It has been a terrible summer for gardeners, we were hitting the 100-degree mark in May and even with irrigation it has been hard to water gardens enough to keep them productive. If your summer garden has you stressed and ready to throw in the towel, you may want to try a fall garden. Now is the time to be setting out seeds and even transplants. Timing is important when planting your fall garden. Heat tolerant/ cold sensitive plants need to be planted in time to mature before cold weather slows growth, and cool season/heat sensitive crops must be planted late enough to avoid the worst of the heat, but early enough to take the first frost of the winter. While we are currently enjoying a respite from the heat, our winter is predicted to be warmer than average, this could be good for fall gardens.
Most fall plantings need to be made anywhere from 8 to 16 weeks before the average first freeze date. According to the experts, the average first freeze date for Comanche County is December 01; I would play it on the safe side and figure sometime between mid-November and December 01. This still leaves you with time to get some seed or transplants in the ground for a fall harvest.
Many vegetables can be transplanted into fall gardens but finding transplants in the middle of the summer is very difficult, starting your own transplants from seed may be your best option. Some common fall vegetables that are easily transplanted include: beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Others that do not transplant well and are better seeded include beans, peas, turnips, carrots and spinach. If your summer planted tomatoes are still alive, but look the worse for wear, try cutting them back. They will put on some new foliage and start producing tomatoes again. If our temperatures stay warm you can expect tomatoes through late fall.
Whatever you decide to plant you will need to be sure and provide adequate water and possibly a little shade, to help the young plants get through the remaining dog days of summer. Young vegetable plants will typically survive the summer heat and full sun, if they have adequate moisture. I do think that insects can be a bit more difficult to control in a fall garden. You will have to actively scout for insects and damage and be ready to treat if damage starts getting out of hand.
The rewards of fresh home produce this fall is a great pay off for the extra efforts of planting a fall garden. For a copy of the Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide, call or come by the office.