fall seedlings

I've been starting up a bunch of fall seedlings this past week. I used tape for tags instead of pretty wood labels.

Looks like I'll be eating a lot of Bok Choi! The BoPak is a new experimental variety that I'm trialling, Mei Qing and Win Win are my old favorites. And then I found a package of Pechag that I couldn't resist buying. I love stir fried bok choi.

I'm hoping I can get a big crop of fall cucumbers for pickling. All my summer vines have died from wilt. I'm hoping that the beetles that carry the wilt (a bacterial disease) will have moved on by September. (I didn't want to use a beetle spray like spinosad because of my bees.)

I don't want gardeners to look at my list and think - "Oh this is safe to plant now." Some of these will likely not produce a harvest before frost. I am planning a winter tunnel, and will move slower plants into that.

I've added the time to harvest by each variety. It's about 65 days to frost here now. You should generally add two weeks when calculating fall planting times since, plant growth slows as light decreases. Also, some plants here are frost hardy (like escarole and broccoli) and some not  (cucumbers). Greens, like lettuce or bok choi, can easily be harvested early.

Variety list:

August 1
Happy Rich (55 days)
Bok Choi, BoPak, 2015 AAS winner (60 days)
Bok Choi, Mei Qing (45 days)
Bok Choi, Win Win (52 days)
Bok Choi, Pechay (60 days)
Escarole, Natacha (50 days)
Lettuce, Skyphos (47 days)
Lettuce, Oakleaf (47 days)
Lettuce, Sylvestra (52 days)

August 5
Broccoli, Bay Meadows (60 days)
Broccoli, Artwork, 2015 AAS winner (85 days)
Broccoli, Arcadia (63 days)
Cucumber, Miniature White (50 days)
Cucumber, North Carolina Pickling (60-65 days)
Cucumber, Salt and Pepper (49 days)
Endive, Tres Fine (45-70 days)
Endive, Dubuisson (50 days)
Radicchio, Indigo (65 days)
Napa Cabbage, Mini Kisaku (50-55 days)