Thursday, September 1, 2011

Have Trowel, Will Dig

Here's a quick peek at our fall garden. I took it this morning, on the little hill that runs alongside the way up to the chicken coop (you can see my tiny helper in tow; he was in the Ergo, hence the odd angle of the photo).

Last weekend, our friends Faryn and Eli and their little tot Milo came over and helped us plant a mess of garden starts. We put in: lots of lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, several types of cabbages, collards, beets and carrots. I've got some more to go in still, including spinach, arugula, kohlrabi, and turnips. I'll post more photos as the garden comes along.

If you're looking for some great information on putting in an autumn garden, I highly suggest the current issue of Back Home magazine, as well as Mother Earth News' most recent addition of its "Wiser Living Series." Both have fantastic pieces on no-fail tips for fall garden success.

Are any of you putting in an autumn garden? If so, what are you planting? And what have I missed that I should plant, in your opinion?


14 comments:

  1. What type of broccoli did you put in? Here in the UK we grow purple sprouting broccoli for the winter - it's delicious and turns green when cooked!

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  2. For me: turnips, an amazing cool weather cover-crop greens mix from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (I'm sure you know them, Ashley, they're perfect for mid-Atlantic folks), and favas, which are some of my favorite beans. I love autumn gardens.

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  3. We're just south of Charlotte and planted almost exactly what you did! We've got broccoli, cabbage, collards, turnips, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce and brussel sprouts. I'm hoping to also plant some onions/leeks and also some potatoes. Yummo!

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  4. Arugula! Since we are in the north, this will be a winter cold frame crop for us (along with a mix of cutting lettuce, spinach and White Russian kale). Picking salad in the snow is a fine January treat...

    I love your blog, Ashley.

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  5. Oh, thanks for the autumn gardening tips! We are going to do lettuce and maybe some broccoli this year. :)

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  6. I think it's still too hot for us down here in Lower Alabama, but when we do, it's going to be about the same for us, probably minus the broccoli and plus more greens!

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  7. brussel sprouts are always a necessity for me. unfortunately, because of work and school i don't have time to run a winter garden... until i graduate, of course. in the meantime, i'm gonna just have to live and harvest through yours..

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  8. For us it's garlic, onions, peas, and whole lot of lettuce!

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  9. We're in Santa Fe and I'm slowly putting in things as room comes available. This year we're doing kale, broccoli, spinach, carrots, beets, turnips, chard, radishes, garlic and a few onions. We'll mulch and cover the beds and grow all winter (fingers crossed).

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  10. Are you planting overwintering varieties as well? I like cauliflower, the heads seem to get so much bigger than spring planted where I live. I put in kale, onions, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, and the like. I'm a big fan of purple sprouting, too.

    I'm glad I found your blog- not many I know (or who read my blog) are planting fall gardens!

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  11. We will be putting in most of our autumn garden this weekend. I'll be planting a lot of what you've already mentioned broccoli, cabbage, spinach, carrots, turnips, as well as some radish, garlic, and peas.

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  12. Your beds look beautiful and nice use of space.

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  13. hi tanya. sorry for my tardy reply to your broccoli question. the variety we're using is "packman" and it does quite well in this mountain climate.

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  14. Oddly I've just planted more summery crops in my garden... Russian tomato, bush bean, winter squash, and cucumber. Hoping our heat will continue another couple months!

    But when the weather cools down, I've got dinosaur kale, red cabbage, black radish, rapini, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, more radish, and lots of Asian greens going in! I love fall gardens.

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