Thursday, August 13, 2009

Garden Talks August 13--Time to plant more vegetables

Hello again,

Margaret from http://www.awaytogarden.com/ posted the following note very recently and I thought I would pass it onto the Skillin's Garden Log if she does not mind. Her comments will be in quotes and I might add a comment or two (not in quotes of course!)


"...it's also a perfect time (hurry!) to fine-tune the vegetable garden and eke out some produce for late summer, fall-and beyond-with a never-say-die garden salvage job. I've spent a lot of time lamenting the loss of tomatoes and other crops that washed away or just plain succumbed, but I'm now fighting back, with an even more aggressive succession-sowing plan than in a "normal" year. Into every empty spot, I've plugged a liberal next round of something fast-growing, and you can, too: "

"Bush beans: I used a 55-day variety for faster results, to beat fall frost, and will have a floating row cover on hand for possible cold nights later on. " If you have a sunny hot spot give the beans a try. WITH the use of a row cover I think you can still get a bean harvest in Skillin's Country. We have brand new 2010 seeds just in from Botanical Interests (www.botanicalinterests.com) and 2 varieties caught my eye: "Tavera" at 54 days AND/OR Contender--an heirloom, only 40 days from sowing to harvest. Yes, YOU could be a contendah!

"Collards and kale: These cold-tolerant crops will do just fine (and by the way, are amazing eaten young as well, at about 30 days onward). "

"Swiss chard: ditto. " Try the Bright Lights swiss chard (sold right here at Skillin's!). Love the colors and the taste is good!

"Arugula, mesclun mix and two kinds of lettuce. " Plenty of time for those guys. We have brand new lettuce seedlings in--looking good I might add! My favorite lettuce is Red Sails, a leaf lettuce and a good tasting one at that! We have it along with Salad Bowl, another good one!

"Carrots (beets and turnips would be nice, too, as would varieties of those grown for their tops, or greens, and also radishes). "

"Basil (and Cilantro if you use it). Scallions are likewise fast. " These are fast growing tasty plants. The first frost will kill off your basil but it will grow real fast in the remaining hot days of this season.

"Pak choi will go in next week, a liberal planting of a mini kind, along with spinach and maybe some broccoli raab. " We also have broccoli and cauliflower seedlings ready and people are loving them. Come and grab some! Again cut the main heads of your broccoli and then just enjoy the side shoots for weeks and weeks and weeks--smaller than the main heads but they sure taste good.

"A row of peas went in mid-July (again, a shorter-stature, faster variety). In areas where frost comes much later, this is still possible. " Getting late for peas here unless you can put them in a real warm spot. Cascadia is a good variety.

Mike Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
August 13, 2009

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