Fall Garden Preparation

15 years ago

Ok, my wife and I dug up the grass and tilled our garden in May. It has been 'ok' but not 'great!' We planted:

Bodacious Yellow Sweet Corn - got some but the caterpillars got to most of it.

Okra - didn't take off

Blue Lake Bush Beans - same as the Okra

Lots of tomatoes - heat got them before they reall started to fruit

Straight Neck Yellow Squash - Great

Peppers - grew some but none have gotten big enough before the started to get brown spots

Cucumbers - not too bad, got a few

Cantaloupe - didn't take off

I planted Black Diamond Watermelons and they have taken over along with what I thought was a typical watermelon plant but looks like it's really Cantaloupe. They seem to be doing pretty good.

My question is; we want to work the garden into shape to plant a good fall garden. I am in Oklahoma, it is set to be 104-106 for the next ??? weeks. It's been basically 100+ for 3-4 weeks now. Kind of mind boggling really but that is another topic!

I had my soil tested:

PH: 7.4

Nitrogen: Med - 22 lbs/acre

Phosphorus: Med - 47 lbs/acre

Potassium: Low 194 lbs/acre

They say I should add:

10-20-10 - 10 lbs per 1000 sq ft

Sulphur - 20 lbs per 1000 sq ft

0-0-60 Potash - 5 lbs per 1000 sq ft

Our garden is about 12' x 25'. (300 sq ft)

I assume I just buy that stuff in bags and treat according to those numbers? Should I also add compost?

My plan is to throw that stuff down and till it in to the entire garden. Should I cut down and till in my plants along with it or get them out?

What I want to do is prepare my soil and re-plant to have a great fall garden. Is the heat going to be a problem?

Am I on the right track or do I sound crazy?!?!?

Please help us!

Thanks,

BCOK

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Comments (5)

glib
15 years ago
Yes, right now there is not much you can do except add those chemicals, and if possible, mulch on top. We are having 90F temperatures and I have to water gai laan, kale, and lacinato seedlings twice a day. At 100 I do not know what will survive, though you could try chard, from seed, and see if it comes up. Turnips, too, have come up in high temperatures for me. But for most of the stuff is too hot. Lettuce, for example, will refuse to germinate above 85.
tdscpa
15 years ago
I do not have enough energy to restart my whole garden for fall, and I already have some crops that can produce until frost (tomatoes, peppers, onions, beets, carrots.)

I just fill in the gaps in what I already harvested or pulled up from my spring planting. I can re-plant lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, and radishes in the space I used earlier.

Other crops I grow are one and done (melons, corn, onions, asparagus, strawberries, green pole beans, cucumbers.)
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sunnibel7 Md 7
15 years ago
You could try starting some cool weather crop seeds indoors if you have a light set-up. It's what I am doing for some that need a long time like brussel sprouts. But hardening off might be a bit trickier, I was worried about weak stems on a 4 pack of seedlings I started and put them out for a couple of hours in a light breeze and the little leaves totally got fried. Oops! I should have seen that coming! As for tilling in your plants, that's judgement call. I wouldn't incorperate plants that look diseased, but plants that aren't would be ok. Do your peppers have blossom end rot or bacterial spot (or some other brown-spot-causing disease)? Because BER is treatable in this season and you could still get peppers once the weather starts to cool a tad (assuming you have a long slow slide into winter there like we do here). Cheers!
bcok
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the feedback!

I think I am going to work on getting my soil ready for next spring and maybe try to get some lettuce and other fall/winter stuff going!
Donna
15 years ago
I started Collards, cabbage, and broccoli outside last July in four inch pots that I put into dappled shade. I watered daily, and they came up great. By the time true fall rolled around I had beautiful plants to put in the ground. If farmerdill hadn't told me to, I would never ever have thought they could survive this kind of heat outside.
Will be starting them again on the week-end.