Time for the Autumn Garden

One thing about living in Kansas,
The seasons sure seem to change quickly.

This spring I tried to grow some cool weather vegetables, like spinach and lettuce, but just as the ground is warming up, it seems that summer is upon us and the greens go to seed. So I am expiramenting with an autumn garden this year.

An autumn garden is basically a garden for cool weather vegetables that grow fairly quickly and most of mine will not be harmed by a little frost. I have a patch of the yard dug up and waiting for the transplants and seeds.

One of the first things I want to plant is mache or lambs lettuce. This is a small tender green that is not killed off by frost, although it can't take too much frost either. In addition to the mache, there will be spinach and arugula. I figure that little patch will be more than good enough for a few salads as fall appears.

I then have my cooked greens garden. I have Chard and Collards already planted, and more are getting ready to be planted. I have kale growing and getting ready for transplanting as well. Between these few plants, I should have plenty of cooked greens to munch on for the fall.

I have also sown beets and turnips, as well as some scallions.

Had I planned a little bit better, the garden would have carrots, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, cabbages, and squash to go with these, but unfortunately, most of those crops have a growing season longer than what I am expecting before frost, and I hate to see a crop die simply because of my lack of planning.

We will see how my little garden progesses through the fall. I will keep you all updated.

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