Last-Minute Garden
Take a look ahead to a great fall harvest as Burpee’s offers tips on growing produce in a last-minute kitchen garden.
August 21, 2009
Courtesy W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
 |
Spinach Baby's Leaf Hybrid from W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
courtesy W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
|
Warminster, Pennsylvania – Looking to put in a fall vegetable garden? W. Atlee Burpee & Co., long-time plant and seed purveyor, offers advice on successfully cultivating a last-minute garden.
RELATED CONTENT
Missouri garden offers summer exhibitions and more...
For 10 years, the Missouri Botanical Garden has collected and recycled more than 300 tons of waste....
National program adds classroom to children's garden at Missouri Botanical Garden....
Twenty-five communities receive recognition from Mantis for efforts....
Federally mandated wellness policy leads charge to add outdoor activities and experiences to childr...
While much of the country is just now beginning to enjoy the summer harvest, many gardeners are quickly realizing that time is running out to plant fall crops.
"August and September are ideal months for planting vegetables for fall harvest," says George Ball, chairman of W. Atlee Burpee & Co. "But because these months also coincide with the summer yield, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the harvest, forgetting to plant fall crops in time to reach full maturity before the threat of frost."
Still, Ball says that folks who may be running short on time to plant their fall kitchen gardens shouldn't be discouraged. "With proper planning," Ball says, "the turn-around time for fall produce can be as early as 60 days or less."
For those caught up in the race to the "cool season kitchen garden" finish line, Burpee offers advice for late planting using an easy-to-follow process Burpee calls F.A.L.L.
(F) Find Out How Much Time You Have
"Start with some basic planning and research," says Ball. Begin by determining the anticipated frost date in your locale. From there, refer to a calendar to determine precisely how many days you have left before the first frost is expected to hit and the date you expect to have your vegetable garden planted.
(A) Add Early Maturing Varieties to Your List
After assessing the amount of time between the day they will plant their fall crops and the number of days until the anticipated first frost, gardeners can now begin researching and compiling a list of vegetable candidates for their fall garden.
"You'll want to select varieties that will reach maturity before frost is expected to occur," says Ball. Thanks to research and breeding, there are an array of quick maturing lettuces and vegetables available today. "Spinach Baby's Leaf Hybrid, for example reach maturity for salads in just thirty days," says Ball.
(L) Leave a Margin for Error