Planting your Fall Garden

Okay, let's say you have an amended bed to be a garden space right now and you want to get started. Whoo hoo!  Perfect timing!  Today we are going to talk about the myriad of options you have to direct sow.  Last week we talked about making a triangle to show you how closely to plant, so today we are going to plant spinach (yum, yum!) in a 4" spacing.  Here is a picture of my high tech way of making a triangle using a file folder.



I'm only going to plant 4 feet of spinach today, then I will plant more every 2 weeks.  That way, I can have yummy baby spinach longer.  Use your triangle to see how far apart to make your rows. Draw a line in the soil with a pointed tool. (I use a cobra weeder.) Then use your triangle to place 2 seeds per corner.  When they come up, you will mercilessly decapitate one of the seedlings with a pair of kid scissors.  Why? #1 - Planting 2 seeds pretty much guarantees that at least one will come up and you won't have open spots. #2 -   Leaving both can create crowding and weaken your plants.  #3 - The kid scissors are because I'm not so coordinated.

Here are some options of things that can be directly sown in your garden:

• spinach - 4" spacing - August and September
• lettuce - 12" spacing - continually as you use it
• pac choi or joi choi - 12" spacing - September
• carrots & radishes - 4" spacing - August
• turnips - 6" spacing - July or August
• kale - 18" spacing - September
• swiss chard - 12" - September
• winter squash - 6 feet apart - August
• climbing peas - 2" apart on a trellis  - September

Okay - so your seeds are in the ground!  Smooth the little rows with the back of your rake and water well!  That wasn't so hard, was it?!  Our soil is warm, so the seeds should pop up quickly.  Next week we'll talk about making baby transplants and later we'll talk about protecting your plants as the weather turns cold.  If you don't know where to get your seeds or you just like to read, head to  http://www.territorialseed.com/ .

Come back later! There's a whole lot more!