Two Priorities for August

I hope your garden is thriving, with tomatoes sweetening in the sun and cucumbers giving crunchy refreshment. But if you’re feeling like you can’t keep up, you’re not alone. Between the heat, the rate things grow, and summer activities, it’s easy to get behind. With so many things happening at once, it can be hard to know what to do first.  

I have two priorities for you. First, start your fall crops. I know, I know–it’s still hot. Well, it was too cold for tomatoes when you started those, back in February or March. It takes at least two months, sometimes three, for many crops to mature to usable size. 

And there is another, even more compelling reason why you need to start them now. Even if frost were not a factor, day length is. After October, there aren’t enough hours of daylight for reliable vegetative growth. Your fall roots and vegetables will survive a lot of cold. But they won’t grow much bigger after October. If you wait for cool weather to start them, they will overwinter as little clusters of leaves, and go into flower when spring comes, never having gotten big enough to make a meal.

What exactly should you start now? Broccoli, cabbage, kale, collards, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts–the whole cabbage tribe. Strangely enough, their ideal sprouting temperature is actually in the mid 80’s. So as long as you keep the seedlings out of savage afternoon sun, they’ll grow readily. You can plant them in pots or trays in semi-shade. They’re best on a table, pallet, porch, or somewhere you can keep them out of harm’s way and give them morning sun but shade from 11 to 4. You can start spinach, endive and chicory too for winter salads. But don’t worry too much about lettuce, mustard, or Asian greens. Late August is their time.

If you plant the cabbage family in the ground, put them in a “nursery bed.” The seedlings can be close together–8 inches in each direction–in an area well composted or manured and cleared of weeds. A bed in full sun covered with shade cloth works great, or use a bed with mostly morning sun. In the fall, your little plants–either from the nursery bed or from pots–can go where your tomatoes were, and be all the better for the move. Cabbage family crops are stimulated to better growth by transplanting.

What else should you plant now? Fall roots--carrots, beets, turnips, and rutabagas. Peas, fennel, dill, chard, and parsley should be planted now as well. The challenge is keeping them moist until the seed can sprout and take hold.  Most could be started in pots if space is not available or keeping them moist is difficult. But avoid transplanting carrots or peas. 

Roots and peas don’t need as much fertility or sun as tomatoes or beans, so if you have a spot that is somewhat (not entirely) shaded by a broadleaf tree, use it. In fall, when more sun is needed, the tree’s leaves will be gone. Covering the bed with fabric, or even boards, will keep it moist. Just be sure you check often and uncover it when the seeds sprout. Carrots (and beets too) take up to 2 weeks to sprout. You can shorten that by soaking the seed 6-8 hours and rinsing in a strainer before planting. That washes off their natural germination-inhibiting compounds so they sprout in a few days. 

Priority #2 is to get rid of anything that’s not giving you value for your space, time, and water. Green beans that are yellowing and no longer productive? Spring flowers that have run to seed? Compost them! Weeds? Depending where they are, hoe them out (between rows and large plants), pull them up (among delicate or closely planted things,) or cover them with cardboard. (If you can do it without affecting your other plantings.) 

I put this as the second priority so that as spaces are cleared of weeds and unproductive crops, you can immediately put something else in their place–the seedlings that were your first priority. These will feed you all winter. 

Summer is a sprint, with things changing every day. Your winter crops will be feeding you for months–one meal, or even one leaf at a time. No scrambling to harvest before they become unusable. No shriveling if the water goes off for a day. No big glut you have to can or freeze. Not to mention no going to the store--and no worry about weird food-borne diseases. Winter crops are like old friends. And in times like these, we need all the friends we can get.