Farm Calling all ZONE 6ers of the USDA map!!!

[ioujc]

I am in USDA Zone 6A as far as the weather zones. I would really like to plant a fall garden, but I have only planted one when I lived in Louisiana, so I am not sure exactly what might do really well here.....

This is what the USDA map says for my specific area:

Each winter, on average, your risk of frost is from October 20 through April 13.

Almost certainly, however, you will receive frost from October 31 through March 30.

You are almost guaranteed that you will not get frost from April 28 through October 8.

This is what OLD FARMERS ALMANAC gives for an extremely specific area where I am:

First Fall Frost (50% Probability) November 1

Last year, we were still picking and canning green beans until the first of November...and I think a few days longer, but that the latest jars I can find right this minutes that we canned.

SOOOO... what do you think I should plant?? I have at least 63 days, which is the amount of growing time, not counting the sprouting time, which I have allowed 8 days for.

I could plant:
Days to HARVEST!!
Cabbage>>>>>>>>>60 -65 days
Green onions>>>>>>60 -75 days
Cauliflower>>>>>>>65 -70
Carrots>>>>>>>>>70 days
Peas>>>>>>>>>>>60 -70 (I wonder about these...they will just be starting
to bear when my time runs out)
Lettuce>>>>>of course I will plant this
Radishes>>>>Yes
Kale>>>>>>>Yes
Swiss Chard>>Yes
Potatoes????>>>>>75 -90 days (BUT I could grow in barrels and move into the
greenhouse I am planning to have ready by then!)
Broccoli>>>>>>>>65 -75 days
Beets>>>>>>>>>70 -120 days, but they can handle some cold, even frost????
Okra?????>>>>>>60 days>>>I'm thinking these would be wonderful, but just starting to bear when they freeze, plus, they need heat to flower.
Kohlrabi>>>>>>>60- 75 days (they definitely can stand light frost>> this is a
definite)


So, what do you think?? Is there anything else that would work??

The only things left in the garden now are a few tomatoes and peppers, the green beans and the pumpkins, so I have PLENTY of room.

Is there anything you have tried and been really pleased with?

Suggestions PLEASE!

 

[kyrsyan]

Most of what you have listed there can last an extended season with just a little care. Frost blankets on the hardier things and cold frames on the slightly less hardy. The trick is to plant for fall and spring. You can harvest all the way through with things that "pause" starting back up earlier than you expected and being harvestable until you put in the new garden. I've done beets, potatoes, carrots, turnips and rutabagas this way. Cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts will provide a fall harvest and then another spring harvest if protected. Greens and peas will die back when an extended freeze hits. I've had both survive brief snow though. You can keep them going with a cold frame and thermal mass.

 

[summerthyme]

Just remember, fall "days" are NOT the same as early summer "days"... lots less sunlight, far fewer "growing degree days". Something which matures in 60 days when planted in late May may well take 75 days planted in early August.

I'm in zone 5b (so *slightly* colder and shorter than your zone) and I just planted a couple long rows of peas- my early Spring crop was a complete failure. I pre sprouted them, as that really can help give them a boost (especially since it's really dry here) I also am planting pre-sprouted carrots in a raised bed as soon as it cools off some this evening. I've got one raised bed full of carrots (which should give me about 50#, if last year's yields are anything to judge by) but I want some for winter storage.

Also, remember that crops like broccoli and cabbage are FROM TRANSPLANT. Unless you started some earlier, or are lucky enough to have a greenhouse that starts later plant for succession planting, you're probably going to have to stick with varieties which can be direct seeded.

Beets, carrots, kale, swiss chard will all handle frost.

The latest potatoes do well around here is planted the first week of July. Any later and they usually don't get the day length they need to produce decent sized tubers, plus they are very frost sensitive. And as most people have discovered (there was just a discussion on this in a thread started by China Connection yesterday), potatoes just plain don't produce well in containers.

Lettuce isn't going to even sprout right now- the soil is simply too warm. You could prechill it and pre-sprout it in paper towels, putting them in the fridge for 2-3 days and then bringing them into a cool room (the coolest spot you can find, anyway). Transplant once they sprout, and keep well watered.

You might be surprised at how many seeds *won't* sprout right now. Here is a soil temperature germination chart. The top couple inches of soil right now is HOT. http://www.google.com/url?q=http://...KVO2wg&usg=AFQjCNFH4kCsmqZVah2rtvKfKcHi6YXY8A

Summerthyme

 

[TerriHaute]

I am in growing zone 5b also, just a little north of you. I am getting ready to plant some stuff for the fall garden this week. My fall garden staples are turnips, radishes, lettuce, swiss chard, spinach, kale, and cabbage. The cabbage plants are purchased. I also thought I would try planting a fall crop of peas this year, I have not tried that for a long time.

 

[ioujc]

Also, remember that crops like broccoli and cabbage are FROM TRANSPLANT. Unless you started some earlier, or are lucky enough to have a greenhouse that starts later plant for succession planting, you're probably going to have to stick with varieties which can be direct seeded.

Bummer.

 

[Kathy in WV]

I dragged this back up to the top to ask you how your fall garden did? I'm also in zone 6...B I think. We have a micro climate here in this little valley and we follow 6-a and b. I didn't even get my greens planted as SOMEHOW lol, some of my loose poultry took up residence in the greenhouse! Im building a new coop inside the barn out back but not done yet so for now I'm leaving them where they're happy and I can listen for problems at night. When I get them moved I can scoop the poop into a little compost pile outside the greenhouse and put down some lime for odors andfresh wood chips in my path.

 

[summerthyme]

The peas started really slowly (should have been planted probably 3 weeks earlier) and got pretty heavily weeded in (despite me having clean weeded them twice; I refused to torture myself after that for what looked like a pretty pathetic stand). But they're still producing, and we've had fresh peas every few days... not really enough to bother with to try to freeze, but plenty to enjoy. And it hit 21° here the other night, and still didn't hurt them!

The late carrots did amazingly well, especially considering that I never did get them watered, and the stand was sparse, to put it mildly. But every one developed beautifully, got really big (at least as big as any of the early carrots), and best of all, had ZERO root maggot or rodent damage. I probably tossed 1/3 of the early carrots out, either for horse carrots or simply tossed to the chickens because they were so bad. I probably got 10# of late carrots- if the bed had been properly filled, it would have been closer to 40#.

The upshot is, I'll try harder to get an early crop of peas, but I'll likely consider just planting enough early carrots for fresh eating during the summer, and planting my main crop around July 10th, for winter storage.

We finished harvesting the cabbage and had heads as large as 28#!! Crazy! But we also had plenty of "single serving" heads on the plants I cut earlier in the summer... if you leave a decent stand of bottom leaves on a healthy plant when cutting the first head, they'll put on 5-7 smaller heads. These were really clean, very solid, and hubby has been taking a half head in his lunch for a fresh veggie.

Hubby yanked the broccoli before I'd have done it, as we could have been harvesting fresh side shoots probably right up until that hard freeze last week. We had plenty in the freezer, and I understand he hates to clean up the garden in sections, but those late shoots can be SO sweet and good! He also pulled up the plants I was saving to produce seed :-(, but I rescued some of them from the compost pile and set them to dry, and it looks like I'll get some seed from them.

The only thing left is the Brussels sprouts, and I'll be cutting them this weekend and cleaning them while watching football- in between cleaning house for THanksgiving dinner! That's going to be pretty much full time for the next 10 days, as I've been canning meat, making herb tinctures and otherwise doing all the fall homestead chores- and the place looks it!

Summerthyme

 

[ioujc]

I never got it planted.....I got a second contract and am now working full time ++>>>>in at 9 AM home at 8 PM......not much time for anything else.

Hopefully this will last through winter and then come spring I will have to make some time somewhere because my garden is my PARADISE time!!