Hopefully since both turnips and radishes can stand a light frost they’ll both have time to produce before true cold weather arrives. I plan to plant lettuce too-but I’m waiting on the right day-which is either the 21st or 22nd according to the almanac.
A few additional tips for planting a fall garden:
- Depending on your growing season and local weather-some folks may not have time for a 2nd planting, while others may get in 2 seasons of more frost tender veggies.
- Look for veggies that can tolerate a light frost-like you do in the early spring. Often here in western NC our first frost of the fall will be light and another frost won’t occur for several weeks.
- Radishes, swiss chard, mustard greens, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, turnips, and lettuces, are all considered good choices for planting in the fall.
- Prepare your soil prior to planting exactly like you would in the spring.
- Most gardening sites and books advise you to start planting your fall garden in mid August. (you can see I’m late)
- Since fall weather is typically dryer-at least in my area-you may have to water your fall garden more than the spring or summer garden.
I haven’t told Pap and Granny-but they planted their turnips on a ‘bad day’-another test in the making. I’ll keep track to see who’s turnips do the best and let you know.
So do you plant a fall garden? Did your parents or grandparents? What do you plant?
Tipper
All your work is inspiring as usual! Looking forward to a fall and overwinter garden here too and I am later than ever. Brain death in August! But I will be using floating row covers to get me a little farther into fall and growing than the weatherman gives me and I may throw a few hoop houses up over some things too. I use them to baby my chrysanthemums with hoop houses (they can take cold but the rain ruins them) so I am well aquainted with them and they are relatively easy to put up and maintain, except for that one week somewhere in November when we have eighty mile an hour winds.
Ooops I’m talking your leg off. All that to say if you can get your hands on some, try some floating row cover to extend your season.
I don’t have a garden but my grandparents always had greens planted in the fall. All kinds of greens. My grandmother would mix the greens and freeze what they didn’t eat. She had some wild greens planted along the edge of the garden that she mixed with them. I remember one of those was Lamb’s Quarter. She also used Polk (in the spring), Dock, Plantain and some others that I can’t recall the name. The freezer packages simply said “Salad”, and that was mighty fine eating.
When my grand mother was young she and her friend Sallie walked to the river bottom land in the fall after the silage corn was cut. It was an all day trip for them to walk there and back. They took two turnips and a piece of cornbread for lunch and they each had a tow sack for creases. The creases came up voluntarily in the fall after the corn was cut. Sallie and my grandmother each filled their sack with the greens and carried it home for the family to eat.
Creases are a mighty fine fall harvest. The Deer Hunter always loved them when he was a child, they are hard to find now. They are one of my favorite greens. I used to buy them by the bushel and froze them to eat in the winter.
These ways are almost gone! I love to read folks memories and comments!
Tipper,
I do hope you have a good fall planting. It will be interesting to see which turnips do the best, according to the signs.
We don’t plant fall gardens here, but a second lettuce crop would probably do well, as lettuce doesn’t mind the cold.
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Blessings,
Mary
I cleaned up my garden, pulled all the carrots and transplanted my herbs inside over the weekend. The basil was already showing the slightest sign of frost! I put some sugar peas in, but I’m not expecting much – lol
I love the idea of your planting by the signs, Tipper! It would be interesting to see how each garden of turnips turns out!
the only things we ever planted in the fall was turnips, and we didn’t get around to doing that this year. I think we are all tuckered out from the summer garden.
Martina-thank you for the Radish Seeds!!
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Those radishes look familiar! I got some seedling fall vegetables two weeks ago, chard, romaine, beets etc. and they are doing well. Planted some radish and butter lettuce seeds midAugust and they were sprouting up in less than a week! Wish I’d written down the date the seeds went in the ground. The corn plants have tassels now but probably won’t grow fast enough to produce corn.
My fall garden is, so far, very pitiful. And now something is eating my broccoli! I have been running myself ragged since school started, so I haven’t had the time to try to figure out what all is going on with it. I suspect it is a combination of things. *sigh*
Good luck with yours though!
Tipper: We start so long later in the summer waiting for the last frost that a fall garden doesn’t happen. One time I did grow Chinese Cabbage and it did really well.
I wish I did. I love the way you fill your life with beautiful, productive activity.
Just got caught up with your posts. Great reading as always. I think my edication would be as lacking as my phisidition if I missed any posts. Tell Pap I send my best. Keep up the good work. Pappy
My grandparents always planted their gardens by the moon. They always had a fall garden with the sweetest turnips I have ever tasted. Now, all of my grandparents have passed and I cherish all the skills and memories from them.
I’ve never known anyone who planted a fall garden. I’ll be interested to hear how yours succeeds. Also, maybe it’s because I’m a northwesterner but I’ve never tasted turnips either. Maybe it’s time to broaden my horizons.
We never really planted a fall garden before. Radishes were always one of my favorite.
Keep us posted on how you make out.
My Grandparents did.
This is my first try and I’ve got my fingers crossed!
My Papaw was big on the signs even right down to when to have your tooth pulled or when to potty train a tot…but the funny thing was his advise was always right…LOL!
I’m right tuckered out this month and do good to keep my flowers watered much less plant another garden! I would like to grow some Autumn Joy (sedum) but have a feeling I should have planted it last month for good results in the fall.
Turnips! Delicious. We had turnip kraut for dinner last night. do you make that. I took country style pork ribs (why they call them county style, I have no clue, isn’t all pork raised in the county) cooked them in my slow cooker while at work. Came home took the meat out, strained the broth, added the kraut, put the ribs on top and let simmer a bit. Made a pan of corn bread and we had a great meal! Wish you could of had dinner with us.
Patti
We still have okra, tomatoes and bell peppers and we’re going to have to pull them all up this weekend to plant our fall garden. We should have already done it, but I didn’t want to give up the okra! Our plants are over 6 feet tall and still blooming like crazy! I am going to plant turnip greens, collards, cabbage and green onions.