Sometimes we forget that you can grow vegetables in your garden in the fall and that you don't have to limit yourself to growing vegetables in the spring. If you don't have any seeds or plants that you've grown or saved, check out your local gardens and greenhouses in Pulaski County to see what plants are available.
If you love green salads, you should consider planting more vegetables. Some raised beds are ready for new plants, so keep planting the vegetables you'll eat throughout the year. Your biggest problem this time of year might be finding plants, so start there. No matter where you're gardening this season, there are some great salad vegetables you can plant in the coming months to keep eating as many delicious veggies as possible.
Green vegetables you can consider growing include kale, arugula, Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, mustard, and spinach. In addition to green vegetables, carrots, beets, cabbage, and parsnips planted in July will mature in early fall. Crops such as corn, beans, pumpkins, okra, squash, peppers, and tomatoes can still be grown anywhere in the state. Tomatoes and peppers are great plants for container gardens. If you're using 12-15 inch pots, plant only one plant in a container. If you're using larger containers, you can plant two or three plants.
Get the kids involved by planting tomatoes, peppers and basil in large containers. You can also call this a pizza garden or a spaghetti garden, as these vegetables are often used in pizza and spaghetti dishes. Keep an eye out for pests. Green cabbage caterpillars are especially prevalent during the fall growing season. Kids might enjoy searching for these caterpillars in the garden. It might also be fun to raise the caterpillars in a covered container with air holes. Have the kids plant a few leaves each day from the plant the caterpillars lived on. The caterpillars will soon pupate and then turn into butterflies.
Fall broccoli in Kentucky is often of superior quality compared to spring broccoli because the broccoli florets mature and improve in quality during the cooler months of fall.
August is often hot and dry, so if you are planting garden plants, check the soil moisture level every few days. Raised flower beds dry out faster than the ground. August is the time to plant your last set of fast-growing warm-season vegetables. Beans and summer squash planted at the beginning of the month will be well-developed. Continue planting cool-season crops such as carrots, beets, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, turnips, and kale.
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If you have a lot of tomatoes in your garden, you might want to know what to do with them. There are many publications about tomatoes available for free. One that always comes in handy is “Tomato Salsa.” This recipe is very easy to eat or soak and can.
Tomato Salsa 6 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 18 tomatoes), ½ cup white or cider vinegar, and 1 bag (4 ounces) of Mrs. Wage's Salsa Mix.
Prepare the tomatoes: Blanch fresh tomatoes in boiling water for 3 minutes. Submerge in cold water. Cut out cores, peel and coarsely chop. Combine tomatoes, vinegar and salsa mix in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour the hot salsa into hot 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Remove air bubbles and adjust head space as needed. Wipe rims of jars with clean damp paper towels and replace 2-piece metal caps. Process in a boiling water canner for 40 minutes.
You can choose from mild, medium and hot salsa mixes.
