August–The Perfect Time to Plant Your Autumn Garden

I just had lunch with another gardener I know. Sara and I often swap tips for growing bigger, healthier vegetables. We read seed catalogs throughout the winter months and plan and plot our spring and summer gardens when the snow is still two-feet deep outside.

We had a good laugh when we overheard the ladies at the next table say that they were getting ready to pull out their vegetable plants by the end of the month because summer is almost over.

Over? Sara and I looked at each other and laughed. We’d both just finished planting our Autumn gardens. Our mutual goal is to garden as close to year ’round as we can. I don’t know about you, but my tomatoes will last right through the first few light snowfalls as long as I cover them each night before the frost strikes.

And tomatoes are certainly lonely without lettuce and a few other cool-weather vegetables like beets, spinach, kale, chard, turnips, peas, and mustard. August is also a great time to plant rosemary, if you haven’t planted any yet because rosemary will remain evergreen in most cold climates in the 48 contiguous United States throughout the winter months. More about planting cool-weather crops on Monday.

August is also the perfect time to make sure you have everything you need to ensure that your cool-weather crops will grow well even if there’s an early frost. Back in the good old days, I used to grab my husband’s old shirts and toss them over my tomato plants to keep the frost at bay. When I mistakenly grabbed a good shirt he’d planned to wear to work the next day, he decided there had t be a better way for me to extend my gardening habit into winter.
 
The next day, that darling man went online and found what is now one of my favorite gardening web sites, Gardens Alive! a must-visit site for all avid and organic gardeners. Gardens Alive! sells beneficial insects like lady bugs, organic fertilizer, organic seeds, and Heavy Weight Row Covers that keep your plants protected from early Spring or late Fall frosts. They also sell a polyethylene Tunlcover™ Plant Protector that can cover an 18-foot row of vegetables. I’ll write more about Gardens Alive! in future posts.

On Monday, we’ll explore the bounty of the cool-weather garden.

To Your Gardening Abundance!

Cara

It’s just not Summer without a Garden

Cara’s Heavenly Gardens is publilshed three times per week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

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