lea1 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I have never had a veggie garden but have wanted one for a while now. My husband was starting his own business this past spring so that wasn't a good time for us to start a garden. The spring before that, we were moving into our new house, so that wasn't a good time. The spring before that, we were showing our old house and getting ready to move into a rental house while we built our new house, so that wasn't a good time. I'm tired of waiting and I'm thinking of starting a garden in the fall. I am planning to do a square foot garden, maybe two 4x4 boxes. We live in the Tulsa Oklahoma area so our hardiness zone is 7a. Our first frost will likely be sometime in the first week or two of November. What do you plant in the fall and when do you plant it? Can anyone give me some tips? I would also love to be able to plant some fruit, such as strawberries, blueberry bushes, an apple tree? Here is a list of things I would like to be able to plant but not sure if any of them can be planted in the fall: broccoli romaine lettuce leaf lettuce sugar snap peas carrots spinach onions potatoes sweet potatoes green beans corn tomatoes squash pumpkins Thanks for any help you can provide.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 bump. I know there are lots of gardeners on this forum. Come out, come out, wherever you are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 My fall garden (I'm zone 7b) begins now. I have some fresh tomato transplants to get in the ground. You can sow okra, squash, and beans now. Just keep the babies well watered through the heat. As it gets cooler you can sow lettuce, cauliflower, and broccoli...I plant onion sets in late January. Often the heat doesn't break here until early October. When the heat breaks is when the garden comes back to life. I'll get a ton of tomatoes but they may not have time to fully ripen. We do batches of green tomato relish (great Christmas gifts) and suppers of fried green tomatoes...Some will will pick just before the first frost and allow to ripen on the kitchen counter. We plant trees and shrubs in the fall, too. It's a great time for plants to get their roots established before the scorching heat of summer. Just keep them watered all winter. I love square foot gardening, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 Thank you all so much for the advice and the encouragement. I know I just need to get started, even if it is not much. A little at a time is fine but if I don't start somewhere I will never get it going. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 (edited) I have a cold frame to build around one of my 4x8 raised beds to be able to harvest greens throughout the winter. Just another idea and it is quite simple. Garlic is planted in fall for spring harvest. Hardnecks last longer for storage. Parsnips are planted in fall for spring harvest. Green beans can be planted in succession every 10 days or so for a continual harvest until frost. I am in a different zone, but not by much...we just don't have the scorching heat part so I can usually get away with more during the summer. Snap peas do well for me as a fall crop. After my cukes are setting fruit I plant half of my plants right in front of them (I trellis the cukes). Then, by the time the peas are a foot high or so, I have taken out the cukes because they are done, and I plant more peas behind them, and they all grow up the trellis. I square foot garden and have learned to be quite efficient in the space I have. Of course my objective has changed slightly, in that now I want to harvest through winter so I plan which bed will have the cold frame. ETA: oh, another thing if you are using the square foot method. With lettuce, just tuck them "here and there." They grow pretty quick but do well slightly shaded by other crops so if space is limited they can be sorta crammed around things. Edited July 13, 2012 by 425lisamarie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lea1 Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 I have a cold frame to build around one of my 4x8 raised beds to be able to harvest greens throughout the winter. Just another idea and it is quite simple. Garlic is planted in fall for spring harvest. Hardnecks last longer for storage. Parsnips are planted in fall for spring harvest. Green beans can be planted in succession every 10 days or so for a continual harvest until frost. I am in a different zone, but not by much...we just don't have the scorching heat part so I can usually get away with more during the summer. Snap peas do well for me as a fall crop. After my cukes are setting fruit I plant half of my plants right in front of them (I trellis the cukes). Then, by the time the peas are a foot high or so, I have taken out the cukes because they are done, and I plant more peas behind them, and they all grow up the trellis. I square foot garden and have learned to be quite efficient in the space I have. Of course my objective has changed slightly, in that now I want to harvest through winter so I plan which bed will have the cold frame. ETA: oh, another thing if you are using the square foot method. With lettuce, just tuck them "here and there." They grow pretty quick but do well slightly shaded by other crops so if space is limited they can be sorta crammed around things. This is great information. Thanks so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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