WOW , what a horticulture season ! April was ironic . May was wet and coolheaded , with near record total of rainfall . June make it with 90º+ temperature . With summer just getting underway and the weenie day of summer just around the recession , it hardly seems consistent to talk over plant a fall garden . But July is indeed the month to start filling garden space vacated by spring crops with succession plantings of summer vegetables , and it ’s the time to plant decline vegetables that will keep your garden productive well into the late fall and early wintertime .
One of the most important things to know when planting late summertime crop and plan your gloam garden is thedate the average cleanup frost pays a visitto your veg garden . In our sphere of primal Virginia it is October 10th - October 15th .
The next important bit of selective information is how tolerant the various vegetables are to frost . veggie can be classified into three categories of by their tolerance of cold temperature : tendervegetables ( damage by a light frost),semi - hardyvegetables ( tolerate light frost ) andhardyvegetables ( tolerate hard Robert Frost ) . The follow chart depicts exemplar of vegetables with different frost tolerances .
And the final piece of the puzzle is thenumber of days to maturityor harvesting of the special vegetable that you pick out to plant . Start by looking at the “ day to maturity ” on the seed bundle . The general definition for “ days to maturity ” is the ordinary number of twenty-four hours from the meter the ejaculate is sown ( or a seedling is transplanted ) to the first harvest . Remember , this is an average , depending on localization , temperature , soil and all those environmental factor that move plant life growth . The days to maturity is only an average ; your industrial plant could be longer or shorter depending on the specific location where they are planted . However , the day to harvest usually paints a reasonably precise depiction when you ’re compare cultivar . For case , two cucumber vine cultivars recommended for Virginia are ‘ County Fair ’ with an average of 83 days to matureness and ‘ Bush Whopper ’ ( 96 days ) . The 80 day or 96 days can variegate several days one agency or the other , but the difference of opinion between the two — 13 twenty-four hours — will be about right . So the cultivars selected and the planting date in the fall can mean the deviation between a successful harvest and unsuccessful harvest .
So debate all the variable together — frost date , ice tolerance of various vegetable multifariousness and Clarence Shepard Day Jr. to maturity — how do we make up one’s mind when to plant?Unfortunately , this is going to take some good old - fashioned arithmetical ! It ’s simply a matter of determining the first rime particular date and counting backwards . Here ’s how the theoretical account works : days to maturity plus fall factor ( 14 days ) plus icing tender ingredient ( 14 days)=number of days to number back from first icing particular date . If the vegetable is not frost sore , the 14 days for the frost factor is overleap .
We know thefirst average frost appointment in our country is around October 10th - October 15th , so to be on the good side , let ’s chooseOctober 10th .
Just for fun , let ’s apply the formulato the two cucumber vine examples — ‘ County Fair ’ ( 55 ) and ‘ Bush Whopper ’ ( 68 days ) — we sing about above . Cucumbers are frost - sensitive , so we require to implant and harvest before the first frost . For Robert Lee Frost - tender crops , it is commend that we contribute 14 days , as the crop must mature at least 2 week before frost so as to create a fairish harvest home . It is also recommended that we bestow 14 days as the “ fall factor ” because the day to maturity or harvest number is based on optimal term . The twilight factor takes into condition that conditions are less than optimal in fall , result in slow ontogeny pace due to cooler weather and short solar day . So putting the model to use , here are the planting dates :
For the cucumber cultivar called ‘ County Fair ‘ we add 55 day ( 55 day to maturity ) plus 14 days ( Frost Factor ) plus 14 sidereal day ( Fall Factor ) for a sum of 83 days . Next , we weigh back 83 days from our first hoarfrost day of October 10thand that gives us a drop - stagnant planting day of the month of July 17 . Thus , we would be safe to plant ‘ County Fair ’ cucumbers in fundamental Virginia up until July 17th .
Looking at the cucumber cultivar ‘ Bush Whopper‘(68 days to maturity ) plus 14 days Frost Factor , plus 14 mean solar day Fall Factor equals 96 days . reckon back from October 10thgives us a drop utter planting date of July 4th , mean harmonize to the convention , we would be secure to implant ‘ Bush Whopper ’ up until July 4th .
Now let ’s look at a couple of examples for bush beans : ‘ Roma II ‘ ( 59 day to maturity date ) and ‘ Slenderette ‘ ( 55 days to maturity date ) .
‘ Roma II ’ postulate 59 days to maturity plus 14 days Frost Factor plus 14 days Fall Factor , for a aggregate of 87 days . Counting back from the October 10 frost date gives us a last day of the month to engraft of July 14th .
‘ Slenderette ’ needs 55 day to maturity , plus 14 daytime Frost Factor , plus 14 days Fall Factor for a total of 83 day , so the last date to plant ‘ Slenderette ’ is July 17th .
Bush beans and cucumbers are just two vegetables we can plant in July for a belated fall harvest ; others include beets , carrots , boodle , leaf mustard , and spinach . If you plan on arise your own broccoli and cauliflower seedlings , July is also the time to start them from seed so they are quick for transpose in August .
As we move though the month of July and into the tardy summertime months , apropos planting is the key to success . Crops need sufficient time to grow and mature before the weather condition becomes too insensate for continued growing . As the calendar moves closer to the first Robert Lee Frost date , the option of short - days - to - maturity cultivars becomes more and more important if you wish to have a successful declination harvest . Seed companies will sometimes helpfully mark little - day - to - due date varieties as “ early season,”so always translate the daylight to maturity date on the seed packets , as shorter - days - to - maturity cultivars often have a with child chance of succeeder for those frost sensitive crops .
organize the ground for implant
Before preparing the grease for the gloam garden , first salvage any useable veg from existing crops . Since weeds often take over a garden as summer progresses , set out new with a fall garden is one way to get ahead of the Mary Jane problem . Remove any remaining spent crops and weeds , along with any worm - infested and diseased flora . sess that have seed heads should not be till into the garden or composted ; this will prevent the spreading of pathogen and repopulating the garden with fresh weed semen .
fix the soil by restoring nutrient take out by natural spring and summer crop . A light layer of compost over the planting area will encourage the grease food and meliorate the soil texture . If compost is not add , a small practical app of a ended chemical or constitutional fertilizer may be add together . invalidate deep tilling as this will break down the land texture and increase surface dirt crust , which creates a barrier to vernal seedling . Deep tilling may also make wet to be fall behind from the subsoil .
Soil in the late summer is often raging and dry , and this heat may bottle up seed germination . Germination rates may be improved by planting the ejaculate when the soil is moist — either after a rain or after watering the area thoroughly the 24-hour interval before planting . A unaccented layer of constituent mulch such as pale yellow on top of the planted source will serve keep the stain moist and coolheaded . The mulch layer should not be loggerheaded enough to interfere with the sprouting of the seeds . Once the untested seedlings emerge , that light mulch layer will help keep the soil moist and cool . It is important that the young seedlings get as much sun as possible , so the mulch should only be cover the soil and not engulfing the new plant . Once the plant are established , a hard mulch may be used to check moisture and ascendance weeds . Keep the plants well - watered . Most vegetables need an inch of weewee per week to mature well . Less frequent , deep watering is preferred to ignite watering .
Everything in the garden — including weeds — are growing like mad right now , but do n’t let that gull you ; this too shall come to an end unless you imbed a fall or succession garden . With a little planning , the vegetable gardening time of year can be extended well into the tardy fall and even other winter . And in a few brusk month when you are sit around the Thanksgiving table , be certain to let your family and friends recognize that those beet — well , they did n’t come out of a can ; they were pulled just last night , and the Brassica oleracea italica and carrots are also fresh from the garden ! Bet you never taste sweet carrot !
Thanks for stopping by The Garden Shed ; we hope to see you again next month . In the meantime , happy gardening !
Sources :
“ Vegetable Planting Guide and Recommended Planting Dates , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication No . 426 - 331,http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426 - 331/426 - 331.html
“ come down Vegetable Gardening , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication No.426 - 334,http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426 - 334/426 - 334.html
“ Vegetables Recommended For Virginia , ” Virginia Cooperative Extension Publication No . 426 - 480,https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426 - 480/426 - 480.html
“ The Fall Vegetable Garden,”Purdue University Consumer Horticulture , hort.purdue.edu / ext / fallgarden
