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A First Look at Fall Vegetable Gardening

Many have tried vegetable gardening during the fall season. A lot of those supports have failed due to lack of thoughtful planning and poor cultural practices. Planning the maturity cycle of vegetables should be a top priority when it comes to fall gardening. The early days of August are usually the best time for seeding in the fall. However, seeding shorter-season vegetables like turnips and leafy greens are planted a month after.

Soil preparation should be done after you decide on what to do with your previous spring garden. It may be a simple decision but before you destroy everything, save the ones that you need for the fall like your tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and your okra.

A fall garden should have a perfect seedbed. To make this possible, your soil should have a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Rotten organic matter shouldn’t be included in this soil because it makes the soil dry faster making your crop starve of water. Tilling your soil 1 + to 2 weeks before you plant is important. This makes the soil perfect for seeding because time allows the crop residue to decompose. If you lack healthy soil for seeding you can also buy additional soil before you fertilize and plant.

During the spring and summer seasons, seeds are planted shallow however, in a fall season, in order to plant successfully, seeding should be at least 1 + to 2 times deeper than the usual because the soils moisture level is lower than the other planting seasons.

Unfortunately, fall is no different from any other planting season when it comes to insects and diseases. These may be due to the buildup of their population during the summer and spring. This can be prevented by researching problems with insects to determine if these problems can either be prevented or if they are severe enough to have a professional take a look at it and treat it.

As with all gardening, water is the most important in providing nutrition for your plants. Make sure that you water your garden at least one inch more each week. If your fail to give sufficient moisture to your vegetables, it can cause drought that can damage your vegetables.

Extra nitrogen is also important for a successful fall vegetable garden. Be sure to give nitrogen midway through the vegetables maturity cycle.

Fall vegetable gardening can be complicated to the uninformed, but with reading and proper planning you’ll find it as easy as 1, 2, and 3.