Think about fall crops as those you eat the leaves or roots of as a guide. Now I just leave my carrots uncovered in the wilds of winter and they do just fine. I tried this on a 60×60 bed and made a perfectly warm, dry mouse house. Some folks cover the straw with plastic too. Many folks use straw to protect the roots of crops they overwinter such as carrots. The weight of snow will damage your row cover. If you leave your row cover on all season, make sure to cover with clear plastic too. You can make hoops from number 9 fencing wire or 1 inch schedule 40 PVC thick wall pipe (don’t buy thin walled PVC.) You can make short “feet” and pound them into the ground and bend your PVC hoops over them. I use Agribon 30 weight because it is the most durable. Row cover (aka cloche or remay) is a wonderful way to protect your fall and overwinter crops from cold and pests. I like Johnny’s Select Seed for the very specific growing information and High Mowing and Baker Creek Heirlooms for the variety. If you buy your seed from companies with good seed descriptions, you will be better off. Also, anything called “Russian” is a good indicator it is cold hardy. For winter you look for “overwintering” varieties or cold tolerant crops that have 120 or more days to maturity. In the fall, you return to your spring varieties. For summer you need “heat tolerant” or “slow-bolting” varieties. For spring you need “main crop” varieties or those that don’t seem too picky about heat or cold. For spring you need “cold hardy” varieties. If you want to expand your planting season, you need to buy the right seed. Scallions are a great fall and overwintering crop. Make sure you remember to baby your seeds along with ample water (even if it is hand watering) through germination and into the true leave stage before you forget about them and treat them like the mature plants. I want the soil to dry out so I can till or hoe it into a proper seed bed. I plan ahead and cut water to crops that I know only have one more picking so that I can harvest, pull, till and plant right away. I know the temptation once seeds get into your hand to plant until the packet is empty, but hold back! How I Plant Season LongĪs soon as one crop is pulled out of the ground, I prepare the soil for the next. Spend 10 minutes planting a small space rather than putting in 20 feet of radishes. Each week you can use a small hoe or hand hoe to prepare a small spot for a few feet of lettuce, beets or scallions. Plant partial rows or plots weekly or bi-weekly throughout the season. Home gardeners will have less space than I have on the farm, but the concept is the same. I consider my planting season weekly or bi-weekly from April through mid-September in my 6b hardiness zone. If it is dry enough, in April I start planting the February starts and seeds outside and in the hoop house. longer into the season.Īs a market farmer, I start planting in the greenhouse in February. To extend the season, home gardeners can simply plant 1. One of the biggest differences between a typical home garden and a market farm like mine is the frequency of planting.
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