Mid-August and summer is finally here

The temperature has hit the high numbers and the sun is shining. Gardens are soaking up the sun and plants are photosynthesizing and trying to make up for lost time. Finally, beans are podding-up, and eggplants (aubergines) are purpling. But it is time to look ahead because, even though we are all in denial, fall is actually right around the corner. Depressing as that may be for those of us who haven't really had a proper summer, it's no reason to get sad because there's months more gardening left and great food to grow and harvest.

Eating local is much easier than it used to be now that farmers' markets abound. The best way to eat local, though, is to grow it yourself. Much fresher than any other source, and much, much less expensive. For the cost of a packet of seed - around $3.25 - $4.50, you can grow literally pounds and pounds of fresh produce. With a little planning, you can freeze, dry, jar or store produce in a root cellar for all-winter eating. Last year, I harvested enough winter squash to store and eat all winter. We had one butternut or acorn squash each week until March of this year. That was a record.

So how will you plan for this? First of all, get busy now and seed some cool-weather-loving vegetables that you can grow all fall. In this category are: broccoli, spinach, kale, cabbage, carrots, beets, radishes, cauliflower, lettuce, peas. You can start the seeds indoors just as you would in the spring, or outdoors in a sheltered location. They seeds will germinate quickly at this time of year because of the warmth, but it's best not to place them where the fierce unfiltered sun strikes them because the emerging seedlings are very sensitive at that stage and may quickly dry out and whither if you are not paying attention. Once they are up and growing with at least 2 sets of leaves, move them into the full sun making sure they don't dry out. Fertilize the young seedlings with compost tea to give them a weak dose of the essential nutrients they need to grow.

My next post will detail the best way to start seeds and how to transplant them into the garden.