Going to start my small fall garden

3880 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by veggiewhisperer, Oct 1, 2012

Tammy

Discussion Starter · Sep 17, 2012

Yesterday, I picked off the remaining peppers and tomatos from my plants and pulled up the rest of the carrots and beets. I then used a small tiller to just go over the entire garden. My husband built a small garden box for me with some scrap he had (it's probably about 6 ft by 2 1/2 ft) and tonight I'll place that in the garden, fill it (got a large bag of some amended gardening mix with chicken manure) and got some starts for red romaine, a garden variety mix of lettuces, spinach and brocolli. This will be my first time doing any fall gardening. We are still pretty warm here (upper 80's, low 90's) but nights are really starting to cool off and I think in the next week or so, the day time temps will probably only be in the upper 70's. Hopefully, these fall things will grow.

a few questions:

I have two blueberry plants in large planter boxes near the house, but want to transplant them into my garden. When should I do this?

and if I decide to plant garlic, is this the time to do it? or do I wait til early winter (like november or december?)?

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stephanie

· #2 · Sep 17, 2012 (Edited)

I would plant the blue berry bushes when they go dormant for the winter, because then is the time they build roots and can get established. mulch them heavily around the base with grass clippings or other plant material kept thick and they will produce ton of berries for you.
they should go dormant in oct/nov. they love acidic soil.

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veggiewhisperer

· #3 · Sep 18, 2012

Tammy,

I totally agree with Stephanie regarding the blueberries. As far as the garlic goes, I had to wait off to start planting my lettuce and other fall vegetables because of the warm weather. I waited until the temps. got a consistent mid to high 70 or low 80 and started planting. I would have went by the farmer's almanac, but this year's weather has been completely off.

Hope that helps.

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Errol

· #4 · Sep 20, 2012

Tammy, I live in middle Tn., and I planted my garlic yesterday. I always planted it from middle of sept to the middle of oct. , I harvest it in late june of the following year. I have been eating black simpson leaf lettuce and red leaft for the past 2 weeks and its still growing to beat the band, I sowed more leaf lettuce, radishes and spinach yesterday. The temps are cooling here, but during the warm weather a few weeks ago I planted the leaf lettuce but I planted it in partial shade. It will do good in partial shade just as any other veggies that are grown for their greens.
If you like kale plant it now also and it will take really cold weather and frost's and yes even snow!! you can harvest kale all winter even in the northern states.
good luck with your fall garden

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stephanie

· #5 · Sep 20, 2012

you have inspired me to grow some kale this winter.

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Tracy1088

· #6 · Sep 27, 2012

Grow only those vegetables you enjoy eating. Give priority to those prized for incredible flavor when eaten fresh from the garden: sweet corn, beans and peas, tomatoes and young spinach, among others.

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Errol

· #7 · Sep 27, 2012

If you have a small garden, Tracy has good advise, But I also like to experiment with new seeds and new veggies. after all thats what gardening is all about! you never know what you might like that you have never tasted. Just try it in a small way. I grow 8 different kinds of pole and bush beans. I give away lots of produce besides filling our freezer and canning. I grow quiet alot of zucchini squash. My wife and I had never heard of or tasted zucchini jelly!! She found a recipe for zucchinni jelly in one of her old regipe books. we made a few jars and liked it so much we ended up making 36 jars!! everyone we have given a jar to loves it and so easy to make. I had never eaten eggplant nor had I ever grown it until this year. I just never thought it would be very good or worth the trouble growing it. But I can now promise you my garden will never be without eggplant. uhmmmm that zucchini bread that my wife makes is so delicious. So always if you have a little extra room, even in a large pot, do the exciting, daring and grow something you have never tried...you never know!
have a fun day digging

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Tammy

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 27, 2012

each year I do try to grow something different that I haven't done in the past. After the talk of okra on another thread, I think that might be my new thing to try next year (I just won't let them get overly big!) .

my spinach seems to be growing rather slowly, but my red romaine and brocolli are doing okay. Our nights have gotten so chilly (upper 30's some nights) that I think it's taking them awhile to establish. I'm just hoping they get large enough to pick before we end our 4 month rainy season! I might try putting some plastic over them at night to keep the soil warmer. what do you think of that?

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Errol

· #9 · Sep 27, 2012

Tammy, your night temps are rather cool! still in the 50' here in middle tn. But yes a few hoops and some clear plastic would help. I always keep a supply of gallon and 2-3 gallon black plastic pots on hand for the starting of some transplants in cool weather fall & spring. they usually have a couple holes on the bottom, just put these upside down over your plants. Be sure and remove them after the sun comes up in the am
happy gardening

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veggiewhisperer

· #10 · Oct 1, 2012

Errol said:
If you have a small garden, Tracy has good advise, But I also like to experiment with new seeds and new veggies. after all thats what gardening is all about! you never know what you might like that you have never tasted. Just try it in a small way. I grow 8 different kinds of pole and bush beans. I give away lots of produce besides filling our freezer and canning. I grow quiet alot of zucchini squash. My wife and I had never heard of or tasted zucchini jelly!! She found a recipe for zucchinni jelly in one of her old regipe books. we made a few jars and liked it so much we ended up making 36 jars!! everyone we have given a jar to loves it and so easy to make. I had never eaten eggplant nor had I ever grown it until this year. I just never thought it would be very good or worth the trouble growing it. But I can now promise you my garden will never be without eggplant. uhmmmm that zucchini bread that my wife makes is so delicious. So always if you have a little extra room, even in a large pot, do the exciting, daring and grow something you have never tried...you never know!
have a fun day digging

You are so right. I have a small garden and I just can't get enough of planting something new. I am already thinking about the spring. I want to try a few new things in addition to what I have planted over the years.

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