Fall Planting
By: Gary Garner Sr.
It is now time to start planting fall cole crops, flowers, etc., at least according to the calendar. Then I take a look at the thermometer, it reads 93, feeling like 100 and I’m not so certain I want to do much planting.
People have started to plant fall vegetables. Cabbage, broccoli, and other cole crop plants are selling well. I think planted in the kind of weather we are having now growth is going to be tall and spindly but the plants should live. Hopefully, we will get some cool fall weather soon and that will help.
In fall of 2019 we had three 90-degree days in October and fall crops did just fine. Much of their development will depend on the amount of rain we get. Also, some cool days mixed in to harden off the plants would help.
With all that said I think I would now consider it safe to plant most fall vegetables. They need time to develop before hard frost. One thing to watch for with your fall plantings are insect infestations. If it stays warm insects will likely be a problem. It will take a hard frost to rid the garden of insects.
Mums are in stock and selling well even though they are just beginning to break color. I like to set them out early to get full advantage of the color. Mums are a pretty plant even before the blooms open.
Gary’s Garden Center’s Pansies are tentatively scheduled to arrive around September 9th depending on the weather. I urge people yearly to plant pansies as early as possible and always hear the same story, “my summer annuals are so pretty I don’t want to do away with them”. Neither do I but the sooner you plant pansies the prettier they will be throughout the winter.
You can plant pansies now intermingled with summer annuals in the ground or start pots of pansies to set out once summer annuals are done. If the heat causes the pansies to get tall and leggy just take scissors and clip them off near the ground. They will come right back bushier and prettier than ever.
In the winter if the weather gets extremely cold the pansies may draw up and look shriveled, don’t worry as soon as it warms up, they will come right back out, looking better than ever.
A fall planting guide isn’t complete without mentioning shrubs! Fall is the ideal time to plant trees and shrubs. Plant them in the fall and they will have time to get established (good root growth) this fall and next spring before they face the stress of hot and dry summer weather.
My last word is “it’s time to plant”. Let’s do it, we need all the color we can get in the world right now. A little time spent in the garden always adds a little cheer to the world. Come by GARYS GARDEN CENTER on Leesville Road and see what’s out for fall.
