Vegetables for Fall Production

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2009

With the dog days of summer, the last thing you may be thinking about is planting vegetable seeds. Don't you have enough to do harvesting the tomatoes, squash and beans? Yet, wouldn't it be wonderful to have fresh broccoli, beets, spinach or lettuce to go along with them?

Those plants that like the spring season with its cool, moist weather find the fall an equally favorable time. In fact, U of I horticulture educator David Robson says the shortening days may make even higher quality vegetables in the fall. Instead of being rushed along and scorched as they reach maturity, these cool weather plants will grow into the favorable conditions long into the fall season, often long after the early frosts have blackened the tomatoes and pumpkins. With a little protection, they may last until the first snows. Also, insects so troublesome earlier in the season will usually be less of a problem as the season progresses.

But to harvest these vegetables this fall, you will need to get started now. Begin by working the soil as in the spring. Incorporate some fertilizer since the ground may have already produced one crop this year. A complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 10-6-4 at a rate of 1 pound per 100 square feet is adequate. Also the addition of compost will be a benefit to the soil as well as to this fall crop.

Immediately after planting, water the seeds to begin germination. You can cover each row with a board to keep it moist. Be sure to remove the boards as soon as sprouts appear. Usually fall rains relieve the necessity of further watering, but be sure to water well and often if there is no rain.

Crops that should do well if planting now include beans, beets, broccoli, carrots, Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard, collards, kale, parsley, rutabaga and turnips. Peas may be grown at this time, but may produce a smaller crop than in the spring.

Another group of vegetables, mainly the leaf sorts, may be planted from now until September 1 or possibly a little later. These include cress, endive, escarole, lettuce, mustard, radishes (early varieties) and spinach.

For added eating pleasure from your vegetable garden this year, try fall planting of the cool-season crops. They should reward you with tender, succulent, inexpensive vegetables for your table.

Source: David J. Robson, Extension Educator, Horticulture, drobson@illinois.edu