| OCR Text |
Show 4 - SECESSION TIMES - APRIL 15, 1998 GARDEN GRAB BAG Succession planting is one of those things we talked about back when we were considering the possibilities of Because of our heat, crops started in June or July may need a way to protect them from the sun while they're sprouting using season-extending methods such as cold frames and row covers. Now, let's assume that you've decided to try this and now want to expand what you'll be able to grow in this with those plants that are reaching their end stages and can and this can be accomplished by either interplanting them shade them, or using row covers (the shady kind which allow » air and water to readily pass through their fine weave). Obviously, if you interplant, you can't be as rambunctious with your removal of those plants which are done for the season or you'll damage the newly sprouted shoots of multi-season garden of yours. I'll admit that the idea appeals to me more in the cold months of January than it does about the middle of July when I'm getting eaten alive by gnats and other bugs and the heat chmes me out of the garden before the sun has really started to cook things for the day. But, come fall and maybe even into winter, the foresight of advance planning makes you realize that the time spent is your next crop. For the summer-winter garden space you can plant your tomatoes or beans in May or June, harvest most by September, and re-plant with beets, carrots, or kale which can all be harvested clear into December or later, depending well worth it. Also, some crops are neither rotated nor on your season-extending options. moved from year to year, such as your leeks, herbs, straw- Most important for winter harvests is the application of berries and such, so we'll leave them off the list of things to a deep mulch, possibly as much as 12 inches or more of something like dry hay, before the hard freezing temperatures consider. Obviously, they'll do exactly what they want to do exactly when they want to do it. But those others... I've been busy looking at various articles on ways to rotate and also spread out the harvest from year to year and have found that there are many models, all of which must begin in the late fall. A little mulch, a little cover and you can work wonders! I'll admit I tried a version of this but I did have one small problem. You know those tops that are the "handles" for the carrots? If you have hungry bunnies or deer work pretty well for someone or they wouldn't have gotten them published! I think the best bet is to take the assorted ideas and see what they have in common, what we can utilize in our particular situations. and what seems practical for the scale we want to achieve. Looking at them, I can see myself growing everything under the sun from 9 to 11 months of the year but thenI step back and ask myself how much of that I really need or will utilize? I‘m sure Bok choy, kohlrabi, and kale are great for some folks but I don't eat them so why should I plant them even if they're the ideal plant for certain succession plantings? in the late fall they will gladly remove all your greens and after that it's guesswork where those carrots are under there! So I've resorted to digging up an area whenever I need some, but I've definitely noticed that a heavier‘layer of mulch would have helped keep the ground in better condition to dig when it gets really cold. I WILL remember to mulch my carrots better this next fall! The other type of succession planting which I'll just mention is the use of "green manures" which not only grow and cover an area of the garden to help keep it weed-free but also hold the soil and add nutrients to it when they're turned The general concept of succession planting is to start with cool season plants and then replace them with other under the next season. Some common legumes and grasses in this category include hairy vetch (charming name... plants as they reach maturity and are harvested, and then to plant those cool season plants again to extend into the fall and winter. Cool weather crops include lettuce, carrots, kale, beets, spinach, regular and Chinese cabbage, peas, turnips, broccoli, and radishes. Warm weather plants are those which keel over and croak at the mere mention of the word "frost" like corn, tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers, squash, and eggplant. It's a good plan but it doesn‘t always work out, reminds me of something you called someone you didn't like in grade school), annual ryegrass, certain clovers, and also certain oats and field peas. I've never tried any of these yet so I can only say that they are highly recommended if you are not going to immediately re-plant an area and have time for it to grow before the end of the season. So go ahead and try one of the methods for succession planting and I hope you have much "success"! especially if you are overlzpping your gardening space. —Rusty Salmon, 259-4044 Last year my grand plat was to replace the winter-grown be would thought whichI plants tomato garlic with my ready to plant outside about the same time the garlics were ready to harvest. Well. it didn't happen because the garlic wasn't big enough yet, so other space had to be found. Anyway, I'm quite impressed with a plan I found which broke down the concept into 2 separate spaces....a spring-fall garden and a summer-winter garden. This doesn‘t seem to rush the plants to harvest as much as the spring-summer-fall concept. Let's face it, the peas, which are definitely a great spring crop, don't really get completely oGroundwater Locating Studies & Reportso harvested until about mid—June so you don't want to o Well Development Water, Treatment Systems 0 hold up your crops that you plant "after the last frost" such as peppers till the peas are done or you've pushed them too far back into their season HC 64 Box‘zooa and their yield will be reduced. Instead, think of the Castle Valley. Utah 84532 advantages ofjust using acrop that can withstand 801-259-8042 the cooler months of fall such as carrots or broccoli. Anton Layne Kabonic |
