Hands On Planting the Fall Vegetable Garden Site Considerations 6 hours or more of unfiltered sunlight. Leafy plants will grow with some shade Raised Beds, 6 tall minimum North / South Orientation Nearby Water Source Fairly level ground Why Raised Beds? Gumbo clay and flat terrain hold water very well. If water sits over the root system of most plants (and nearly all vegetables) for 1 hour or more, air is lost from the soil and the microbes in the soil become anaerobic. This damages the root system and kills or damages the plant. Proper Watering Water roots, not leaves. Don t waste water or encourage leaf diseases. Low volume drip soakers are good. Make sure all soil has been moistened before planting and monitor to avoid dry places. Poke you fingers into the soil 3-4 to check to make sure moisture is down there. Once plants are up they may not need to water each day although consistent moisture makes for healthy plants. That the hard part! You ll need to monitor it. Use Fan or Rose nozzle for hand watering Best water is rain water-collect rain when you can. Use resources you have. City water has chlorine and chloramine but sometimes that s all you have! Vegetable Rotation Do not plant the same vegetable family in the same bed year after year Rotate vegetable families from one bed to another. Plants are grouped by their nutritional needs and by family. -Leafy crops need a lot of Nitrogen. They use it then leave behind Phosphorus. -Fruit bearing crops need Phosphorus for blooms and fruit leaving behind Potassium. -Root crops use potassium to form their tap roots but less of the other nutrients. -Legumes fix Nitrogen from the air and replace it into the soil allowing it to remain for the leafy crops next time. Following this basic idea and supplementing some nutrients keeps the vegetable garden healthier. Pests and diseases sometimes linger in the garden soil and can reemerge the following year causing problems. (See diagram below)
Simple Rotation Why it s Important Most vegetables in the same family usually fall prey to the same types of problems. In a rotation system individuals of each family are moved so vegetables of the same family do not follow each other.problems such as soil borne diseases, nematodes, soil insects, the imbalance of nutrients, and residual toxins are all factors that can reduce production. Some diseases and insects stay in the soil for several years Family groups for Crop Rotation Goosefoot : beets chard, spinach Legume: peas,beans Mustard: broccoli, collards cabbage, kale turnips, radish Parsley: carrots, parsley,dill,parsnips, celery Nightshade: tomatoes,peppers, eggplant, potatoes Gourd; squash, cucumbers, melons Composite: dandelions, lettuce Jerusalem artichokes Lily: onions, garlic, chives, leeks Grass: corn, grains Mallow:okra
Tools You Will Want Spade, Shovel Gloves; they protect your skin from blisters and unfriendly bacteria that may be in your soil. Digging Fork used for forking in amendments down to root zone. Rake bow rake for smoothing surface and also working in amendments and fertilizer Measuring tools to help with spacing Trellising materials for climbing plants. Be creative Hose length is the longest distance that needs water, Fan Nozzle Buckets to collect rain water and move supplies Weeding tools and clippers. Soil, Fertilizer & Mulch Soil Type: Sandy Loam (may have to be purchased) Bagged soil mixes such as Ladybug Brand, The Ground Up are good. Use the best you can afford. Good soil makes good plants Soil Biology Primer, by Dr. Ingham, www.soilfoodweb.com, for further understanding of soils Balanced organic fertilizers, Microlife, Earth Essentials, Texas Tea,Arbor Gate Special For most vegetable seed beds put one handful balanced organic fertilizer per 2 to 4 sq. feet and dig into the top few inches. Do this a week or so before planting if you can. Read label on the bag and decide if you need to add more. Finished compost can be scratched in top of the soil prior to planting. If unsure add up to a cup of Microlife type food into planting hole under transplants. All soils need about 2 covering of mulch alfalfa hay, native mulch, or shredded leaves and/or pine needles. Pull back mulch when planting so light can get to seed. Then fluff around plants after they grow a few inches. This helps to insulate the plants and when it breaks down it adds to the soil nutrients. In heavy periods of rain you may have to pull back some of the mulch so the plants don t rot. If you plant rows, a layer of newspaper 5sheets thick with leaves on top works great. Each vegetable requires different rates of food. Foliar feeding with Fish or seaweed mixture mixed with molasses is recommended. Check growth and water cycles every two weeks.
What to Plant Fall and Winter Local Suppliers: (My personal Favorites) Plants For All Seasons, Enchanted Gardens, Another Place in Time, Buchannans, Arbor Gate, Southwest Fertilizer, Thompson and Hanson, Wabash Feed and Antiques. Seed Sources : Johnny s, Baker Creek Heirloom, Shumway, Renee s, Botanica Interests, Territorial, Seed Savers,Pine Tree, Kitazawa for Asian vegetables General rule of thumb. Most seeds are planted 2 times their size in depth. Read package and research each plant for mature size for spacing. Transplants are planted the same depth that they are already growing. Goose foot family; soak seed overnight. Thin every week until mature spacing is achieved. 3-5 Eat the thinnings. Legumes; peas need trellis support plant 1 deep thin 2-3, bush beans (50 day for fall) 1 deep thin to 4 apart. Mustard family; mature sizes vary. They can be broadcast for tender salad greens, but for single plants plant 1 deep, Final thin up to 12-15 apart. Look up each vegetable for individual crops. These are heavy feeders. Fertilize with liquid food every two weeks to keep vigor. Parsley family; Broadcast carrots then thin carefully after they get an inch or so tall. Very important to keep moist during long germination or no carrots and plant extra parsley and dill all around your yard for an insectary to attract beneficial insects. Nightshade family; Eggplant and peppers can carry over from summer. If you have them cut off 1/3 and fertilize and you should get some fruit. Cherry tomatoes should have been in the ground in August. Sometimes you can still have some. Gourd Family; Short day (50) squash will sometimes work and cucumbers as well. Both need warm nights. They should have already been in last month. These are tropical so need warm nights over 5o. Composite family; lettuce can be broadcast and grown in mass then cut with shears several times. Lettuce tastes better if picked and refrigerated for a day. Lily; onions, garlic, chives. Plant short day onion sets the size of a pencil and only get Texas type; 1015, Granex. Others may never bulb. Seed can also be planted in the fall. Water well and harvest will be in the early spring. All onions can be consumed any time. Single Garlic cloves should be presprouted then planted in a spot 1 ½ deep fist length apart where they can stay until May.
Grass; Corn and some grains can be planted but it s tricky to get a stand in the fall. Early maturing corn might work. Mallow; Okra is a warm season crop but if carried over from summer can be cut 1/3 and fertilized. Never know. Summary Use information written locally for Houston. Every grower has their favorite way to plant their gardens. Books I like and refer to often : Year Round Vegetables Fruits and Flowers for Houston, Randall Common Sense Vegetable Gardening for the South, Adams &Leroy The Kitchen Garden, Adams Texas Organic Vegetable Growing, Beck & Garrett Articles by Kathy Huber and Brenda Buest Smith Happy Harvest to you! Jeanie (Jenny) Dunnihoo jtdunnihoo@sbcglobal.net