Planning for a Fall Garden

VegHeadz Perennial Garden

Now is the time to plan your Fall Garden.  Remove spent plants and weeds in the cool morning hours.  Plant cover crops -- field peas, buckwheat, etc.  Just cast out the seeds, and lightly rake.  Water to aid in germination and let them grow.  In the alternative, cover your weeded beds with mulch -- pine straw, oat straw, oak leaves, wood chips, to retain moisture and discourage new weeds.  Now is the time to start your seedlings if you are so inclined--brassicas such as cabbage, collards, kale.  Despite the heat and humidity, it's a time of promise for a cool productive garden in the months ahead.

And speaking of heat and humidity, the perennial garden in the VegHeadz demo garden at the Extension Office is thriving in the heat and humidity.  Most varieties were planted in April, and all are threatening to outgrow their allotted space.  Cuttings will be available at the Fall Open House on November 1, so plan to be there.   The perennial garden includes summer greens at a time when most greens have long since wilted and gone.  Tasted Friday were Okinawa Spinach, Pacific Spinach/Slippery Cabbage, Sochan/Cherokee Greens, and Arugula.  They were all very tasty and would make a great summer salad.  Other greens in the garden are available to be cooked like spinach.  The yams and sweet potatoes are sprawling among the other plants and their roots will be ready to harvest soon.   No weeds can grow among the thick leaves.  The test will be to see how these more tropical plants survive in the winter cold.  Stay tuned.