PLANT A FALL GARDEN & SAVE
Posted on 14 Sep 11:21 , 0 comments
Depending on where you live, many of you are planting FALL Crops. This is a great way to extend your growing season and save money! If you have never planted a Fall garden but you would like to, this is a great opportunity. If you're on the fence about planting a Fall garden, this is definitely a must-read! Let's get started! RADISH everywhere!!! Yes, I'm that excited about Growing Radish. From Seed to Harvest, many Radish varieties are ready to harvest in 23-35 days. Longer & larger varieties such as the Japanese Minowase Radish can take up to 70 days.
From our tutorial Growing Radish from Seed to Harvest, "Sow radishes in the garden 2 to 3 weeks before average date
of the last frost in spring. Sow succession crops every 2 weeks in spring
and in autumn. Two or more crops can be grown in spring. Radishes require 22 to
70 days to come to harvest. Warm weather can result in small roots. Long days
may also cause radishes to flower; plant radishes during the shorter days of
spring and autumn. In mild winter regions, grow radishes in late autumn and
early winter. Radishes can withstand frost.
Keep radish
planting beds moist but not too wet. Even, regular watering will result
in quick growth. Radishes that receive too little water will become
woody tasting. Prepare planting beds with aged compost. Side dress
radishes with aged compost at midseason."
1 "bunch" of organic Radish from the store = $1.49 for 6 radishes
**That means you'll spend almost $25 for 100 radishes!!!
Don't like raw Radish? Try Pickled Radish! I just posted the recipe to our blog.
ARUGULA is another great Fall Crop. From seed to harvest, Arugula is ready to start eating in as few as 40 days. You can harvest the entire bunch or just a few leaves at a time.
"Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep in moist
soil. It
is best to sow lettuce or spinach seeds thinly in rows spaced about 1
ft. apart or simply scatter the seeds in blocks. Cover lightly with
soil, firm in place and water well. Keep the soil moist until
germination. Once the plants have a grown their true leaves, you can
begin to thin the plants to about 6" apart."
At Mary's Heirloom Seeds, a packet of Arugula seeds is $3.00 and
contains 200 seeds. Even if only 90% of those seeds germinate (almost 100% of
mine grow!), that still leaves 180 plants! For this comparison, we're going to share a very economical option for
growing greens (especially if you don't have a yard or much room to grow) Grow Your own: Sterilite 18 gallon bin: $9 Organic Potting Soil: $9 a bag Arugula Seeds: $3 Total: $21 for 180 Arugula Plants (much more than a bunch)
Purchased at my local store, organic Arugula is about $1.99 per bunch.
Let's compare:
180 homegrown bunches of Arugula $21
180 store bought bunches of Arugula $358.20
If you save your seeds...The savings are incalculable!
BEETS are another easy Fall crop. From seed to harvest, beets reach maturity at approx 55 days! **Leave them to grow longer for larger beets** BEETS are a "double-duty" crop for us. When we harvest beets, the greens are used raw in salad or sauteed with garlic and onions (just like spinach). The actual beet has many uses! We roast them with garlic & olive oil, shredded over salad and even pickled!
"Beets
are fairly frost hardy and can be planted in the garden 30 days before the
frost-free date for your area. Although beets grow well during warm weather,
the seedlings are established more easily under cool, moist conditions. Start
successive plantings at 3 to 4 week intervals until midsummer for a continuous
supply of fresh, tender, young beets. Irrigation assures germination and
establishment of the later plantings."
1 bunch of Organic Beets at my local store is $1.99 for 3 beets
**That's over $65 for 100 beets and that doesn't even
include the greens!
I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. Growing your own organic food is fun, rewarding and it can save you a lot of money. Bonus, you know exactly how your food is grown and it didn't have to be transported in from thousands of miles away. **I didn't mention soil and water for most of these. Soil can be used again if you replenish nutrients and water can be recycled from rain and other household activities.**
These were fast to mature and really tasty. I am new to gardening and didn’t thin my seedlings well enough so many of them did not produce much of a root but that’s okay because we definitely got to use the greens! Photos are of the turnips from the garden to my kitchen and the dish we made with them. Some turnips in the photo are not the purple top variety but overall I think the purple top got larger than the others I planted.
This was the first time I have grown greens of any kind and it was a success! The plants are beautiful with the purple veins. I over crowded my raised bed with these accidentally but they still did really well. I started seeds indoors and had a hard time germinating (due to my own fault being new to seed starting) but still planted what I had outside when the time came. I was surprised when I saw the seeds that didn’t germinate indoors started coming up shortly after being outdoors. That’s how I ended up overcrowding my raised bed but on the plus side I now have a ton of healthy great tasting food in my backyard. Photos are of the greens from my garden to my kitchen.
This is my favorite plant in my garden right now. I started my seeds last winter (2022) and planted in spring 2023. My mullein survived the insane high temperatures over summer and was a refreshing pop of green all winter. I am eagerly awaiting the flower!
These are so much fun. They sell out fast and I try to get at least 1 every year. Last year I was lucky enough to grab 2. I love trying new things and these are a mixture of flower, herbs, and vegetable. One of my favorite carrots came from here. It’s one of three that I grow every year because it’s fun!
When I bought these I had the intention of testing Mary’s seed Garlic with the sprouting store bought garlic from my fridge. I will be doing another review later after I harvest and I’ll post a picture then. So planted these in raised beds. Both in full sun and planted in different beds. I did the exact same thing to both. My store bought sprouted garlic all died. My Mary’s is still alive and forming it’s bulbs. This was just too good not share!