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Echinacea 'Sombrero Salsa Red'--perfect
for late-summer color! |
I love the month of August for many reasons—the upcoming Northwest
Washington Fair, late-summer perennials full of color in the garden, and the
slight change in the air that signals a new season drawing near. This year, as
we anticipate the arrival of autumn (pe
rhaps more eagerly
than usual after a long, hot season!), we have much to look forward to. As you
seek to revive a summer-weary garden, here are a couple of things you can do
now.
First, it’s time to start planting your vegetable garden.
Yes, you read that right. Rightly so, we often focus on planting vegetable
gardens in spring, but autumn can be just as productive in the garden for cool-season
crops, and August is the time to plant. Chances are, if your garden turned out
like mine this year, your spinach, lettuce, peas and other cool-weather crops
wilted, went to seed or simply finished out much too soon in the early-summer
heat. If so, now is the time to replant.
The best crops to grow for an autumn harvest are
cool-weather lovers. These include lettuce and spinach, “cole” crops such as
kale, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, and other favorites like peas, beets
and radishes. Depending on what you plant, some of these crops will produce
well into autumn and even beyond the first frost, which typically arrives in
late October or early November. Talk about extending the gardening season!
Now, as with spring planting, your fall garden will only be
as good as your preparation. Reinvigorate your soil before planting by amending
it with Black Gold Soil Conditioner, available now at the nursery. This powerful soil amendment provides organic
fertilizer, earthworm castings and peat moss to loosen hard soil and provide
fresh nutrients to your plants as they grow. Spade this soil amendment into
your garden before planting and revive soil that’s depleted from your spring
and summer crops.
When it comes time to plant—to be clear, that’s anytime yet
this month—one significant difference you’ll find from spring gardening is the
lack of availability of vegetable starts. While you’ll find veggie starts at
every nursery, farm store and supermarket in spring, there’s not much to be
found in late summer. But that’s okay! Summer’s warm garden soil makes for an
ideal environment for growing plants from seed, so save the money you’d spend
on veggie starts and stop by Vander Giessen's to pick up some packs of seed to
plant.
If you’re like many of the gardeners I’ve talked to, the
vegetable garden isn’t the only area looking tired after a long, hot summer.
Like so many things, flower pots and hanging baskets are looking worn, too. For
the next couple weeks, we’re in the no-man’s land of flowers—you won’t find any
summer annuals for sale anymore, but it’s still too early for fall flowers. So,
what to do?
Echinacea have been hugely popular for the last several
years, and rightly so. Commonly called coneflowers, these perennials come in a myriad
of colors and sizes, and if your pots or gardens are looking tired, add some
color with one or more of these great plants. ‘Sombrero Salsa Red’ is a compact
variety that grows just two feet tall with fiery red blooms that will spice up
your summer container and blend well with fall flowers. Gaillardia is another
perennial with all-summer color. At just over a foot tall, its shades of red,
orange and yellow look stunning in late-summer container plantings.
With just over a month left before autumn arrives, now is
the time to begin planting for a bountiful and beautiful season ahead!
