Gardening in Autumn


by Graeme Hatt - Date: 2007-04-20 - Word Count: 414 Share This!

A lot of gardeners do not do any gardening in the autumn due to things such as frost. However, it can work out great for your garden, providing excellent vegetables. Planting in autumn can also make your vegetables last longer. Some people report sweeter, milder tasting vegetables when grown in autumn.

What you choose to grow during you fall gardening will depend on your available space and what you like to eat, just like spring plants. Even the crops that enjoy the heat, such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, and peppers, will produce until frosts hit, which can be pretty late in the year in southern areas. However, there are some plants that will quit towards the end of summer like snap-beans, summer squash, and cucumbers. If these vegetables are planted around the middle of the summer they can be harvested until the first frosts as well. Hardy, tough vegetables will grow until the temperature is as low as 20 degrees, but those that aren't as strong will only be able to grow through light frosts. Remember that if you have root and tuber plants and the tops are killed by a freeze the edible part can be saved if a large amount of mulch is used.

A general word of advice is to choose vegetables with the shortest growing time, as they face the least risk from an early frost. When you purchase seeds, they should give you an indication of how long they will grow for.

In order to know exactly when the best time to start fall gardening, you must know about when the first hard frost will hit your area. One of the best ways to tell this is by a Farmer's Almanac. They will give you exact dates and are rarely wrong. You will also need to know exactly how long it is going to take your plants to mature.

Before you plant your autumn crops, remove any old weeds and summer plants. If you fail to do this, they may spread diseases to your healthy autumn plants. Lay down some new compost, wet it a little, then leave it for a day or so. Now you're ready to plant!

Many gardeners will run from fall gardening so they don't have to deal with frosts, but if tough, sturdy vegetables are planted they can withstand a few frosts and give you some wonderful tasting produce. Fall gardening gives you the chance to enjoy your vegetable garden for at least a little bit more time.


Related Tags: vegetables, tips, cold, advice, flowers, gardening, fall, frost, autumn

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