Ahhhh....late summer. The kids are getting ready to get back on a school schedule (they dread it, but I think they're ready to go back), and its time to stop worrying about the blight on the tomatoes and whether or not the corn will produce anything, and its time to start worrying about the fall produce.
Essentially, anything that is slated to be grown in the early spring (planted when frosts are still common) can be grown in the fall as well. The warm late summer days provides decent conditions for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow. However, as it gets colder, these plants really thrive, and are said to even improve in flavor after the first frosts. The biggest hassle is keeping the seed beds moist, protecting the tender seeds and seedlings from the late summer sun. Since its been an exceptionally wet year for us (we haven't watered anything but the potted plants so far this year), I think we can go ahead and water the new beds.
Clearing out the beds for beds for planting can be a great task for kids, particularly for tween and teen boys. They love to destroy things. And if you phrase it correctly, you can get them to weed a section of bed better than Roundup ever could. "Hey, wanna destroy something? Go get those weeds!" Little miss had a job, too...or at least she thought she did. She helped mom till the soil. You can get some wonderful kid-sized tools that are real (not plastic) through "Lehman's Catalogue". We originally bought them for little man, but he has since graduated to big-boy tools.
(Another good task for boys is cutting down those stray trees that pop up where you don't want them to, and cutting them up for kindling.)
This would actually be the second year that we've attempted a fall garden, so for us, this is still an experiment.
So, lets do a run-down of the things we've planted this year.
Onions and garlic. Not only did we dig up, devide, and replant those bulbs that we still had (I think a chipmunk has been eating them) , but we've also planted seeds.
Broccoli and cauliflower: We've had spring-planted broccoli before. 1st year for cauliflower.
Lettuce: A variety of types, including Paris Island Cos, black-seeded simpson, bib, and ruby red.
Peas: They were a bust earlier this year...Our little wild baby bunny friend from last year, Hossenpfeffer, is an adult now...and had twins. The twins ate all of our spring peas, despite the fact that we gave Little Man the task of chasing them out of the beds. We're hoping that they've finally learned to eat the clover in the grass, just as we taught Hossenpfeffer to do last year.
Radishes and Spinach: Both of these were excellent earlier this year. We had enough radishes to dry for soups and stews (cooked, radishes taste like broccoli with a kick). Call my kid's weird, but they like a fresh spinach salad with bacon and western dressing more than they like Mac N Cheese. Weird kids. I love it.
Cabbage: We did have cabbage grow over-winter before. Don't know what to do with cabbage? Try some oriental recipes, like MuShu.
Varying odd greens: We're trying some odd things this year, like mustard greens, Kale, betts, turnips, and Swiss Chard.
Okay, so they are odd for us.
No one knows how things are going to play out this year. Prices could skyrocket due to the devaluation of the dollar and the world-wide farming problems (droughts in California and Texas, failure of GMO crops in Africa and India). Then again, prices could also drop due to people not having any money to buy food (I know I've seen a significant drop in some prices). Add on top of that the fact that no one knows if they'll have a job tomorrow or not, despite the "stimulating the economy" porno going on.
At the same time, the "When Pigs Fly" flu, despite not being nearly as bad as the usual seasonal flu, has caused the CDC, the WHO, and every other government entity to completely and totally freak out...if they decide to quarantine truckers, then food will not be delivered, and grocery store shelves will sit empty. This is something truckers themselves are warning us of.
Take advantage of sales and those prices that have dropped and buy some storable food (canned or dry food), fill your freezer, and get to your hardware store and buy some fall seeds (if you don't already have them).
As for me...early morning gardening work and all this talk of food has made me hungry. Bye for now.