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.