Sunday, June 13, 2010

Looking ahead to fall



The Territorial Seed Company mailed out its Winter 2010 catalog this week. The tomatoes are just blossoming and already I must think about the first frost date? It is hard to consider brassicas when the taste of June strawberries lingers on your lips. Initially, I reacted to the catalog with a snarky muttering about seasonal marketing - was Territorial following in the spirit of Walgreen's, who seems to stock Christmas decorations right after the Fourth of July? Then I noticed the excellent fall sowing chart on page 4 and realized the company was merely giving gardeners the heads up for seed starting. Thanks to Territorial, many a gardener may avoid buying Swiss chard transplants from a boutique garden shop at inflated prices this fall.

Parsnips

Witloof Chicory

The catalog wasn't a total shock....fall crops have already crossed my mind. The parsnips and Witloof chicory went in last week. I have pulled up the spent pea plants and many of the spring carrots -- leading to some gaps in my beds. Originally, these spaces were destined for herb and pepper transplants that I have been nursing along in containers. Considering I already have four pepper plants going like gangbusters, I have been rethinking my options. We are, after all, still working on the peppers preserved from last summer. The herbs are doing well enough in containers, so I will just pot them up into larger ones. I may put in July scallions instead, or if I can bear to have empty space in my summer garden, wait until August to sow some more lettuce. It is hard to imagine frosty air at this point, but I know with a little forward thinking, our garden eating won't end with tomatoes.

2 comments:

  1. You're thinking about fall already? I guess with this sucky weather we've been having that may be the best bet. Let's just pretend this spring and summer didn't happen. One of my tomato plants hated something and just up and died on me.

    BTW, you got the fall catalog already? They've sent me like 6 of their spring catalog this year.

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  2. I know it is weird to post about fall, but now is the time to get seeds for July sowing....otherwise, I end up scrambling to plant stuff in September -- a losing battle with impending frosts!

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