I also have my annual forest of cilantro just starting to appear, and I have some left over potatoes growing in a corner that I missed last year.
I still have one eggplant, two jalapeno and one tomato plant hanging on from the summer garden. There are a bunch of jalapenos ready to be picked. I doubt I will be able to get another eggplant before the first frost in a month, and almost certainly nothing from the tomato (that isn't even flowering). But everything else from the summer has been pulled up. The perfect time to fill with fall plants!
In my outside garden, I have four tomatoes on the plants and one watermelon and one sweet potato still hanging on.
Now all we need is some cooler weather!
Newly Planted Seeds
After pulling up the sweet potatoes last week, I added a bag of compost and then filled the area in with some seeds.
Beets
I picked up a package of beet seeds the last time I was at Home Depot - and then found half a package in the fridge, left over from last year. So I decided to try both. I didn't get any edible beets last year, but I thought maybe trying them in the fall instead of winter might help?
Early Wonder (further back in the photo):
Days to Emerge 5-21 (Oct 18 - Nov 21)
Days to harvest: 60 days (Dec 17 - Jan 20)
Detroit Dark Red
Days to Emerge:7-14 (Oct 20 - Oct 27)
Days to Harvest: 55-80 (Dec 14 - Jan 15)
Days to Harvest: 55-80 (Dec 14 - Jan 15)
When 2" tall, thin 1 to every 4"
Carrots
Danvers from Seed Savers Exchange
Days to Emerge: 10-14 (Oct 23 - Oct 27)
Days to Harvest: 65-87 days (Dec 27 - Jan 22)
My carrots, just like everything else, always seems to take much longer to mature than stated on the package. I have three Dragon carrots planted in February. I am planning on pulling them up to see what I've got!
Radish
I found these seeds in the fridge, and decided to give them another go. Kyle really likes Radishes in his salad. Plus radishes are fun, since they mature in a little over a month. So, I might actually get something in November :o)
I found these seeds in the fridge, and decided to give them another go. Kyle really likes Radishes in his salad. Plus radishes are fun, since they mature in a little over a month. So, I might actually get something in November :o)
Crimson Giant
Days to Emerge: 5-10 days (Oct 18 - Oct 23)
Days to Harvest: 30 days (Nov 17 - Nov 23)
Strawberries
I have two years worth of strawberries that are still growing. Everywhere I read that strawberries should be pulled up annually - but I can't seem to find out why. I asked at NG this week, and he said that if the plants are strong, I should just keep them growing. He said that the plants here are probably off-shotts of the original plants, which is no different than what they are currently selling in the stores. So I should just let them go. Perhaps the advice to pull them is because it is so hard to carry the plants over the hot summer? So anyway, I fertilized and watered these plants. We'll see what we get :o)
Strawberries
I have two years worth of strawberries that are still growing. Everywhere I read that strawberries should be pulled up annually - but I can't seem to find out why. I asked at NG this week, and he said that if the plants are strong, I should just keep them growing. He said that the plants here are probably off-shotts of the original plants, which is no different than what they are currently selling in the stores. So I should just let them go. Perhaps the advice to pull them is because it is so hard to carry the plants over the hot summer? So anyway, I fertilized and watered these plants. We'll see what we get :o)
Brussel Sprouts
Days to Harvest: 90 days (January 11th)
The gardener at NG told me that I plant these in the fall, and then harvest in the spring. But this variety says they mature in 90 days, which would be in the winter. I guess we will wait and see.
Advice from the website: The sprouts mature from the bottom of the stalk up and will grow larger if you remove the leaves under them when the sprouts are about 1/2 the mature size you'd like them to be. Repeat this process later as the sprouts toward the top of the stem begin to mature. Toward the end of the season, cutting the tip off the stem will force the plant to stop growing upwards and put energy into the sprouts below instead. Harvest sprouts from the bottom of the stem first (they will measure 1/2" in diameter).
My seedlings have been getting eaten by something. Of the nine packs for broccoli and cabbage, I only have about five alive of each. ANd those five are looking pretty sad. Their leaves are more holes than leaves. I went into NG to ask for some help, and I was told that I had snails. So I puprchased and put down some "Sluggo". But, I haven't really seen any snails.
Today, when I was fertilizing the plants, I got up close and person, and found a caterpillar on one. And then another. And another. Turns out, caterpillars were munching my leaves. I went through and picked off all that I saw. But I am not sure if these plants have enough leaves to recover. I may go out and purchase some more -- and keep a close eye on them for caterpillars in the future!
Leftovers from Spring
I still have my basil plant, eggplant, one scrawny tomato and two jalapeno peppers hanging on since the spring. I am still hoping to get one last harvest from the basil, as well as some more jalapenos. I should probably just pull the tomato and eggplant, but hope springs eternal. A late or warm winter, and maybe I could still get something, right???
Potatoes
Last year, my potatoes all got some sort of blight, and I never was able to harvest anything from them. Apparently, there were some leftover potatoes still in the ground, as a few of them are popping up in the corner. I am hoping that these plants know what they are doing. There is a small summer potato planting season in August. So, I am hoping that these guys starting growing then, and are on target to harvest before the first frost. Can't hurt to try, right?
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