What is a Fall Garden?
A common misconception exists where people think that the ideal time to garden is in the spring. While that is a popular season to start gardening there’s no reason to stop once August rolls around. There is an abundance of vegetables that thrive in cooler weather and can keep you eating fresh and whole foods well into fall.
Fall gardens are typically started 10 weeks before the first frost. You can treat is an extension of your summer garden and succession sow cool weather crops or, tear out your old plants and handle it like a new growing season. If you choose the second option, you will have the most success working with a clean slate.
First Step – Soil Testing
First thing first; before you do anything, it is a good idea to test your soil. Ideally, you amended your beds before you planted in the spring and won’t have much to do before you start your fall garden.
The whole point of testing your soil is to determine what it is missing; are you lacking magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, or nitrogen? Is it sitting at the correct pH level? The pH level of your bed should be between 6.5 – 6.8. If it is below 6.0 it is too acidic and if it is above 7. 0 it is too alkaline. Different vegetables prefer different pH levels. For example, tomatoes prefer more alkaline soil while potatoes do better in more acidic environments.
Here, we have predominately rocky, clay soil which tends to be more on the alkaline side. We struggle with drainage, impaction, and cracking when rain is scarce. For these reasons (and many others) we prefer to garden in raised beds.
How to Fix Nutrient Deficiencies
After you determine what nutrients your soil is missing you can start supplementing your soil. We prefer using natural products, such as bone meal, if it is deficient in phosphorous. Blood meal can help with nitrogen levels. Eggshells are the perfect by-product it you are looking to add calcium back into your soil and Epsom salt is a natural way to give your soil a boost of magnesium. Many vegetables, such as peas and beans, will naturally put nitrogen back into your beds.
Fixing deficiencies organically or chemically is a personal preference. While you can buy chemical fertilizers to supplement any deficiencies it will only replenish specific nutrients and it may not be the best way to prepare your soil for planting.
Amending your beds
Improving your garden beds is a continuous process. Any time you garden your plants will deplete the nutrients that are available in the soil. That is why, periodically, you will need to add nutrients back in your dirt. Many people will use aged manure, chemical fertilizers, or grow cover crops. We prefer to cultivate and use our own compost.
We have our kitchen compost which, when full, we transfer to our outdoor compost. Composting doesn’t have to be expensive; in fact, we put kitchen scraps in a coffee tin that we store under our sink. Outside, we use an old trash can with holes poked in the lid. We will mix out kitchen scraps with brown matter (dirt), green matter (grass clippings), and water. We turn it occasionally, wet it down, and after about a year you are left with rich, organic matter that is ready to use.
We also have chickens. When we clean their coop, we throw their soiled bedding into the compost as well. Manure is a great fertilizer but certain types, such as chicken poop, will burn your plants if you put it directly in your garden beds. You must let it “age” which basically means let it sit, usually for 6 – 9 months.
Tools
You don’t need many tools for your garden, and we tend to only use two when we are amending our beds. We start with a soil meter which measures our soil’s pH levels, water levels, and light levels. It’s as easy as turning the button to which category you want read, sticking it in the dirt 15cm, and leaving it for 10 minutes.
The other tool we use is called a step aerator. By the time August hits our soil has become compacted over the growing season which isn’t ideal when growing root vegetables. You simply step on the platform, insert the aerator in the soil, and lean back until the tines are no longer in the ground. This creates holes for letting water and air in while it can also help mix any compost in your beds.
Start that Garden!
Eating whole foods doesn’t have to end when summer does and the sky is the limit when it comes to gardening. Testing your soil, supplementing it, and fixing any deficiencies will help lay a strong foundation for your garden that can continue to grow for months to come.
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