Many home gardeners begin planting their outside beds in Spring by Memorial Day; they feel they are done with their planting. However, these 4 reasons to plant Fall crops should encourage many people to plant again during Summer.
The first and most important of the 4 reasons to plant Fall crops this Summer is because it can double your harvest of fresh, home-grown nutrient-rich food. Every veggie gardener knows that nothing compares to the fresh taste of produce harvested from your yard.
Even if you do not have a yard, many plants can be grown in containers near sunny windows. Sprouting micro greens on windowsills is another way for apartment dwellers to get into the gardening game.
Another of the 4 reasons to plant Fall crops this Summer is because your soil will already be warm. One of the keys to good germination is warm soil, so quick-growing crops like radishes and lettuces can be replanted by seed throughout July and even August depending on the date of your first frost.
4 Reasons To Plant Fall Crops This Summer
The third of the 4 reasons to plant Fall crops this Summer is that your planting work can be spread out over several weeks to work at a slower pace. Also, planting seedlings in beds where you have already harvested earlier crops will usually require less weeding. Add some nutrients or compost to the beds before replanting for best results.
The final of the 4 reasons to plant Fall crops this Summer is that as the days get shorter, the weather gets cooler. This means you will not be sweating in the hot summer sun while working on your 2nd crops, and the plants will require less water. So, less intense work can yield plants that produce even more than your first harvest.
So if you are ready for round two and willing to replant your garden this Summer, what are the best crops for a Fall harvest? Well, the answer to that will depend on where you live. As I live in the North, my hardiness zone is 3, and my first frost date is usually the last week of September or the first week of October.
That means I begin sprouting most of my seedlings around mid-May except for radishes and lettuces. By mid-July, I have usually harvested my first crops of radishes, lettuces, early squash, and garlic. This means significant areas in my beds need some compost mixed into the soli, and they are ready for their second planting.
4 Reasons To Plant Fall Crops This Summer
Because my planting season is short, I tend to choose hardier plants that can withstand a light frost for my summer planting. I also choose vegetables I know my family will eat and ones that are easy to preserve for winter use. Since different plants need different nutrients, I also try to rotate the crops in my beds, except for my lettuce and kale bed, as they have produced well in the same spot for both their first and second plantings.
In the empty beds, I planted seedlings started about six weeks prior. The seedlings usually include cauliflower, squash, kale, cabbage, broccoli, and potatoes that go into their unique double planters. As I said before, quicker crops that can be started from seed include radishes, carrots, spinach, and lettuces. Since I tend to over-seed during my Summer planting to ensure a good harvest, I usually need to spend some time thinning the rows of sprouts.
So now that you have 4 reasons to plant Fall crops this Summer does a little research and find out the best options for your area. Some Gardners in warmer climates can keep their gardens in production all year. Others, like myself, know that once the final veggies are harvested, and the garlic is bedded down for the winter, we are done outdoors until the following Spring.
