Cool-season lettuce and spinach at maturity.
Sure, it’s hot outside. But that’s no excuse for neglecting your garden. If you’ve been watering regularly through the summer, you’ll still be rewarded with late tomatoes, green beans, peppers, squash and cucumbers.
If the heat has gotten to your crop, there’s still time for a late summer/fall replacement garden. Plant squash and cucumbers seeds directly into the ground in raised mounds by the end of the month. Since they mature around 55 to 60 days after planting you’re safe from the threat of first frost, which is typically around early to mid-November. Just be sure to keep them well watered as they grow and keep an eye out for insects, such as squash borers that affect the stems of the plant.
If you find insects, treat with Sevin dust, following the directions on the package. Yes, you can use Sevin on edible plants; you must wait at least seven days before harvest, and be sure to thoroughly wash the vegetables. The packaging will give you quantities, methods of application and cautions.
If you’re staying organic, the line of Captain Jack’s products – insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and disease treatments – work well. Just follow the packages instructions. I purchase hose-end sprayer styles to make applications easier. They’re a little more expensive, but it’s worth it for the convenience.
You can also start seeds for your cool-weather crops, such as broccoli, collards and kale in August. Choose a shady place outdoors and use seeding flats, peat pots, or egg cartons and fill with good soil. Make sure the containers have adequate drainage.
The late summer heat, with the plants in the shade, will provide the warmth and humidity that the seeds need to sprout, and by starting the seeds early, they will be ready to set out into the garden in September and October.
Fill the containers with good moist soil, then place one to two seeds in each pot or section of the egg carton, just barely covering them with soil. Water gently and thoroughly; using a mister is best. Be sure to label the containers when you plant the seeds, so you’ll know what you have planted.
Go ahead and prepare your garden space so that when it comes time to transplant the seedlings, you’ll be ready. Break up any large clumps, add organic matter and a light application of 10-10-10 fertilizer.
When the seedlings have grown at least two pairs of leaves, not including the initial two that are the result of the seed sprouting, you can set them out in the garden. Plant them in rows and space the plants according to the instructions on the seed packets. Apply a little starter solution as you transplant.
Kale will mature in 55-70 days; collards will be ready to pick at between 60 and 85 days. Broccoli will be ready to harvest from seeds at between 100 and 150 days. Other plants to consider include cauliflower, chard, cabbage and turnips.
Don’t worry about these vegetables being affected by frost or freezing temperatures. The foliage may become a bit burned, but the plants will survive.
If you’re not sold on starting your vegetable plants from seeds, fall will be here before you know it. Then you can buy starter plants for your cool-season vegetables at area box retailers.
No matter what you choose, there’s nothing better than vegetables picked fresh from the garden.
Photo: by Pamela A. Keene
