Plant Your Fall Crops! (2024) #32

[@sallygiles132]

Susan, I could listen and learn from you all day. I wish I would have had some Teachers at school like you. Your way is so calm and relaxing and yet I take it in. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us 🤗🤗🤗. I’m in Devon, England.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hello, Sally! It's so nice to meet you. Thank you for your very kind comments. I'm delighted that you're enjoying my videos.

[@dustyflats3832]

I thought it was a good time to start fall garden crops beginning August, but the weather is nuts! We just had a wonderful cool week and now…Sat-Wed is suppose to be sizzling Hot! Talking heat index reaching 107*+😮. I whipped on shade cloth and need more mulch. That’s freaky hot for WI. Thankfully it will be short lived as I don’t do humidity at all. Thx for tips and good luck!

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Oh my! Enough is enough, right? I hope things settle down for you soon.

[@dollyperry3020]

Susan what was previously in these fall beds? What are you succession planting from?

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Dolly. I grew fava beans in the bed in the photo and kale in the bed where the root crops are now planted. My rationale for the first bed was that, as a legume, fava beans fix nitrogen so that would be beneficial for the lettuce, spinach, and pak choi. The kale had bolted to seed so I had pulled them a couple of weeks prior to planting the root crops. It was an empty bed, just asking to be replanted!

[@joycedagostino8869]

Great choices of your seeds. I always make note and appreciate you sharing the actual names as well as the tips for nutrients to give them a boost. Still getting up and down weather here but finally a bit of cooling occasionally which has helped and random rain showers too so some things may be a lot later than normal. Question, on the bone meal, do you add it at other times too or just incorporated into the soil? Thanks for your video

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Joyce. I just add the bonemeal while doing the soil prep.

[@ursulatintinger9791]

Hi Susan. I planted a rhubarb plant this spring and it is beautiful. Everything I've read said not to harvest this year. It was so hard. What do I do now? Let the plant and fruit die? Cut them off? Thanks for your help

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Ursula. Wait until after the first frost to cut the leaf stalks back to the ground. And add a few inches of mulch (compost works great for this) to help protect the crowns of the plants over the winter. I think it's a good idea to let the plant become established for a couple of years before harvesting some of the stalks. Here is an article I found for you: www.uvm.edu/news/extension/fall-rhubarb-care. I hope this will help.

[@lolliemitchell7525]

Hi Susan. I look Fowler to your videos you always have great tips. Can you tell me where you bought your Dibble? Thanks

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi there. I'm glad you're enjoying my videos. I bought it from Lee Valley Tools (leevalley.com) many years ago. I'm not sure if they still sell them.

[@nanettalowe1903]

Thanks for your tips

[@SusansInTheGarden]

My pleasure, Nanetta!

[@lindykidder4698]

Hi Susan I got blight on majority of my peppers. I noticed some flowers but not sure if they will eventually turn to bell peppers. Should I just pull the plants out? My last frost date is Oct 22 zone 7A.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

I'm so sorry to hear that. If it's pretty bad, I would go ahead and pull them up. Be sure to dispose of them, rather than putting them in your compost pile.

[@patriciaterry5539]

New subscriber here! Zone 9b California

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Welcome, Patricia! Thanks so much for subscribing.

[@Pots_plots_gardenspots]

I love those baby turnips, but I’ve given up growing them. Every year they get root maggots😢.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Darn. Do you grow them in the same location every year? If so, the maggots can overwinter in the soil and continue the problem year after year. It's important to plant them in different areas of your garden, if you've got the room. Don't add manure to the soil because that attracts both the adult fly and the maggots. You can also try covering their bed with floating row cover as soon as you plant the seeds. Turnips don't need to be pollinated so you can grow them under the cover for the whole season. I hope these ideas help!

[@joycearthur5244]

Do you have trouble getting spinach to germinate? I sometimes do, last time I soaked them overnight and had better luck.

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi, Joyce. As long as I'm careful to keep the soil lightly moist, they tend to germinate OK. I think soaking the seeds is a great idea. I also wanted to mention that if the soil temperature is too warm, that can impact germination as well. They geminate best in soil that's within the range of 40-70 degree F. My friend Joe Lamp'l soaks his spinach seeds in water for about 24 hours, then lets them dry on a paper towel for 1-2 days, then he puts the seeds into an airtight container for a few days before finally planting them. I haven't tried this but probably should experiment with it!

[@joycearthur5244]

@@SusansInTheGarden I did do Joe Lamp’ls procedure last fall and had pretty good luck with them.

[@Felix_h198]

​@@joycearthur5244hi 👋

[@JoBrown-z9v]

Hi Susan. I am wondering how many days you have left until first frost? I also live in a 5b/6a zone in BC. Our first frost date is around the end of September. Do I have enough time to sow seeds for a fall garden (we are not radish fans)? Thank you

[@SusansInTheGarden]

Hi there. Well, the weather is so changeable, it's hard to know for sure when the first frost will hit. But it's usually around the end of September, just like for you. Many of the crops I mentioned in my "Plant a Fall Garden" video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJnOoJiOZdSiqbc) are quite cold-tolerant so you can probably plant some of them. I provide lots of suggestions plus the days to maturity information.