PLANTING LATE SEASON CROPS

by Barry Ballister

Issue 42 (August-September 08)

[Copyright © 2008, The Valley Table]

Right now, your summer kitchen garden is at its peak production. You keep picking (every other day if needed) so that the beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash remain productive an d are not forced to put their life energies into overgrowth. You've pinched your basil plants two or three leaf levels down in the stem crotch so they continue to bush and not flower. Your tomatoes have been "suckered" frequently so non-fruit bearing leaf stems have been removed and more life force is going into larger fruit. You've hoed up your potatoes and added new mulch to the plant rows. The cauliflower leaves have been tied up to cool and shade the head inside. Your lettuce is all picked and all the non-productive heads have been removed. You've eaten everything you can and shared the rest. In all, it's been a pretty good garden year so far.

But the end of summer doesn't mean the end of your kitchen garden. There are a number of things you can do to extend its life and its yield.

--Water deeply. Some parts of the Hudson Valley have received plenty of rainfall this year, but some areas have barely been wetted. If rain has been lacking where you are, give the garden a good soaking to reach the entire root system. Water several times a day, if necessary, and then cover with a layer of grass clippings or straw.

--Replenish mulches. To keep the soil cool and moist, apply fresh organic mulch or compost around the base of the plants. They've been drawing their life-giving nutrients from your soil all summer--a hit of rich earth will extend their life and increase their yield.

--Cultivate the soil between the rows. Loosening the soil allows for aeration, helps control weed growth and prepares the garden for some late-season planting.

Planting a late-season kitchen garden provides you with two or even three additional "seasonal" crops: A cold-tolerant winter-over crop; a 60-day root and leaf crop; and a quick-growing 30-day crop.

First, the 60-day crop can be planted anytime during the first half of August. Begin by tilling the soil between the rows of plants that will be completely harvested by late August or September--beans, eggplant and peppers.

Both root and leaf vegetables make good 60-day crops. Candidates include carrots, white turnips, leeks and kohlrabi. These root vegetables will be ready for delicious, hot, savory soups that taste so good when those first nippy days signal "sweater weather." Sow seeds right into the soil; water well and thin. Baby carrots are great in raw salads or blanched with beans and corn. White turnip roots can be stored for later and the greens sauteed, steamed or put into soup. When the leeks begin to sprout, hoe up around the green growth to blanch the lower part of the plant and promote healthier root development for a larger plant. Kohlrabi also produces a root-like knob just at the soil line and a mass of thick green leaves above--use the leaves for a leafy green, hearty vegetable; the knob will keep for weeks in a plastic bag in your refrigerator and can be cut up into chunks for soup, or roasted with meat and potatoes.

Sixty-day leaf vegetables include cabbage, leaf lettuce, collards, Swiss chard and spinach. They require a little more space then root vegetables, so find or make space where they can flourish in September and early October. Plant early green cabbage, which will withstand any early frost and is a good "keeper" when harvested. Winter cauliflower is an excellent late-season crop. It will probably yield a small head when ready for harvest, but will withstand both hot August days and late September chill. It will also taste very sweet and crisp.

Collards are the muscle men of leafy green vegetables. They will grow well into October, withstand frost, resist bugs, will keep well and provide generous amounts of minerals and vitamins. They are survival food. Swiss chard is also an easy late-season grower that can live in your garden into fall, but will yield its unique, savory leaves by late September if planted in August. Late Swiss chard can bring a touch of spring to your kitchen even as you look out your window at the colors of autumn. Spinach is a traditional late-season. Choose a classic, broad-leaf variety and sow directly. Thin the growth for tangy baby leaf salads or stir-fry mix. Allow the broad leaves to mature for an honest-to-goodness Popeye vegetable sauteed with generous amounts of garlic and pepper and a touch of olive oil.

By early to mid-September, the garden will have some extra space to replant and cultivate. If you're still up for a 30-day crop, stir up the soil and plant broccoli, mustard greens and leaf lettuce. Thin the broccoli as it sprouts (toss the sprouts into a salad mix--they're crunchy, savory and nutritious). The late broccoli plants probably will not yield a giant head unless we're blessed with some extra days of sun and warmth, so pick smaller florets frequently and mix into a stir fry or with other vegetables for a side for dinner. Leaf lettuce will come up quickly and allow you to pick frequently for a fresh salad ingredient. Plant mustard greens and stand back: You can expect big, wide, tall plants that will produce well into October and give your kitchen another spicy, tasty, versatile vegetable to steam and saute or add to salads or soup.

By the time we start getting into woodsmoke, golden light and brisk evenings, the garden is more earth and less green. We've put away, cut back and made ready for winter. But why not try another crop or two to winter over for a springtime welcome-back yield? Winter-over crops (90-days or more) can include garlic, beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga and yellow onions. Buy some local garlic at a nearby farmers' market and plant it (garlic from the same locale yields best). Like most bulb plants, garlic does well with fall planting. Plant beets, carrots and parsnips in rows. After thinning first growth and when green growth is on its way, mulch around the plants with compost and straw--this will keep the soil warm around the exposed growth and protect against severe frost. The thinnings can be used in salads and as baby vegetables. Plant rutabaga apart from the other crops because its root size is much larger and it grows horizontally as well as deep. Yellow onions will come up quickly. Allow some of the green growth to reach 8 to 10 inches, then pull for bunching onions or salad ingredients. Let the other growth go; cover it with straw as winter approaches and wait for your spring bonus harvest.

As you prepare for the final fall "put-away," make a supply of mixed compost, peat moss, manure, grass clippings and straw. Before the snow gets heavy and covers the garden, pack the mixture loosely around your winter-over plants to allow sunlight, but thick enough to capture soil heat and moisture. In addition to the anticipation of pulling bright orange, red and golden roots from the earth in March, your garden will remain a sign of life all winter: Tufts of straw and bits of green let you know life goes on under the silent blanket of winter.