Home Grown Notions: Planting A Fall Vegetable Garden

Beth Cook, Mammoth Cave Transplants
Summer is ending, the days are growing shorter, and temperatures are dropping, but there’s still a little time left for the home gardener to begin planting a Fall vegetable garden. Many of our summer gardens have come and gone or you may still be harvesting some of those fresh goodies. Either way, now is the time to get your fall garden planted.

Many vegetables prefer and do their best in cooler temperatures and tolerate lite frost. Most of these are the same ones you planted in early Spring but played out when hot weather arrived. Cole crop plant like Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Brussel Sprouts can be transplanted now. There are also many that can be directly sowed into your garden by seed. These would include:

• Lettuce
• Kale
• Mustard
• Spinach
  
• Collards
  
• Swiss Chard
  
• Radishes
  
• Turnips
  
• Beets
  
• Green Peas
  

For your Fall garden you may decide to use a new location but, if you decide to use your current garden be sure to remove remove all of the dead plants that are no longer producing fruit. Most can go into the compost pile but any plant material that had diseases or insect problems should be disposed of to avoid carry over to the next season. Before you plant anything new, you should do a simple soil test to make sure the pH is at proper level for growing. You can contact the Extension office on getting a sample tested. Hydrated lime will work quickly to correct the pH for fall vegetables. Once you have your fall garden planted, remember to keep your transplants sprayed for insects on a regular basis.

~~Lettuce Turnip the Beet and get Gardening...~~