For many keen gardeners, the coming of fall means a harvest and a long rest for the vegetable garden beds. However, this doesn’t have to be the case. With a bit of careful planning and correct timing, you can enjoy a second harvest of cool weather crops throughout the autumn months with fall vegetable gardening. There are a number of varities of vegetable that will thrive in the chillier months of fall, such as root vegetables and leafy greens and a variety of cabbages. To pick the best fall growers, examine packages for characteristics such as “cold hardy” or “quick maturity”. This will ensure that the plants you pick for your fall vegetable gardening will give you the harvest that you are hoping for.

Timing is truly everything when it comes to fall vegetable gardening, since you will want to beat the first hard frost to make sure that you get a good, healthy crop. Some plants don’t even survive the first fall frosts, so they would probably not be good choices for your fall vegetable gardening labors. To area, you can contact your local extension office. They can give you the best ideas of dates to plant for fall vegetable gardening, as well as a list of potential crops that will work well this time of year. Some plants actually prefer the shorter days and cooler temperatures of the autumnal months, and will reward you with sweeter tasting veggies than you would enjoy in the hotter summer harvest.

A number of the crops that you decide to plant in your fall vegetable gardening will need a little protection to survive the frosty nights of this season. This means that you will need to keep a watch on the weather reports during the months of September and October, and be prepared to cover those vulnerable plants when the thermometer begin to threaten to drop to frost point. You can purchase protection for your plants, or you can [create your own out of old milk bottles or worn bed sheets. By protecting your plants through the colder nights, you can allow them to prosper during the warmer days, and extend your harvest by a few weeks. Some plants will even continue to grow through hard frosts if they have proper protection through the night.

Fall vegetable gardening will allow you to enjoy your favorite hobby well past the warm weather months, and provide you with a crop of sweet vegetables that you might be able to enjoy all the way to Thanksgiving with a bit of luck in some areas.
Happy fall gardening.

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The cooler months are also a great time to plan ahead to next summer. How about building a pergola in the backyard. They are a great place to relax or to entertain family and friends.

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