Planning a fall vegetable garden
You can extend your normal growing season and get a second or third harvest by carefully selecting which specific type of plants you choose for your final crop of the season. When you are deciding what to plant for the last crop, it is essential that you know how long the vegetable takes to mature and the best growing conditions. The vegetables you select for your final planting will be either short growing plants, or vegetables that withstand cold, some frost or strong frosts. If a particular plant does well in cold weather, it will have a longer maturation time.
Light frost is between 32 and 29 degrees, and will kill tender plants. The flavor of some crops, such as parsnips, turnips and carrots, improves with some frost. Moderate frost occurs between 25 and 28 degrees and is destructive to most vegetation, while severe/heavy frost is 24 degrees or lower and kills most plants. In the Waynesburg area, 50 percent of the time, the first light frost will occur by Oct. 9, a moderate freeze by Oct. 20, and a severe freeze by Oct. 31. Remember that freezes will occur earlier if you live in a deep valley, and may occur later in a sheltered eco-niche. If you plant near a wind break, such as a tall building, it can raise the temperature 10 to 15 degrees.
To select your final vegetable crop, you need to know when both the first and second vegetable will begin producing and how long to expect each to keep producing. Anticipating when you will have an area available for planting will help you determine what to plant there. For example, green beans may be mature as early as 60 days, but may be productive for at least a month. The sites where there are plants that have shorter growing time will be candidates for second and third crops, while long growing vegetables, like indeterminate tomatoes, will continue until frost. Most vegetables can be started from seeds, such as cilantro, lettuce, carrots and beets. However, broccoli, cabbage, chives, peppers, cauliflower and kale are better started as transplants.
Before a new planting, it is important to completely remove all weeds that have sprouted and the foliage of the old vegetables to prevent diseases and pests. You should also add additional organic material or compost to the soil as the previous planting may have depleted the soil nutrients. The following is a list of vegetables that are classified as semi-hardy and will tolerate 29 to 30 degrees: beets, cauliflower, celery, winter squash, Chinese cabbage, endive, Irish potatoes, lettuce, rutabaga and Swiss chard. The following are hardy vegetables that will perform well after a hard frost: Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, collards, English peas, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, mustard greens, radishes, spinach, turnips, carrots and parsnips. Plants such as kale, spinach and collards can tolerate temperatures as low as the high teens, and mustard will germinate in 45 degree weather.
You might find that the vegetables take a little longer in the fall since the sun is no longer at full strength and the days are shorter. The following is a list of vegetables that in general mature in two months or less under ideal conditions: green beans, wax beans, radishes, turnips, spinach, loose leaf lettuce, summer squash, kale, beets and peas. Different varieties of the same vegetable mature at different times. For example, Romaine lettuce matures in 65 to 70 days, while arugula lettuce matures in 35 days and Black Seeded Simpson in 45 days. Broccoli usually matures in 70 to 100 days, however, Packman matures in 52 days and Green Magic matures in 57 days. Some long-season crops have developed extremely early varieties. The tomatoes, Bush Early Girl VFFNT Hybrid, Clear Pink Early, Early Wonder and Kimberly mature under 59 days; keep in mind tomatoes like hot weather and may not do their best late in the season. Early Pimento and Gypsy are green peppers that mature within 65 days, while Revolution matures in 72 days and is more cold-hardy. Early Jalapeno matures between 60 and 65 days.
Don’t forget to try planting some herbs later in the season. Basil germinates in about a week, and you can begin cutting the top leaves when the plant has five sets of leaves. Parsley is slow to germinate, but grows quickly and tolerates cold exceptionally well since it is actually a biennial. Cilantro germinates in two to three weeks, grows quickly and likes cooler weather. You can harvest a few of the lower leaves of both parsley and cilantro when the plants are quite young. Dill is mature in two months, and the Long Island Mammoth variety grows to four feet. Both chives and garlic should be planted and/or divided in late summer or early fall for the next year’s crop.
Be prepared to have some form of protective covers on hand in case of an early, unexpected frost. Floating dome covers, cloth covers and even overturned buckets or homemade newspaper domes work well to prevent damage from frosts. Don’t forget to uncover them the next day so they don’t overheat in the sun.