August 7th

By Mutt Mulligan

Now’s the time to start planning your fall garden

You may think that “late summer” and “gardening” don’t exactly go together. But now is actually the perfect time to plant a number of fall vegetables (think kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and more!) and spring-flowering bulbs to enjoy in the months to come. Gardening is a great family activity since it helps teach your kids about where their food comes from, gives them a hands-on science lesson and encourages quality family time in your own backyard.

Gardening can be a great family activity, even in fall!

There’s a formula to help you determine what to plant when in the late summer months.

• Determine the date of the first expected killing frost (check with your local extension service if you’re not sure when this will happen in your area).
• Add to this date the length of the average harvest period for the plant you are considering.
• Now, add in a “fall factor” of about 14 days to account for shorter days that mean plants will grow more slowly.

You can determine the optimal planning date by starting at the date of the first killing frost and counting back the total number of days from your calculations above.

To learn more read this article from kidsgardening.org.