More Fall Planting

Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:34 am

Well, the cool spell didn't last but a couple days but I did manage to get most of the fall plants and seeds in the ground. A dozen tomato plants are in along with several broccoli, collard, sweet peppers, two varieties of hot peppers and two ridiculously hot Bhut Jalokia (Ghost Pepper) plants. I'm not sure the Ghost Pepper plants will produce any peppers, but for $1.50 each, it's worth a shot.

I sowed 3 different type pole bean seeds, 1 double planted row of soybeans, cucumbers, kale, several lettuces, spinach, chard, beets and some winter squash. I still have one more row to plant but think I'll do some follow-up on the broccoli and some Brussels sprouts in it.

Now, it's off to the store to find enough cardboard to place between the rows and to gather more grass clippings from the cutters at the local cemetery to cover the cardboard and keep it in place.

It is only 86 today with low humidity, fall is in the air. :lol:

Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:27 am

Cool I am gonna start my Fall planting today through October. I got planned Carrots, Cilantro, Culantro, Beets, some radishes, Kale, Celery, Leeks, Green onions, Basil, Parsley, and some Lettuce. I already got 9 pepper plants going that I am expecting a Fall crop from and will overwinter them as well. Also have 1 San marzano going now and fruiting and a seedling inside under light, that I hope to get into the Ground by OCT 1st. I really don;t know how it will do, but the variety is San Francisco Fog. Got Cape Goosberries, Strawberries, lemons, limes, and spaghetti squash, and kentucky wonder pole beans already going. I pollinated the 1st female flower on the squash a few days ago. I already see another female but not open yet. Hope I get a few good squash out of this plant.

Sat Sep 15, 2012 10:16 am

I cant put any cool weather crops in till november. I will start a pepper soon to overwinter in my greenhouse I will hopefully have by then.

Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:14 am

What part of Socal are you in? I just planted seeds for cilantro, carrots, radish, lettuce, parsley, beets, leeks, marigolds, and fennel yesterday.

Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:00 am

I am inland san diego county (escondido). Yesterday it was over 107! The hot spell is over now and its in the mid 80's. I never freeze so I can grow things all year. I could start some maters but I want the space for peas in a few months and I don't want to have to pull it before it has produced much.

Sun Sep 16, 2012 4:58 pm

Yeah, I had had 107 ( personal reading) on the coast. New record of101 F for SanDiego, I suppose its a average in metro per se.

Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:31 pm

ya. I was in San Diego at the airport on Saturday and it was very warm. Even at 10 in the morning. Apparently not a lot of people have AC down by the coast so a bunch of peoples windows were wide open. I am suprised that we have not had any major fires. Hopefully it will be a pretty fire free year. On saturday when I was by lake Hodges I saw like 5 fire helicopters filling up with water to take care of the fires we did have.

Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:02 am

Over the weekend, I planted spinach, lettuce, broccoli, scallion and onion seeds. Now I am watering daily... We had one week of rains associated with the end of Isaacs and then seem to be right back into dry dry. But very cool. I think I'm sort of in the same weather pattern with Applestar, very cool nights have slammed down early and hard. Predicted to be in the low 40's tomorrow and Wed night and I'm worrying about whether I need to bring all the houseplants in. I usually don't do that until mid-Oct ish.

Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:32 pm

Wow I never realized how fast it cools down places.

Tue Sep 18, 2012 11:18 am

looking at 39f tonight in STL.

However, that looks to be a fluke as the next week nights are only down to the 50's

needing to rip out tomato plants and put in the winter stuff. Garlic, onions, parsnips and carrots. Maybe some spinach too.

Wed Sep 19, 2012 10:11 am

Well, got everything in finally. I found some Brussels sprouts at the local nursery and got them in the ground. I also added about 4 dozen cloves of Elephant Garlic to the Chesnok Red Garlic I got earlier this month and about 100 onion starts in Yellow and White bulbing varieties.

I just wish cooler weather would hang around more than a day or two. It's in the upper 80's again today and will be for a week or more before it cools down consistently. Well, it's just around the corner now and I am so looking forward to it.

Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:34 pm

YES! me to I love the cool weather. I am sick of having ants in my house :evil:

(thats what happens when it gets hot. they go in houses because of the air conditioning). Fall is by far my favorite time of the year. I am SO ready for it.

Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:54 am

rainbowgardener wrote:Over the weekend, I planted spinach, lettuce, broccoli, scallion and onion seeds. Now I am watering daily... We had one week of rains associated with the end of Isaacs and then seem to be right back into dry dry. But very cool. I think I'm sort of in the same weather pattern with Applestar, very cool nights have slammed down early and hard. Predicted to be in the low 40's tomorrow and Wed night and I'm worrying about whether I need to bring all the houseplants in. I usually don't do that until mid-Oct ish.

The first sprouts of all those seeds are up! Going down near frost tonight, hope they will be ok. Our first frost isn't usually for two more weeks from now. I never can quite manage to do fall crop planting soon enough - when things should be planted, it is still hot and all the beds are still full of summer stuff.

Brought all the house plants in today and a lot of the green tomatoes (but didn't pull the plants yet). Pulling all the basil and turning it in to pesto. Canning more tomato sauce. Fall is busy!!

Sun Sep 23, 2012 2:36 pm

So far today I've moved the furniture into fall/winter arrangement, brought in a baker's dozen of containers of plants, including three full sized trees, seeded, cored and chopped 8 cups of garden tomatoes and cooked them up into tomato sauce (with onions, green peppers, garlic, and herbs from the garden), canned three jars of tomato sauce, picked and cleaned a bunch of basil and made it up into pesto, froze two batches of pesto, cleaned and chopped a ton of parsley that is now drying in the oven, cleaned purple basil which is now simmering into jelly, harvested several bunches of celery and some anise hyssop, simmered all the left overs of all the projects in to soup stock, and etc. I still want to pick more lavender yet today and get the herbs hung to dry. I'm hustling because it's going down into the mid 30's tonight, so a lot of stuff won't be any good if I don't rescue it today. The house smells wonderful!! Bounty of fall!

Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:07 pm

Wow! Sounds like fun! How do you dry things in the oven? I always just hang them upside down for 2 weeks in a closet.

Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:49 pm

I sometimes hang things, have mint, anise hyssop, and lavender hanging right now. But if I want it done quicker, or I'm running out of hanging room, I dry in the oven. Turn the oven on as low as it will go. Spread the leaves out on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven. After 10 min, turn the oven off without opening the door. After 1-2 hrs, check them. If still not dry (crisp), turn the oven on low for another 10 min and then off again. You want to dry them, not bake them.

Speaking of anise hyssop, I have some dried already, some distilled, and more hanging to dry and I still had more. So I am making strawberry- anise hyssop jam. It is simmering on the stove right now and it smells HEAVENLY!! If it turns out as good as it smells, it will be one of those things you just want to eat out of the jar.

Sun Sep 23, 2012 6:31 pm

Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:09 pm

what is anise hyssop?

Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:55 pm

It is a perennial herb that has a licorice scent and flavor. Good for teas and a few other things. I have a nice 3 foot plant right now which is blooming and planted three more in my front yard.

Mon Sep 24, 2012 2:50 am

Yes, PR did a good job. One of my favorite things to grow. It blooms all summer until frost (mine is still blooming here in Ohio too), bees and butterflies love it, and it is wonderful in herbal tea blends.

And the strawberry anise hyssop jam did turn out wonderful. I made three cups of jam with only one cup of sugar and it is lovely. The anise flavor is delicate not overpowering. (That's why I didn't try making just anise hyssop jelly, thought it might be a bit strong.) A lot of what I am putting up now is destined to be Christmas presents, but it will be a major sacrifice to give this stuff away!

Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:00 am

Sounds fabulous.

Sun Sep 30, 2012 9:03 am

In Pennsylvania the weather has been cool the last few days. My broccoli and collards are doing pretty well and I am almost at the end of my beans. Not sure when or if the worms will show up on the broccoli since its cool now - first time growing broccoli. I am keeping my eyes open. I still have some lemon cukes growing.

Beet seeds tried but no cigar. I only have 4 left and I don't think they are gonna make it. :cry: