When you plant a garden in the fall, you don’t have to only plant trees, shrubs and bulbs, but you can also plant a garden that will be full of vegetables that you can use year round.

Planting a fall and winter garden will take some time and you will also need to know what types of vegetables can survive in the climate you live in. If you live in a harsh winter climate, you may not be able to plant as many vegetables in your garden as you would if you lived in a mild weather climate. Do the research and find the vegetables and plants that will survive during the weather months and the freezing temperature.

• Most vegetables will need about 60 days to mature and grow. Plant the desired vegetables that you want 60 days before you expect the weather to freeze or create a frost. After you plant your fall vegetables and frost and freezing temperatures come early, you can purchase a greenhouse box to place over your vegetables or you can also place a tarp over them. Keep your vegetables warm enough to withstand the fall weather and the colder temperatures.

• Some of the winter vegetables that can do well are carrots and parsnips. The snow and frost that is on them will create a good source of water and will allow the vegetables to create a better taste. To receive fall vegetables plant direct seed carrots, peas, beets, spinach and lettuce in the first part of August. The cooler nights will allow the vegetables to receive a good source of water and will also help the vegetable obtain the crisp flavor that you desire.

• The soil that you plant your vegetables in is very important. Without good soil, your vegetables will not receive the nutrients and organisms that rich soil has located within it. Also plant your fall and winter vegetables where you had your spring and summer vegetables planted. The soil already has the nutrients that you have added and has a good source of earthworms that help your vegetables grow. As you rotate out the vegetables each season, the soil will become richer and will help produce stronger and better tasting vegetables. Add compost and compost tea to your soil when you plant new vegetables. The organisms that are located in the compost and compost tea will allow the vegetables to grow quicker.

When you plant a garden in the fall, you don’t have to only plant trees, shrubs and bulbs, but you can also plant a garden that will be full of vegetables that you can use year round.

Planting a fall and winter garden will take some time and you will also need to know what types of vegetables can survive in the climate you live in. If you live in a harsh winter climate, you may not be able to plant as many vegetables in your garden as you would if you lived in a mild weather climate. Do the research and find the vegetables and plants that will survive during the weather months and the freezing temperature.

Most vegetables will need about 60 days to mature and grow. Plan the desired vegetables that you want 60 days before you expect the weather to freeze or create a frost. After you plant your vegetables and frost and freezing temperatures come early, you can purchase a greenhouse box to place over your vegetables or you can also place a tarp over them. Keep your vegetables warm enough to withstand the fall weather and the temperatures that are created by Mother Nature.

Some of the winter vegetables that can do well are carrots and parsnips. The snow and frost that is on them will create a good source of water and will allow the vegetables to create a better taste. To receive fall vegetables plant direct seed carrots, peas, beets, spinach and lettuce in the first part of August. The cooler nights will allow the vegetables to receive a good source of water and will also help the vegetable obtain the crisp flavor that you desire.

The soil that you plant your vegetables in is very important. Without good soil, your vegetables will not receive the nutrients and organisms that rich soil has located within it. Also plant your fall and winter vegetables where you had your spring and summer vegetables planted. The soil already has the nutrients that you have added and has a good source of earthworms that help your vegetables grow. As you rotate out the vegetables each season, the soil will become richer and will help produce stronger and better tasting vegetables. Add compost and compost tea to your soil when you plant new vegetables. The organisms that are located in the compost and compost tea will allow the vegetables to grow quicker.

If you live a harsh winter climate, you can also purchase small greenhouses that you can use to create a bountiful garden full of your favorite vegetables. Whether they are spring, summer, fall or winter vegetables, you can enjoy them year round when you plant them and allow them to grow in a greenhouse. If you purchase a greenhouse, have it located where it can receive nature’s sunlight and stay warm. The warmer and more humid a greenhouse become, the less amount of water you will need to give to the vegetables and the quicker your vegetables will be able to grow, allowing you to enjoy them sooner.

Are the weather and the want to conserve water preventing you from planting your wanted garden? The Lawhead Team would like to share some helpful tips to gardening even during a drought.

Soil it most important.  Well-amended soil is the foundation of a vegetable garden that will tolerate drought. Prepare your garden’s soil by adding lots of rich, organic compost that will help trap moisture and encourage deep root formation in plants.

All of this soil amending is for naught if you aren’t mulching to reduce evaporation and water runoff. A thick carpet of mulch will also keep down the weeds that compete with your vegetables for water and nutrients.

Be smart about how you layout your plants.  Plant your vegetable garden in block style layout rather than in rows to create microclimates, shade and reduce water evaporation.

Layout your vegetable garden so that plants with similar water requirements are grouped together. For example, cucumbers, zucchini, and squash all have similar water needs. Focus on vegetables that produce abundant crops like tomatoes, squash, peppers and eggplants.

Edit the number of plants you grow to conserve water and space. One or two determinate tomato plants can serve your needs. Unless you can’t live without them, avoid growing space and water hogs like broccoli and cauliflower.

Three Sisters Garden.  Planting Techniques like the Three Sisters Garden is a companion planting method that the Native Americans have used for ages that you can employ in your own garden .

In the Three Sisters Garden mound, beans fix nitrogen into the soil, corn provides support for the beans to grow up, and the bristles on the squash stem protect the corn from the corn earworm while shading the soil all three plants grow in.

Educate yourself on when your plants need water.  If your vegetables are planted before the hot and dry days of summer arrive, they’ll have time to establish a root system that will allow them to survive the hotter days. Deep watering will train roots to grow deep into the ground. A drip irrigation system will deploy water where it is needed and potentially reduce your water consumption by as much as 50%. Soil amended as described above should be able to go between two and seven days between irrigation.

Knowing at what stage of development your vegetables will need water can also help you reduce the amount of water you use. Vining crops like cucumbers, assorted melons, summer and winter squash are frequently over-watered by gardeners.

They require less water than many other vegetables, and watering is only critical during flowering and fruiting. The same goes for eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. In fact, this year has been great for tomato lovers because the heat and drought has lead to some of the most flavorful tomatoes in recent years.

What vegetables are right for drought tolerance?  Seek out plants and varieties that do well in hot and arid locations. Purchase seeds for agricultural crop varieties that are arid-land adapted.

Beans have the highest water requirement of all of the common garden vegetables. Cole crops and root crops need a consistently moist soil during their life span. But you can still grow your favorite vegetables even if they aren’t exactly adapted to growing in a dry garden .

Varieties with short days to maturity are a viable option if you are conserving water in the garden . As are miniature varieties like the mini bell peppers and eggplants I grow because they need less water for fruit development than their larger counterparts.

This is by no means a complete list of vegetables and herbs that will tolerate drought, but the list can serve as a place to start.

1. Low prickly pear cactus-edible fruits and leaf pads of O. humifusa
2. Rhubarb-once mature is drought resistant.
3. Swiss Chard
4. ‘Hopi Pink’ corn
5. Asparagus-once established
6. Jerusalem artichoke
7. Legumes: Chickpea, Tepary beans, Moth bean, Cowpea, ‘Jackson Wonder’ lima bean.
8. Green Striped Cushaw squash
9. ‘Iroquois’ cantaloupe
10. Okra
11. Peppers
12. Armenian cucumber
13. Sage
14. Oregano
15. Thyme
16. Lavender
17. Amaranth-green leafed varieties
18. Rosemary
19. ‘Pineapple’ tomato
20. Chiltepines-wild chiles

By now, if you’ve been maintaining a vegetable garden throughout the summer, it’s about time to harvest some of the fruits of your labor.

If you aren’t a seasoned gardener, then it’s safe to say you’ve got some questions about picking and even storing your bounty. When should you pick your vegetables? Picking, and how you pick, depends on what you are growing.

Here is the short list of the how and when for your vegetable garden:

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes it can be hard to tell if they are ripe enough to pick if you don’t know what to look for.

It’s good to find out before you plant what their grow life can be, and what they will look like when they are ready to be picked. Large slicer tomatoes will take longer to ripen on the vine, and some heirloom varieties take even longer than Better Boys or Beefsteak tomatoes.

If you think your tomato is ready to be picked, test the ripest-looking one by giving it a gentle twist. If it pulls easily from the vine, it is ready to pick from your vegetable garden.

Keep tomatoes in a cool place, outside of the refrigerator. They will last up to a week, that is, if you can keep from eating them.

If your plants are still fruiting up until frost time, go ahead and pick everything, even the green ones, about a week before the frost. You can wrap them individually in newspaper or store in paper bags to aid in ripening.

Or you can make fried green tomatoes!

Herbs:

Once your herbs have gotten about 12” tall, you can start by cutting or pinching them back frequently to encourage more production. This keeps them from blooming.

Keeping your plants from blooming is a good way to keep the flavor consistent, and extra herbs can be dried for future use or shared with friends.

Basil is a heat-loving plant, so it will thrive during the hotter months of the summer. This means you will need to cut it back constantly to keep it from flowering in your vegetable garden.

You can keep cut basil in water for up to a week in the kitchen for use. If you have an abundance of it, try mixing it in with some fresh flower arrangements or making a big batch of pesto you can freeze for later.

Lettuces and greens:

Lettuces and greens are cool weather plants, although they can grow in the heat, depending on the variety. It’s best to pick them before they bolt, which means before they develop a flower stalk that can make the flavor turn bitter.

Start by cutting the largest leaves first, and then come back later for smaller leaves that are younger and more tender. Lettuces and greens are referred as “cut and come again” plants because they keep growing as you harvest.

It’s best to use scissors for harvesting them, and cut only what you plan on eating immediately – a day or so if possible.

To keep your lettuces and greens going throughout the season in your vegetable garden, plant seeds every two or three weeks, and you’ll have lettuce enough until it gets too hot to grow. Try placing the plants in partial shade to keep plants from bolting in extreme heat.

You can start sowing seeds again once it cools down, and into the fall growing season.

There is no way to store lettuce or greens for the whole winter, but placing them in an aerated container with a paper towel in the fridge can help you keep them for a few days if need be.

Peppers:

Depending on the variety, peppers are ready to pick when they are green. The longer on the vine, the more their color can change – red, yellow, purple, etc.

Leaving them longer will deepen their flavor, but can aid them in loosing their crispness.

It’s true. The longer you leave a hot pepper on the vine, the hotter it gets. Depending on variety and how hot you want your peppers is when you’ll harvest them.

It’s easy to store peppers, and they will last a good while sitting in a cool place on your counter. If you want peppers throughout the winter months, you can dry them or you can chop and parboil them and then freeze for later use.

Cucumbers:

Cucumbers from your vegetable garden can really be picked in any stage, depending on how you plan to use them. If you want small ones for pickling, don’t hesitate to pick them when they are 3-4” in size. Smaller cucumbers are more tender. They will also have a less bitter taste to their skin and way less seeds which makes them perfect for pickling.

Don’t let their size get out of control, however, because they will begin to become dry and have a wood-like texture. This means they will not be good for eating and would be better served raw right into the compost.

For longer life, pickling is the way to go. Look for my end of the summer pickling article for more on preserving your veggies in August.

Short-term, cucumbers will last for about a week in the refrigerator. I find the best way to store them is on the top shelf in a small bowl where they don’t collect too much moisture.

The best thing you can do for harvesting is to inspect your garden every day for ripened fruits and veggies, ones that might begin over-ripening or even rotting and glean those from your plants.

If you don’t have your own garden, no worries. These ideas can also be used for what you’ve bought from local growers, and even from the grocery store.

Plan your meals around the fresh produce you bring in and share your abundance with friends. Set aside time to can or pickle some of your overflow from your vegetable garden for later use during the winter months.

Being able to supplement your groceries with food you’ve grown yourself is a rewarding feeling. And when you bite down on that first fresh tomato and taste the results of your hard work, it really makes it all worthwhile.