Spring came late, then early summer was wet, and now it is hot and dry. Gardeners across the state are complaining about poor production in their vegetable gardens.
Late plantings delayed the summer vegetables so they weren't ready to bear before the heat rose to quash them. Some haven't produced well.
If this scenario sounds like your garden, it's time to cut your losses and replant for fall.
While the weather may seem the furthest from fall conditions, now is the time to plant a fall garden. Planting now can extend your harvest through fall and winter.
WARM-SEASON VEGETABLES
If you can find vegetable transplants, you can put down tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. (It's late for starting these plants from seeds indoors.)
Some people have had great success with their tomatoes, while others have had terrible production. Even if your plants still look good, they often slow production when daytime temperatures exceed 95 or nighttime temps stay above 75.
If your existing plants look good, keep them alive and they should rebound as the temperatures go down; if they don't, replant.
Pepper plants and eggplant love the heat, and as long as you are watering, you should still be getting plenty of produce. But they will play out eventually. New plants can be added now.
WATER, WATER, WATER
You can also replant other summer vegetables, including summer squash -- zucchini, yellow and others -- along with cucumbers and bush beans.
Keep in mind that it is hot and dry. Water will be the critical factor for getting these plants growing.
COOL IS COMING
In addition to the warm-season vegetables, this is also the time to start planting cool-season crops. Carrots, turnips, mustard, spinach, radish, beets and kale can be seeded now through early to mid-September -- and even later if you plan to use season extenders like high tunnels or cold frames.
In warm soil, seeds usually sprout quickly -- if they have ample moisture. Once seeds begin growing, mulching will help. Mulching with newspapers, shredded paper, shredded leaves or rice hulls will help to conserve moisture and keep weeds at bay. Rainfall has ranged from spotty to none, so don't rely solely on natural moisture or you won't have any fall vegetables.
Other cool-season plants to get going now are broccoli, cabbage and other cole crops. But just as with tomatoes, you need transplants (small plants) for broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage, so planting times will be dependent on when those plants arrive at the local nurseries or garden centers.
You wouldn't have enough time to grow these plants from seed and get production before it's too cold.
PREPARE THE SOIL
When planting your fall garden, don't forget to add a general complete fertilizer and work it into the soil. If it is still really hot when you plant, you may want to put down a lower rate of application so the chemicals don't burn tender new plants or seedlings.
In a few weeks, you can side-dress fertilizer down the row once the plants are established to make up for the lower rate.
Water, mulch and monitor for insects. Mulching will help to moderate the soil temperature, keeping moisture in and weeds out. Even with the best of mulches, some weeds will encroach. Use a hoe, not a tiller, to keep the weeds down, or hand pull. Monitor weekly to catch them while they are small.
Tilling the soil for weed control actually brings more weed seeds to the surface, giving you even more weed problems.
SPRINTERS
If you want to extend your growing season, consider staggering your plantings. Read the seed packets. They have a wealth of information, such as seeding rates, depth of planting and how long it takes from seed to harvest, along with other helpful hints.
The fastest return comes with radishes and leaf lettuces. Radishes can be harvested 25 to 30 days after seeding, while leaf lettuces typically take 45 to 50 days. Soft-head lettuces like Bibb and buttercrunch take up to 65 days.
Planting a short row of these quick vegetables every other week from now until mid-September will extend your harvest season.
BE PREPARED
While cold weather seems far off, we need to plan. Some vegetables are more tolerant of chill than others. Do you have a garden that is unprotected, or do you have covering that you plan to use to extend the season?
If it is a totally exposed garden with no protection, peppers and tomatoes will be gone with the first light frost, so harvest what you have prior to any frost.
Many cool-season crops can tolerate light freezes without damage, and carrots, kale, spinach and cabbage are quite cold tolerant. Carrots and turnips may die back on top with a heavy frost, but you can leave the roots underground with a light layer of mulch to harvest as needed throughout the winter.
You will find that many vegetables have a sweeter flavor when harvested during cool weather, versus the heat of summer. Kale and other leafy greens can actually stay in the garden all winter, depending on our season. Harvest as needed. In a cold spell, they may die back, but they usually rebound with warmer weather and actually start growing again.
Today, inexpensive covering devices are available for raised beds or stand-alone gardens, making fresh vegetables accessible all winter long.
PRETTY AND EDIBLE
If you don't have a vegetable garden, you can also try edible landscaping. Intersperse vegetables among your ornamental beds, or instead of planting flowering kale and cabbage this fall, plant edible kale and cabbage, or Swiss chard, beets and lettuce. They are showy and add to your pansy plantings -- and you can eat them.
Don't overlook herbs in the fall and winter garden. Parsley and cilantro will grow all fall and throughout the winter, if it isn't miserably cold.
Rosemary is evergreen and blooms in the winter.
Fall vegetable gardens can be challenging, since diseases and insects have had all season to build their populations, but as long as you are careful and monitor for problems, you can control them. With a little effort now, you can reap the harvest all fall and winter.
Janet B. Carson is a horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
HomeStyle on 08/15/2015