Fall Planting

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Well, its been a while... renovations, reservations, vacations... they all can take their toll on the garden.  If you've had a outrageously full summer as I have, then your garden may have gone all jungle tangle on you despite all those tame spring fantasies from whence you planted.

When I remember to lift my head out of the paint bucket, or unglue myself from the back splash, I have been rewarded by the 'veggies that could' (survive neglect).  From the wild mishmash of grape vines and volunteer nasturtiums I have plucked peas, fava beans, kale, early lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and of course, zucchini.  Excavating further to the perennial herbs, I appear to still have lovage, marjoram, rosemary, sage, and Italian oregano. So with these small treasures I have maintained that small thread of connection to my garden while both worlds were enveloped in beautiful chaos.

As the seasons turn, I contemplate - can I fit in a late-September sowing of something that will have a chance to germinate in these last few fits of sun before the rains set in?  Is it too late for cover crops?

And so I turn to the Oregon Tilth Planting Calendar, and see that I might try one last hurrah with the same springtime crops I started with, as the season seemed to elapse in a blink of an eye and a cloud of sanding dust.  Those same crops that we push the envelope with in spring, because of their tolerance of lower light and cooler temperatures, are the same ones we can try to coax back into the cold season of fall.

Fall-planted fava beans, shallots and garlic will overwinter, for spring and summer crops next year.  In fact, I tried fall-planted fava beans last year, and to my delight they made it through the winter at a seemingly permanent state of 6" high, to explode with growth in spring.  In fact, they out-produced the spring-planted favas, as where they were both planted is on the North side of a large birch-bark cherry tree,

and as it leafed out in the spring, it increasingly shaded the smaller spring-planted favas while the winter-planted favas were already setting flowers and fruit.  So keep this in mind if you have a sunny spot that becomes less so as spring turns to summer.  In fact, I think I'll exclusively plant fall favas from now on. A bonus too, is that they make a good cover crop over the winter, even if they all don't make it to spring. Just turn those back into the soil, a couple weeks before you are ready to plant in spring.  For more on fava beans, check out this post.

Other veggies to sow now are peas and radishes. Choose quick-maturing varieties for greater success - indicated by the 'number of days' section on the seed package.  Use the package directions to plant, and ensure that the seeds stay moist if those fall rains aren't helping you out. If you get a cold snap during the germination period, try covering the seed with row cover to increase the microclimate around them by a couple of degrees.

If you have a cold frame or a method to cover your container (see resources below), then you could also try your hand with lettuce and mustard greens as they will need more protection to reach a mature stage. Look for lettuces with 'winter' or 'hiver' (French for winter) in their names, or anything that suggests being more cold-hardy. One tried and true variety is 'The Marvel of the Four Seasons' (or Mervielle de Quatre Saisons as its know in its native French).  I'm also going to broadcast sow some mesclun mix, as this is eaten at an earlier stage in growth.

The thing to remember is to be patient - the lower light and cooler temps will make the time from planting to germination longer, sometimes by double.  Help this along by either: 1] starting with transplants (bought or home-grown), 2] germinating seeds indoors just like in elementary by wrapping seeds in wet paper towel, 3] covering the seeds with a cloche, row cover, or cold frame to help warm the air a couple degrees.  Watch it though - if you have a cover on and get a 70 degree day, you can fry those little seedlings, so keep an eye on the forecast.

So in a nutshell the name of the fall planting game is:

• early varieties/short number of days
• cold-hardy varieties (like you would use in the spring)
• giving some cold-protection will help things along
• transplants are great if you can make/find them

RESOURCES

Some great sources for fall planting and looking towards overwintering crops are:

Oregon Tilth Planting Calendar - pdf you can download and use throughout the year to record planting times

Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest - pdf from OSU Extension, includes how to make cold frames and cover beds

OSU's Growing Your Own is also a great, general resource, with a specific section on Fall & Winter Gardening, including a simple calculation you can do to determine if a variety you want to start now will make it before the average first frost date.

Mother Earth News - winter container garden article about bringing those veggies inside for longer harvest

Garden Betty has a fun picture tutorial about starting seeds on paper towel (or coffee filters, or newsprint).

And if you had a bumper crop this year, or just like to get a heaping box of late-season bounty from your neighbor, farmer or green grocer, check out these great Canning and Preserving Links at Very Good Food ~ For Goodness Sake.