Fall gardens are easy, start now
Mississippi Gardens Newspaper and Web Column - June 27, 2005
Visiting
the Fall Flower and Garden Fest each October has convinced me that fall
is truly a great time to grow vegetables. You really have to see the
garden at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station near Crystal Springs,
Mississippi to believe it. Huge cabbage, beautiful peppers, tomatoes,
squash and a whole lot more are ripe for the pickin' in mid-October.
The garden inspires me and I always find myself saying, "I could
have grown this or that if I had just started at the right time".
The right time to start a fall vegetable garden begins as early as the end of June through early July. For the first two weeks of July we can sow seeds of eggplant, tomato and pepper into flats to make our own transplants. Let them grow at least four to five weeks before setting them in the garden. Later in the month, sow cabbage, broccoli and collards. In early to mid-August sow seeds of lima and snap beans, beets, carrots, sweet corn, English peas, Southern peas, turnip and mustard.
If seeding dates are missed, it won't be too late if transplants of tomato, eggplant and pepper are set in by late July to early August. Cole crop transplants are planted the first week of August, followed by summer squash mid-month, collards near the end of August and lettuce planted in early September. If you want to try watermelon and pumpkin, get them planted directly in the garden by late June to early July.
Growing your own seedlings is not too difficult and doesn't require a greenhouse. Specialized 10 x 20-inch seedling flats are available at local garden centers that are designed for sowing seeds into peat pellets or potting soil. Other containers may be used, but seedling flats are designed for the easy removal of transplants when ready. One or two flats sown with a variety of seeds may be used to raise enough transplants for a small family.
After sowing seeds, place flats in a sunny location and keep them moist, but not soggy. Once they sprout, fertilize once or twice a week with a soluble fertilizer at about half the label rate. Most transplants will be ready in four to six weeks.
If you're new to fall vegetable gardening and want additional information, visit the Fall Garden Fest Web site at http://msucares.com/fallfest/. There you will find the schedule for this year's Garden Fest as well as planting dates. More gardening information is also available from your local county Extension Service Office. Happy gardening!
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These archived columns were written by Kerry Johnson, a hobby gardener, former weekly newspaper columnist and retired Extension Horticulture Agent for 11 coastal counties in Mississippi.