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Health & Fitness

Succession Planting: extending your garden harvest

No, really, there will be more summer. Forget about the cooler weather we have been having and the frost warnings in International Falls. Brrr! Regardless, there are lots of veggies you can plant now and harvest from late August on, whether we have warmer weather or not. Succession planting is a great way to extend your harvest.

Let’s assume we do not have a killing frost until at least mid-October. That would be about 10 weeks out from now. You can plant early maturing varieties of cucumbers, for example, and bush beans now. If we have an earlier frost, say the end of September, or 8 weeks from now, you can plant carrots, endive, escarole, chards, chicory (dandelion), collards, beets, kale, broccoli raab, and all types of lettuces, leaf and head varieties. 

Okay, so you are skeptical. And with the year we have been having so far, who can blame you? I am getting a little jittery myself. So, you are thinking we will have frost 6 weeks out, or by mid-September? Not to worry. Consider planting kohlrabi, turnips (Hakurei is great!), mustard greens, scallions (bunching onions), Asian greens such as Pac Choi, Choy Sam, and Kailan.

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Still a doubting-Thomas? You can plant radishes, spinach, and arugula now. You should be harvesting them on or about the first of September. Are you thinking about planting lettuces? Go for it. You can harvest baby leaf lettuce and any of the leafy green varieties in about 4 weeks. Harvest some as “babies” and let others grow to maturity, harvesting them as you want until frost time.

Did you know that you can eat kohlrabi leaves while they are young and tender? Turnip greens? Absolutely. Harvest the tops of Kailan, or Chinese broccoli. They will continue to produce small, tender shoots for you. Kale? Harvest the outer, lower leaves first. Kale actually tastes sweeter with a light frost or two. Eat it raw, steamed, or make soup, which will taste great when the cold weather settles in for good.

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Don’t let the weather get you down. You can’t control it, so why worry about it. Harvest what you have planted. Clean up any residue and prepare that space for your fall crop. Succession planting, planting with cool weather varieties, can easily extend your growing season well into the fall. And, if you use season extenders such as floating row covers or low tunnels, you should be able to harvest many of the varieties I mentioned into November. Thanksgiving Day? It can happen.

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