There are only a few things left to plant in my garden for the fall. The last of my broccoli transplants went in Friday, the kale seedlings went in yesterday. I moved up the last planting of green beans to this week in an attempt to beat the first frost which will come the first of November. And I also replanted the squash.
  What's left you ask? This week I'll plant the second crop of snow peas, I'll also plant turnips and radish. I'll probably plant several planting of radish over the next few weeks as they are quick maturing. I've still got onion sets as well as pearl onions left from the spring, I'll plant those for green onions. This afternoon after it stops raining I'll transplant lettuce seedlings in the hydroponic system and start a few lettuce seeds too. If you want lettuce, spinach, and arugula, those can all be planted over the next few weeks. The freezing temperatures in November will slow these crops from growing but you'll be able to harvest greens well into the winter and you'll actually have early greens next spring.
  Otherwise I'm done planting for the 2015 vegetable growing season.
  I've ordered cover crop seeds for the fall planting and I'll have crimson clover seeds at the garden for everyone to put down for the winter if you don't grow veggies. I'll put out more info as soon as the clover seed is here.

  Let's waste no more time...let's get planting for the fall. Although I haven't personally been to the garden centers to check availability, I have been told there are some transplants available. This includes broccoli, cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, and cauliflower. Go get them and get them planted. it's not too late to start your own transplants but you'll have to get them in the ground real soon, you can transplant as soon as you get to the second leaf stage (about 2 weeks). 
  Today I planted the last crop of summer squash, it won't be as productive as earlier in the summer but we will make a nice crop with fewer pest problems. The biggest problem will be powdery mildew but I'll use a fungicide spray to combat the mildew.
  I also planted the last crop of beans that I know will make a crop without fear of frost. Although I'll plant another crop of beans in 10 days,  that crop may or may not make a beans depending on Mother Nature. (Hopefully she'll be nice to me!)
  I set out a bed of broccoli today. The last broccoli transplants will go into the garden in about 10 days.
  Peas are on my to do list tomorrow, as are onion sets for green onions. I'll plant peas twice to lengthen the harvest window. And let's not forget the greens, yesterday I transplanted lettuce into the hydroponics but you may plant lettuce anytime. I'll also plant arugula tomorrow and if you want spinach plant it now. Collards and kale can be planted any time also.
  We survived the summer, August is almost gone so it's once again a pleasure to get out into the garden. Go play in the dirt!!

  I can't say more than the fact we survived the dog days, but it has been a struggle. Here on the farm I've struggled more than I can remember, it's been a harder to grow a garden with all the rain starting in April and then the heat and humidity of the past month. But as gardeners we put the past behind us where it belongs and look towards a great fall growing season.
  Next week I'll really start planting for the fall. We've still have time to plant beans, the beans we plant next week will probably be the last one's to produce but I will plant another crop the first week of September. Next week I'll also plant another crop of summer squash. We've generally broken the life cycle of the squash bugs and borers so in 45 days we'll have a nice small crop of squash. If you like peas, we'll plant those next week and a follow on crop of peas 2 weeks later. How about carrots, if you want fresh carrots all winter let's plant those as soon as possible. Keep carrot seeds moist through their 2 week germination period.
  If you want fresh broccoli (and who doesn't) lets plant some of those. Check the local garden centers for transplants. Same with cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. For an extended crop of broccoli, plant some now and a few more in two weeks. It's harder to find kale transplants but if you can't find transplants for this superfood get seeds and start them indoors. In 2 weeks you'll have transplants to put into the garden.
  The last month has been miserable but fall gardening is a joy. Start now to make that push for a wonderful fall garden season.

  On schedule last week I transplanted the fall cauliflower crop into soil with good moisture content from the recent rains. I carefully watered the transplants daily under the unrelenting sun. Although the transplants were healthy and in good condition, they struggled to take root as the soil temperatures rose. Sorry to report, the mortality rate was over 50%...oh the struggles we face! In the Atlanta region we average only 15 days all summer with temperatures above 90 degrees, this July we've had more than that with a lot of days into the mid 90's.
  I had a 2 flats of transplants unplanted so 3 things I did this week. First I put in the extra transplants then I shaded both bed of transplants. Sad to say, had I shaded the transplants originally I wouldn't be having this problem now. A hard lesson relearned, some years I need to shade, some years I don't. This was one of those years. I also started a couple new flats of cauliflower seeds and I will get those in the ground as soon as they are up and growing. With the shade cloth, I can put out the transplants sooner and hopefully the crop won't be too late. It's amazing how just a little bit of protection will keep the soil from getting too hot to establish transplants or start seeds.
  Last week I also started the first of the broccoli seed plantings. I'll do two crops of broccoli spread two weeks apart so last week was the first to be started. Next week I'll start the second crop of broccoli. While I was at it last week I started a crop of cabbage for the fall. Cabbage does better in the spring but the variety I grew this spring did exceptionally well so I thought I'd give it a try this fall. I'll get the cabbage transplants in the ground in about 2 weeks under shade if necessary.
  So word to the wise, if you are planting anything over the next few weeks, if the temps stay elevated, a little bit of temporary shade will help your planting get established.
 

  Growing up, learning to play horseshoes, I learned the object was to toss your horseshoes closest to the stake. In horseshoes, close counts. Then sometime in my youth while watching war movies, I learned that close counts in hand grenades also. Later, during my Air Forces days while reviewing war plans in the vault with all the secret war plans, I learned the close really counts in thermonuclear warfare.
  But one place close doesn't count is the community garden compost pile. The refuse you take to the compost bin is either in the bin or it's not. If it is outside the bin, guess what, someone else has to pick up after you. We're all adults here so please do me a favor, put your refuse inside the confines of the compost bin. Not on the edge, not "it looks like it's in" but actually inside the confines of the bin.
  On a related note, next year when you want to get a wheelbarrow load of wonderful rich compost for your garden from our bin, the last thing you want is to find trash. It is a bit disheartening to find plastic plant tags littering the compost. So let's all work together to keep plastic of all kinds out of the compost pile.

  We have officially entered the dog days of summer. The next 4 weeks should be the hottest, muggiest days we have to tolerate. And tolerate is the word. We work in our gardens when we have to, take plenty of breaks, and drink lots of water to replace the sweat. With all the rain we've had, the rain now totals 7" above normal for the year, I've got lots of weeds. Of course, lots of weeds simply adds to my workload in these hot humid dog days.
  Denise stopped by the farmers market this week lamenting the miserable conditions...hot,humid and lots of weeds, and in the general frame of mind that this gardening thing is just not worth all the effort. I surely relate but anything worth doing is worth doing even when the going is tough. In a few weeks we'll start planting for the fall harvest and before we know it these dog days will be behind us and we'll be enjoying the best gardening season of the year.
  So hang with me folks, we'll all get through this together.
  Today I finished digging my potato crop. Potatoes did so-so for me this year, the rain made the crop scabby and in some cases the rain was too much and the plants couldn't handle all that water. Tomato crop is the best I've had in several years, we've had extra to take to the food bank so we have been blessed indeed. Tomatoes are the highlight of the season but the crop quickly fades and that 4 week window of production will be over soon. Gather your tomatoes often, enjoy your harvest, and share your bounty.
 

  With all the rain we're having,  I'm noticing a definite lack of color on a few of my plantings. Although I typically fertilize mid season on the peppers and eggplants, this year the beans, squash, and cucumbers look like they could also use a feeding. Nitrogen never stays in the soil, it gets used by the plants, volatizes into the atmosphere or likely for us this year we're losing nitrogen through leaching. The rain is literally stealing our nitrogen and washing it away.
  So this week I'll spread a bit of blood meal around the garden to give the plants a quick feeding. Blood meal is a fast acting nitrogen and we'll see the plants green up over a week or so. It may be subtle but noticeable if you watch closely. On some crops, I'll make a spray and foliar fertilize, plants will pick up foliar feeding much faster than a ground feeding.
  As an aside, I heard today from a gardener that someone had recommended Epson salts for the garden. Epson salt is Magnesium Sulfate so when you use Epson salt you're getting both magnesium and sulfur. This combination is pH neutral so that's not a problem. However....here's the rest of the story. As Nitrogen leaches from the soil it never leaves alone, most of the time it takes calcium. As we lose calcium, the ratio of Ca. to Mg. goes more towards the Mg side of the equation. The more Mg you get in the soil, the harder the soil will get and the less water will drain through the soil. I attribute the drainage issues we have in parts of the garden to an excess of magnesium in the subsoil and when folks use Epsom salt in their beds the extra Mg adds in a small way to our drainage issues. So...don't use Epson salt unless or until our soil test says we need it. Thanks.

  We celebrated the summer solstice over the weekend and as we did I looked ahead towards the fall crops. We'll be planting cauliflower is six weeks and it is often difficult to find transplants when we need them. Two years ago, cauliflower and broccoli transplants were available, last year they weren't, so we can't depend on having transplants when we need them. So to preclude that problem we start our own transplants.
  Last week I started cauliflower and this week they are sprouting nicely. I plant 2 white varieties along with one flat each of green, purple, and yellow cauliflower. The colored varieties are mostly novelties, they don't produce real well but are beautiful when they do. Besides, colored veggies including cauliflower are more nutritious. I'll grow the seedlings about 5 weeks, and they'll go into the garden at the end of July.
  Cauliflower takes about 80 days to make a crop and modern varieties are self blanching. That means the top leaves stay tightly wrapped around the forming flower until one day the leaves open to expose the crop. It's just like peek-a-boo in the garden...when the crop is ready the leaves open to expose the cauliflower. The crop is a heavy feeder so it will require extra fertilizer mid way  through the season.

  It has taken awhile to get sweet potato slips but they are finally ready for you to plant. Amongst the grass growing in bed 142 you'll find sweet potato sprouts (slips). I left a bucket beside the bed with a trowel and small knife for you to use. There are also instructions, but basically you'll dig up the entire bunch of slips along with the mother sweet potato, cut off the slips from the mother at the base of the slip and replant the mother tuber. The slips will already have little roots and will quickly get established. Since there is a limited supply of slips take only as many as you need. If in 2 weeks there are any left, feel free to take more.
  Even with the hot weather we're having, the slips will root quickly. Plant your slips in a hill, your crop will grow vertically right under that slip. I plant my slips about 1' apart. Keep the slips well watered until you see new leaves growing from the slip, then water normally. Sweet potato plants like to ramble, you can plant sweet potatoes in a large pot on a deck, in the fall upturn the pot to harvest the crop. Sweet potatoes take about 90 days to make a crop, longer will make larger tubers. This is a drought tolerant crop but keep them moist for the best results.
  I've got an abundance of purple sweet potato slips and I'll take some to the market Saturday. The purple sweet potatoes are starchier, not as sweet, but make great fries, soup, and chips.
  Where to plant? It's time to start digging potatoes so dig your potatoes and immediately stick in sweet potatoes.

  The battle against squash bugs is well under way and requires constant vigilance and attention. A few squash bugs hibernate during the winter and breed prolifically in the spring so that by mid summer this pest is everywhere. There are no good insecticides we can use, even the professionals have a difficult time fighting squash bugs.
  I see this battle as a challenge and I keep score! I'll walk my rows of squash and hand pick these pests. You can put them into a jar of soapy water to kill them or do as I do and simply pinch their little heads. If you pinch their heads without squeezing the body you won't be overcome by the odor that qualifies these bugs as true stink bugs. I give myself a point for every squash bug I kill, I give myself 3 points if I catch and kill 2 stink bugs caught in flagrante delicto. On one sunny day I scored about 200 points but most days are single digits.
  You'll see squash bug eggs mostly on the top of the leaves of your zucchini. Gently rub the eggs off the leaf, once the eggs fall to the ground there are many predators that will eat them. As much as we hate fire ants, I've watched fire ants craw up the leaf and harvest squash bug eggs. If you find lots of squash bug nymphs, the commercial insecticidal soaps will kill them but it requires  multiple applications.
  By mid summer the squash bug numbers will be too great and our squash will be overrun with these pests. So we'll outsmart these critters. If we take a break and let our squash plants die so that there is no host plants for the squash bugs their numbers will crash. Then about the first of September we'll plant a late crop of squash  which will give us a small crop going into the fall.
  So join me in hand picking squash bugs, feel free to pick them from neighboring plots... keep score and we'll see who can get the highest score.