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2 Season Vegies
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Posted: Aug/04/2008 8:02 PM PST
Hello there, Is it true that spinach, carrots and onions can be grown during the spring and the fall of the year? If that is true, when can I plant them? By the way, I live in Maryland. |
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Posted: Aug/05/2008 6:19 AM PST
I don't know so much about onions, but I can tell you about spinach and carrots. Yes!  I have better success with spinach (and many other leafy greens) in Fall than in Spring. In our climate, it's generally quite cool and clammy wet in the Spring well into May, which deters the seedlings from establishing good, deep roots. In late Summer, with the soil very hot and very dry at the surface, I get much better root growth - as long as I can get the seeds to germinate! I mulch my seedbed about a half inch think and water liberally. Germination is very quick due to the high soil temp. Most of your leafy greens will produce a much tastier crop over a longer period once the days are shorter and the heat of Summer has subsided. So right now is an opportune time to get them going. By the time the plants get some size, it'll be September and the days will be two hours shorter and the nights ten degrees cooler. I've just started some Winter kale - yesterday. Watering is a major concern. If your late Summer and early Fall are like ours, it's a pretty dry period. Frequent watering will encourage shallow roots, and consequently weak plants that succumb to even brief periods of dryness or excessive rain (e.g., tropical storms!). I recommend generous mulching and deep watering no more than once a week, once the plants are established. The mulch will also help shade the ground from the hot summer sun. It's never too late to plant carrots. They are especially eager to germinate when the soil is really hot, which can be very gratifying if you've struggled to get them going in cool Spring soil. If they don't have quite enough time to mature by the onset of the Winter's cold, just cut the greens off the tops and mulch them over thickly. After the Spring thaw, rake the mulch away and voila! They will start growing again! |
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Posted: Aug/05/2008 6:22 AM PST
I planted lettuce,spinach etc for a fall crop last week. But ( always a but ) the starlings eat almost ever plant as the they came up. Sept. 1st i will plant a winter crop under plastic so we can have a garden salad for thanksgiving and Christmas. |
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Posted: Aug/10/2008 1:24 PM PST
This is especially true with certin types of greens like collards and kale, I've had collards for up to two years, I just kept harvesting the bottom leaves watering and feeding and they grew to about three feet, that was a good gardening experience. They're a good dish to have on the holiday table too! |
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