The Fall Vegetable Garden
Fall is an excellent time to grow many vegetable crops. During this season the gardener can take advantage of cooler temperatures and more plentiful moisture. Many spring-planted crops such as lettuce and spinach tend to bolt, or produce seed, and become bitter in response to the long, hot summer days. Fall gardening helps extend your gardening season so that you can continue to harvest produce after earlier crops have faded.
Planting – Remove all previous crop residues and any weed growth. Completely prepare the soil by rototilling or spading 6-8 inches deep. If spring crops were heavily fertilized, then no additional fertilization may be needed. However, 1-2 pounds of a general analysis fertilizer, such as 12-12-12, may be applied per 100 square feet of bed area. Be sure to thoroughly mix the fertilizer with the soil. Some gardeners prefer to sidedress the plants with 1 pound of 10-10- 10 per 25-30 feet of row placed 6-12 inches from the plants. Apply the sidedressing 2-3 weeks after germination if plants appear to be growing slowly.
Frost Protection – Some vegetables that are already growing in the garden will continue to produce well into the fall, but are damaged by even a light frost. Some crops are considered semi-hardy and will withstand a light frost without protection. Others are hardy enough to withstand several hard frosts. Many common vegetables are listed in Table 2 according to their frost tolerance.
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