Newspaper Page Text
FALL OUT
m THE OARDEM
It may yet seem premature to bring up
the topic of fall gardening, but the best
chance at successfully growing fall veg
etables is had when plants are started
early. This can be tough, for if you are
Lir Adult by Grctj Firnnq
by STEPHANIE SHELTON
like me, late summer is sort of a
time" in the garden.
“down
HOW’S THE TIME
Lets face it, things can look a little
rough and ragged, having been beat
around by heat, bugs, drought, and the
usual ravages of summer. If anything,
August is April’s antithesis: hope and ideal
ism have run their course,
Jumped the curb, and
mired in the reality of the
garden’s successes and
failures. This, I have come
to understand, is normal. A month of crisp
mornings and cool nights and I’ll be back
to my old naive and enthusiastic relation
ship with my garden. Unfortunately, by the
time one generally comes around to feel
ing like gardening again, it can be too late
to start many of the excellent edibles that
can be grown in the fall here in the south.
Hence my advice: bite the bullet, pick a
cool morning, and get some seeds started
for a fall veggie garden. Come November
or so, you’ll be glad you did.
BUT WHAT?
What can be grown in the fall?
Broccoli, carrots, garlic, spinach, lettuce,
collards. onions, cabbage, radishes,
beets, turnip greens, cauliflower, kale,
and more. There are two general cate
gories going on here. The first is: Cool
season vegetables that need lower tem
peratures to grow and produce. Lettuce
is a good example of this, and while it
can be started in early spring, it is diffi
cult to get a crop to mature before the
heat kicks in and causes it to “bolt" (go
to seed) rendering it bitter and inedible.
However, planting in late summer/early
fall means more months of cool weather
and a better chance at success. Lettuce,
like many fall crops, will often withstand
light frosts and temperatures that dip
well into the 20’s.
The second category is veggies that
mature in spring or summer, but which
need to be planted in the fall and grow
slowly on through the winter. Garlic and
onions are prime examples. Bulb sets or
cloves can be planted up until November
in very rich loose soil. Mulch and keep
weeded (not usually a big problem in
winter months), and plants will mature in
early summer. Crops like broccoli, if
started and set out by mid to late
September, will yield by early November.
One catch, and this is true also of lettuce
and (1 think) spinach: seeds will not ger
minate in hot dry late August garden soil,
so start inside somewhere the soil temps
will stay cool. Seedlings can then be
transplanted to garden beds.
Sl2> 1
THE SEASOH
Every year 1 try a few new things as
fall crops, and, while not everything
works. I am always surprised to see how
plants will perform in this somewhat
unlikely gardening season. Some years,
lettuce will go through the entire winter,
and mature in early spring. Carrots will
mature in late fall if planted now. and I
have had them winter over and mature in
spring when I forgot ast year to plant
them until November. The growing sea
son can be extended further still if one
employs row covers (also called “floating
row-covers" and Remay) es frost protec
tion These resemble translucent spider-
webby sheets, come in rolls like fabric
and can be easily draped over garden
bed or rows of plants. Even without such
garden-aids, a fall garden can easily be
had. particularly if you mulch heavily as
temps begin to dip.
Many nurseries and garden centers
have begun to carry "starts” for fall-plant
ed vegetables like broccoli and lettuce, if
seed starting escapes you. Look for them
in mid to late September, when pansies
and cool-season annuals start to appear
for sale.
It's a FAMILY Business.
DPPAIMS
ITALIAN CAFE
Pasta • Pizza • Calzones • Salads
Fresh Catch • House Specialties
Daily Specials • Homemade Desserts
DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE
401 E. BROAD ST. 1965 BARNETT SHOALS RD.
554-6966 369-0085
Alhrm' OMm NHural Food Mott
( nmtf of Rnud & Pultdu
Mow.-SM. V>aw»-4pwi
with
Herb Etc.’s
PHOKNIX MAHKKT
PASSION
POTION
• "mJu’tt chvt time. an excellent sexual tanu for both men 6* u omen
as it builds deef> enerjpr resenes
specific far exhaustion. nuuf depression, chrome anxiety states,
nr any state iff debility
As a Include to hue making it relaxes the mind & opens the heart
-Liquid Herbal
Pr.ifii In
fc»enii> l v
H IWI <
< <*
fi%
—^I'pawwntUttuff: Thur* 7
Donna • txp«* **n eanJiJum*
fw reined immune JiufJct'
5 • Author ot The Huh EuAt* Diet
World o
IZcic’U to School
FACTORY CLEARANCI
I ntuit C'overs $24
{jrcut Warranties
we’ve got what you want!
0 FLAGPOLE SEPTEMBER 3, 1997
