Thanksgiving Harvest

The fall garden continues to produce a nice harvest. The weather this fall has been, overall, a bit warmer than normal. I finally harvested 4 more large heads of cauliflower yesterday. The cauliflower this fall almost refused to grow until the weather cooled. The same can also be said of the carrots, but they are now ready to harvest. The lettuce is growing nicely and I have continued harvesting that over the last two weeks. I do not have much lettuce left, so I will probably only get one more harvest and that should be it for the year :-( I continue to harvest celery, which is the latest I have been harvesting that since I began growing it several years ago. I think the double row covers have helped the celery out quite a bit. Low temperatures are expected to drop to near 20 degrees tonight, so the celery probably will not survive past then. I also continue to harvest brussel sprouts, which will be part of my Thanksgiving meal tonight. Overall, I would rate the fall garden as "Good" this year.

Plant Protection for the Fall Garden

To keep your fall garden growing, some type of protection is needed for most vegetable plants. Polypropylene row covers work really well in both the fall and the spring. Hoop houses also work well with either row covers or clear plastic covers. The major advantage to using polypropylene row covers is that they are breathable and also allow rain in. The clear plastic covers do neither. The clear plastic covers do seem to insulate better, so it is a trade off. I have posted pictures above of these types of plant protections currently in use in my garden.

The weather has really cooled off over the past week. The low temperature a few mornings ago was 30 degrees. All of my warm season plants have been pulled up. I am hopeful to be able to start harvesting cauliflower within the next few days. I continue to harvest lettuce, broccoli, celery, cabbage, and green onions. I will also be harvesting more brussel sprouts soon. Happy Fall Gardening.