I’ve really been enjoying my vegetable garden this year. I’ve harvested potatoes and onions and now I’m getting tomatoes and cucumbers. I hate to see the part of the garden where I planted the potatoes and onions just sitting there for the rest of the year. Any suggestions? PL

I’m glad your vegetable garden is doing well. Sounds like you are ready to start your fall garden. Yes, I know we just crossed over into summer, but now is the time many gardeners start to plant a variety of vegetables that will produce a crop in the fall, or close to it.

Many gardeners seem to enjoy their fall gardens more that the summer ones because they just seem to be easier, easier of course if you can get the plants through July and August. But, once it begins to cool down a bit, the joy of being out in the garden is a little easier to remember.

With the summer heat, soil temperatures can be a little warm to start your seeds out doors, not impossible, but perhaps a little more challenging. If you do plan to start your seeds in the ground, you might consider a little shade cloth or some type of covering to get a good germination rate.

Plants you might consider starting indoors would be cucumbers, eggplant, pepper, and tomatoes. Seeds that you could start outdoors would include bush beans, pole beans, lima beans, pumpkins, and squash.

Squash can often be problematic due to the challenges we face with squash bugs and squash vine borers. However, we don’t seem to have as big of an issue with them in fall gardens due to the way their life cycle work. If you are tired of fighting those bugs and never want to plant squash again, think about planting butternut squash or acorn squash. Squash insects don’t seem to like them as much.

Another good thing about fall gardens is that if you weren’t successful in your spring/summer garden, you have a chance to give it a fresh start. It’s a great time to use those leftover seeds or maybe even try something completely different. Fall gardens a good time to experiment.

The process for starting your fall garden is the same as any other time of the year, first you need to get your seeds. After you get your seeds, you’ll need some containers to start your seeds. These containers don’t have to be fancy or large. For the Master Gardener Seed to Supper Farm, we started our cucumbers and eggplant in seed starting trays that had 200 slots per tray with very little seed starting soil. I was a little skeptical at first, but they worked great, and we got a lot of plants in the ground with very little space dedicated to starting seeds. Granted you may not need 200 transplants, so there are trays with peat pots you can plant directly in the ground, or you can use empty yogurt containers. Basically, just about anything can work for these purposes.

We do recommend you use a seed starting soil rather than potting soil though. Seed starting soil is a lighter, finer mix that helps those little roots get started. A seed starting heating mat can be a great asset in that indoors can be a little cool for starting seeds. They’ll still get started; it just may take a little longer than if they were warmer.

Once your plants are ready to place outside, be sure to harden off your plants. Hardening off involves gradually introducing your plants to their outdoor environment rather than just moving them straight to the garden. Remember, these tiny little plants have been indoors in a protected environment, and you are about to unleash the heat of summer on them. They need a little time to adjust. Don’t we all.

To harden them off, start by placing them in a shaded area for a few hours and then gradually add more time in the sun each day for about a week. You will notice some pretty significant changes in them, and they begin to bulk up for outdoor life.

Once you move them to the garden, they are going to need plenty of water as they work to establish their root system. Plan of watering them at least once a day.

Starting your seeds outdoors this time of year can be a little challenging since exposed garden soil can reach 140 degrees during our hot summer days. Since most seeds need to be planted rather shallow, you will need to provide some sort of protection so they will germinate rather than cook. This can be accomplished with garden cloth and some mulch. Just be sure to keep it moist since moisture tends to evaporate quickly in the heat.

While I have never tried it myself, there is a method where you dig a little trench and plant your seeds in the trench down in the cooler soil. If you do this, don’t fill in the trench when planting. Just cover the seeds and add soil as they grow.

When planting your fall garden, familiarize yourself with the number of days from planting to harvest. Seed packets will contain this information. For example, bush beans need 50 to 60 days to produce a crop. With our average first freeze date of November 15^th, you would need to plant your beans no later that the first of September.

If you are new to vegetable gardening or just want to become a more successful gardener, we’ll be having our final vegetable gardening class of the year on July 22^nd. In this one-day class, you’ll learn about soil nutrient management, planning your garden, types of gardens, seed starting, and organic pest management. For more information and to sign up, visit our website www.tulsamastergardeners.org. See you in the garden!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: OK State Ag. Communications