Are you looking for vegetable seeds to plant during summer to reap a harvest in fall? Find out how to keep your garden cool during summer, and also how to keep cool-weather plants.
It’s as if we only just started our summer succession plants and laid out drip irrigation and then finished the mulching process It’s time to plant our autumn and winter garden -despite temperatures that are well above 100 degrees F! We’re sowing cabbage, broccoli, brassicas, and kale which will grow in the cool autumn weather.
If we wish to experience a a fantastic “second spring” in September, which will carry us through the holidays, all the way to the winter months and even beyond we should begin gardening today in our zone 7 garden. If you need help determining the timing of your garden for fall I would suggest contacting the neighborhood Master Gardener group or county extension office.
Keep Soil Cool for Planting
To protect myself against unpredictable weather, I generally create at minimum two plantings of cabbage seedlings and broccoli to my fall garden. The truth is, vegetable plants do not care about what season is in the forecast, so long as their fundamental growth conditions are fulfilled. If it’s 100 degrees for days then you must keep it more temperate.
The soil’s temperature must be between 85 and 86 degrees for normal seedlings. If you have the space to plant seedlings within flats, that could suffice, so that they remain dry and receive enough sunlight as the seedlings grow.
Sowing Brassicas
I plant my brassicas outdoors in a fertile special seedling bed in a shaded, partially shaded area that has the benefit of 6-8 hours of sun every day. There are trees right in the right spot. Tall trellised tomatoes or corn will provide shade.
I can cool my soil and water it thoroughly a week prior to planting, and again the day before planting and then immediately following the planting.
I cover the area where I planted by a piece of salvaged glass screen in order to make it cool and humid. The screen should be removed at the moment that the tiny seedlings appear.
To shield the seedlings that are emerging from gnarly beetles, fleas and other insects I employ a light covered row of spun polyester which is supported with hoops.
I water them daily until seeds emerge. Then, I keep an eye on them and water as necessary.
Planting Cool-Weather Vegetables in High Heat
Gardeners living in warmer climates such as the lower and coastal regions of the South generally can cultivate “fall vegetables” all winter all through the winter. The more mountainous or colder regions of the Southeast in contrast are prone to a shorter growing season towards the end of summer before the first hard freezes set in. Elliot Coleman is my guru for winter gardening. If he can achieve it in Maine it’s likely to be effortless to do in Virginia.
Alongside the cooler conditions, gardeners across majority of Southeast can make more successive plantations with summer fruits such as beans, cucumbers, squash, and corn. In the summer months and into the fall, it’s recommended to select varieties that are quick maturing which can be harvested before the growth slows to a significant extent, especially when the days are shorter. The temperatures begin to cool in the fall.
