Getting Ready for Winter Gardens

It is almost time to start the winter gardens, although this summer may feel like winter gardening already. There is a very good article on what to plant in Saturday, Aug. 21, Contra Costa Times and Tri-Valley Herald. Every week the newspaper runs a column called "Our Garden", which has a lot of good information.

They recommend starting with the cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. plants first. Those plants are in the nurseries now in six-packs. You can pull out the beans and squash to make room for winter plants. In fact, today I cleared one box completely, added soil amendments, and planted seeds for several crops. Keep in mind that the sun will be pretty far south during the winter, so don't put you tallest plants on the south side of the box. Other good vegetables to plant in the fall include: carrots, radishes, beets, (all root vegetables) cilantro, parsley, chard, spinach, kale, some lettuces, and onions and garlic.

It has felt like the soil we had for the summer was low on fertility. Soil is key to getting good crops. Home Depot has steer manure at $.97/bag. They also have bone meal and other amendments at good prices. Remember that root crops have different fertilizing requirements than leafy crops. They need less nitrogen and more phosphorus. Also, you are not growing for flowers when you grow root crops. Alden Lane has a good selection of cabbage, broccoli, etc.

Please share with us what you find to be working and what you need help with.