what to plant now

Its time for fall planting. I have a tray of seedings ready to transplant to my garden this week. They will go in the rows left open by fading summer squashes, finished broccoli and cauliflower, spring beets, cabbage and carrots, and potatoes that are already dug.

My fall seedlings were planted about 3 weeks ago. They are red and savoy cabbage, bok choy, escarole, endive frisee, 4 or 5 types of lettuce, a few varieties of beets. This week I will also try sowing some fall peas. They never work, because our New England weather always goes too fast from hot to cold in the fall, but I like to try anyway.

I wish I had sowed fall broccoli earlier, but I didn't. It's hard to find fall seedlings commercially. These should be good sized seedlings by now and transplanted out to the garden soon for fall heads. I have previously sowed broccoli in August and it grows to a nice seedling by November and then holds til spring in my cold frame and makes early heads in the spring.

I planted my last green beans two weeks ago. They sprouted fast in this hot weather. They will give us Sept and Oct green bean harvests.

I will sow some winter crops inside this week. These will include spinach, beets, lettuce, escarole, and bok choy. Maybe some collards or chard too. These will go into the cold frame once the summer plants are done. I will also direct sow some carrots in the frame. My frame stays above freezing all winter, but since the sun is too low for plants to grow after Nov 10, I like to have it full of fully grown crops by nov. I harvest these all winter.

My winter kale stays out in the garden. I have lots of kale this year as I sowed twice, early spring and again early July.

Please let me know your plans for fall and winter plantings.

fall and winter seedlings

I planted a tray of fall seedlings a couple weeks ago (July 7). I have kept them indoors under lights. Today I brought them outside to start getting used to full sunlight.

Beets, Chiogga Guardsmark
Beets, Round Red Merlin
Beets, White Detroit
Cabbage, Pac Choi, Mei Qing Choi
Cabbage, Pac Choi, Win-Win Choi
Cabbage, Red, Super Red 80
Cilantro, Calypso
Endive, Dubuisson
Escarole, Natacha
Lettuce, Butterhead Green, Ermosa
Lettuce, Butterhead Red, Skyphos
Lettuce, Looseleaf Green, Black Seeded Simpson
Lettuce, Summer Crisp Green, Nevada
Lettuce, Summer Crisp Red, Teide

The beets and cabbages are right on time for a last planting of the season. I don't know how the lettuce will do with the hot weather. I am trying some Summer Crisp types, which are supposed to be more heat tolerant.

I will sow another tray the first week of August (in a week and a half) with my winter crops that will go in the coldframe: spinach, more lettuce and other greens.

This week, I want to remember to sow some carrots and fall peas in the garden. Not sure where these will go yet.

I am using my Fall Planting Calendar to figure out when to plant. Here's a link to it. I am using Nov 1 as my average first fall frost date.

my plant list

I put together a list of the varieties of vegetables, herbs and fruits I am growing this year.

Vegetables
Asparagus, Jersey Supreme
Asparagus, Purple Passion
Beans, Bush, Provider
Beans, Bush, Royal Burgundy
Beans, Bush French filet, Maxibel
Beans, Bush Italian flat, Jumbo
Beans, Bush Italian flat, Roma
Beans, Pole, Orient Wonder
Beans, Pole, Scarlet Emporer
Beans, Pole, Shung Wang's Beans, seeds given to me, I save and grow each year
Beets, Pink, Chiogga Guardsmark
Beets, Red, Bull's Blood
Beets, Red, Cylindra
Beets, Red, Early Wonder
Beets, Red, Red Ace
Beets, Red, Round Red Merlin
Beets, White, Blankoma
Beets, White, White Detroit
Broccoli, Diplomat
Cabbage, Napa, Mini Kisaku
Cabbage, Pac Choi, Extra Dwarf
Cabbage, Pac Choi, Mei Qing Choi
Cabbage, Pac Choi, Win-Win Choi
Cabbage, Pac Choi, Wong Bok
Cabbage, Red, Super Red 80
Cabbage, Savoy, Alcosa
Carrots, Bolero
Carrots, Mokum
Cauliflower, Little Cloud Hybrid
Celery, Tango
Cucumber, Boston Pickling
Cucumber, Diva
Cucumber, North Carolina Pickling
Cucumber, Sooyow Nishiki
Cucumber, Straight 8
Cucumber, Sweet Success
Cucumber, Tokiwa
Eggplant, Black King Hybrid
Eggplant, Kamo
Eggplant, Tiger
Endive, Dubuisson
Endive, Olesh Tres Fine
Escarole, Broadleaf Batavian
Escarole, Natacha
Fennel, Perfection
Garlic, Hardneck, Duganski
Garlic, Hardneck, Music
Herb, Basil, Nufar
Herb, Borage
Herb, Chives (perennial)
Herb, Cliantro, Calypso
Herb, Dill, Mammoth
Herb, Oregano (perennial)
Herb, Parsley, Giant of Italy
Herb, Rosemary (perennial in coldframe)
Herb, Sage (perennial)
Herb, Thyme (perennial)
Kale, Blue Curled Scotch
Kale, Green Curled Winterbor
Kale, Tuscan
Leeks, Giant Musselburgh
Lettuce, Butterhead Green, Ermosa
Lettuce, Butterhead Green, Victoria
Lettuce, Butterhead Red, Red Cross
Lettuce, Butterhead Red, Skyphos
Lettuce, Looseleaf Green, Black Seeded Simpson
Lettuce, Looseleaf Green, Green Oak Leaf
Lettuce, Looseleaf Red, Oaky Red Splash
Lettuce, Looseleaf Red, Red Sails
Lettuce, Romaine, Rouge d'Hiver
Lettuce, Romaine, Winter Density
Lettuce, Summer Crisp Green, Nevada
Lettuce, Summer Crisp Red, Teide
Onions, Guardsman Bunching
Onions, Pontiac
Parsnips, Javelin
Peas, Shelling, Maxigolt
Peas, Shelling, Strike
Peas, Snap, Cascadia
Peas, Snap, Sugar Ann
Peas, Snow, Oregon Giant
Peppers, Amelia's Cayenne, seeds from a friend, I save and grown each year
Peppers, Ancho 211
Peppers, Nardello
Peppers, Numex Joe E Parker
Peppers, Sweet Canary Bell
Peppers, Thai Hot
Potatoes, Adirondack Red
Potatoes, German Butterball
Potatoes, Katahdin
Potatoes, Russet Burbank
Radicchio, Chiogga Red Preco #1
Soy Beans, Green, Butterbean
Soy Beans, Green, Envy
Spinach, Bloomsdale Long Standing
Spinach, Spargo
Summer Squash, Patty Pan, Starship
Summer Squash, Yellow Crookneck
Summer Squash, Zephyr
Summer Squash, Zucchini Costata Romanesco
Sweet Potatoes, I sprout and grow a variety of supermarket sweets or mine from the previous year
Tomato, Beefsteak
Tomato, Brandywine
Tomato, Cherokee Purple
Tomato, New Girl
Tomato, Orange Blossom
Tomato, Oxheart Red
Tomato, Pink Beauty
Tomato, Purple Calabash
Tomato, San Marzano Gigante 3
Tomato, Sun Gold Cherry
Winter Squash, Buttercup (Burgess Strain)
Winter Squash, Waltham Butternut

Fruits
Apple, Dwarf Fuji
Blueberries, Bluecrop
Fig, Negronne (potted)
Lemon, Meyer (potted)
Pear, Bartlett
Pear, Kieffer
Raspberries, unknown red variety
Rhubarb, a green stemmed variety
Strawberries, Alpine Red
Strawberries, unknown large red variety

sowing seeds

These are pictures from Saturday when I planted a couple trays of seeds. I also planted 8 new begonia tubers in pots. (A bag of pink dahlia tubers waiting on my shelves for outdoor planting.) My indoor lettuce is doing well. Time to start thinning it soon!

seed sowing

My first big day of planting seeds! The local True Value Hardware store had their planting trays in stock - I got 8 trays and 8 6-packs of seed cells. Also some 4-inch and 3-inch pots. And 50 4-cent wooden labels.

I planted 2 full trays of seeds this afternoon. I am a bit late starting my onions. I planted 4 6-packs of white storage onion seeds and one of bunching onions. I started a few seeds of very early tomatoes. Only 3 varieties, 3 seeds each. These will be in big pots before they can be transplanted outside.

My seed list:

Onions, Frontier
Onions, Pontiac
Onions, bunching Guardsman
Tomatoes, cherry Sun Gold
Tomatoes, Pink Beauty
Tomatoes, Mew Girl
Chinese cabbage, Wong Bok
Chinese cabbage, Mini Kisaku 50
Chinese cabbage, Extra Dwarf Bok Choy
Celery, Tango
Mustard, Ruby Streaks
Radicchio, Chiogga Red Preco #1
Lettuce, Oaky Red Splash
Lettuce, Victoria Butterhead
Parsley, Giant of Italy
Broccoli, Diplomat
Caulifower, Little Cloud Hybrid
Endive, Frisee Olesh Tres Fine

- and one of my favorite garden flowers:
Bachelor Button, Boy Blue