Summer vegetable gardening enthusiasts seem to outnumber those that grow vegetables in the fall by quite a bit. We’re not really sure why. Fall vegetable gardening has a lot of things going for it. The temperatures are not as hot, so the garden does not require as much water as it did in the summer; it’s also much more pleasant to garden in the cooler weather. There are not as many pests and generally the weed growth is not quite as rampant.
Of course, the variety of vegetables you will be growing in the fall will be different. While summer is all about plants that bear delicious fruits (think tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, etc.), fall vegetables shift the focus to leaves, stems, roots, flower buds and pods.
The key to a great fall harvest is to plan early, select cool season vegetables that take only 60-90 days to reach maturity and sow seeds through early September. The fall growing season will allow you to select from great tasting varieties such as broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, greens, kale, lettuce, and winter squash.
These types of vegetable plants will thrive until soil temperatures fall consistently below 55 degrees, at which point the plants will stop growing and any ripe fruit should be picked off before colder temps damage them.
If you want to extend your season even further consider covering your vegetable garden with a homemade hoop house covered with thick transparent plastic. This will allow the sunlight to heat up the garden during the day and slowly cool down at night, helping to avoid extreme temperature fluctuations which could take place in late fall.
Remember, for the best tasting vegetables feed once a month with an organic vegetable food and only water when the top of the soil dries out. Then sit back, relax and wait until those great tasting home-grown vegetables can be enjoyed at the dinner table!