Thinking About Frost Already
The vegetable garden is growing like gangbusters.
I am very pleased with how healthy and lush my peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, onions, garlic, potatoes, beans, kale, squash, tomatoes and cabbage are this year.
Soon I will be harvesting the early- mid season crops: garlic, peas, spinach and some of the lettuce. That means that I will have empty, valuable garden real estate to fill. I am starting to think about what to plant in their place.
The decision is determined by the number of days we have left in our growing season.
As we saw in our Last Frost Dates article, the beginning of our growing season is dictated by our last frost date in spring, which can be tricky to determine.
Similarly, the first frost date in the Autumn marks the end of our growing season, and an estimate is the best we can do.
From my records, which I keep every year, and are obviously for the microclimates in my garden, the first week of October is an average first frost date.
We have placed a countdown of days left in the growing season on the upper right-hand side of every page.
With this information, we can either check the back of a seed packet for the “days to maturity” information or do some googling to find out what will grow to maturity in the time left.
To get an edge and stay ahead of the game, I have started some bok choy, lettuce, and beet seeds under my grow lights.
By the time the garlic and other early-mid season crops are harvested, the lettuce, bok choy and beets will be ready to transplant into that space and grow until frost.
With a little planning and a wonderful soil made up mostly of seafood compost, I can keep the garden thriving and beautiful right up to the last possible moment.
Happy planting!
Jennifer
2 Responses
Great idea to maximize the small window for growing veggies!
Thanks, Janine. Happy gardening!