Fall Vegetables
Hello! Hope all is well!
Rainfall for last week ranged from 0.19 inch at two locations to 0.65 inch with an average of 0.37 inch. Rainfall for the month of June ranged from 2.23 inches to 4.8 inches with an average of 3.20 inches, which is 0.11 inch below normal. The high temperature for the past week ranged from 71 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit with an average of 82 degrees Fahrenheit, which the normal high temperature. The high temperature for the month of June ranged from 64 to 98 degrees Fahrenheit with an average of 77 degrees Fahrenheit. That is one degree Fahrenheit above the normal high temperature. The high temperature forecast for the coming week will be above normal.
Most crops are looking good in the county at this time, however there are some crops in some areas of the county that are showing a fair amount of water-stress that may reduce yields.
Not tired of gardening and want some early season produce late into the fall? Now is the time to start planting some vegetables for the fall. As peas get done, you can tear them out and put in some of these vegetables or hopefully you have some space left in the garden.
It is time to plant red beets, carrots, lettuce, arugula, radishes, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, turnips, and spinach. Plant carrots and kohlrabi before July 30th. Plant red beets before August 4th. Plant turnips, Swiss chard, and lettuce before August 9th. Plant arugula and radishes before August 14th. Radishes and turnips taste much better planted at this time of the year than in the spring! Plant spinach before August 24th.
When starting these vegetables at this time of the year, be sure to keep the soil moist until the plants have at least two to three leaves. The soil is dry and hot at this time of the year. I planted some carrots and red beets and watered them well to get them up, but then I quit because of the fair. A big mistake for the red beets. I now have half the red beet crop that had emerged. Red beets and Swiss chard are the most sensitive of the species to become girdled and die from the hot soils, but it can happen to the other vegetables as well.
Plant red beets and Swiss chard one-half to three-quarters of an inch deep. Plant carrots about one-quarter of an inch deep. Plant arugula, radishes, kohlrabi, turnips, and spinach one-half inch deep. Plant lettuce with just a dusting of soil.
Fertilize these vegetables with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. All of these species need a healthy dose of nitrogen for good growth.
Don’t worry about these vegetables freezing at night until the temperature gets below 27 degrees Fahrenheit. Carrots and spinach can handle temperatures below 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Obviously the colder it gets the more likely you will want to cover them at night to allow for more growth later in the fall. You never know when you will get a fall like last year where it stays warm far into October.
For most of these vegetables you will not need to worry about insect damage like in the early spring, especially flea beetles, but they can show up, so be on the look out.
