Yes, we are serious!  Although it's still awfully hot, looking at the calendar, we are only about 11 weeks away from the average frost date: October 15 in our neck of the woods.  So, now is the time to start planting your fall crop to make sure it has enough time to mature.  Here are some tips to get you started:

Plant at the proper time.
Here is how to figure out when to plant what: 

1. Begin with the average date of the first frost.  For us that's about October 15.
2. For plants that can NOT handle any frost, subtract two weeks from the frost date = October 1.
   For plants that CAN handle a light frost, you can push the dates out a bit and add 2 weeks = October 30.
   

If Math is not your thing, UT Extension Publication SP291-G also gives average planting times for a variety of crops to get you going.

Maintain moisture during germination.
Vegetable seed will not germinate without moisture.  For Fall Gardening, high temperatures and sparse rainfall can make conditions for seed germination even a bit more difficult.  So, water the soil well before planting fall vegetables and plant the seeds 1/4 inch deeper than you would planting spring vegetables to help reduce chances of the seed drying out.

Fall Garden Care.
Fall gardens require more attention than spring gardens:  More insects, more diseases, more weeds, less rain.  Don't let this keep you from giving it a try!  Just keep a close eye on your Fall garden: Control the problems while they are small and apply 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water weekly when it does not rain.

For more Fall Gardening information, come to see us at the FREE Fall Gardening Workshop at the Farmers Market (August 3rd, 9:30 am), visit our UT Extension Office, or Ask a Master Gardener.

Happy Fall Gardening!

Blog by: Sabine Ehlers, CMG

By now you probably received your water bill, the one that included the cost for the water you used trying to keep your garden alive during the recent drought.  We can relate and feel your pain.  So, here are some water-related facts and some water-saving tips to be prepared for the next dry spell.

Effective Irrigation

Did you know that more plants are killed each year from over-watering than from lack of water?  One portable lawn sprinkler operating 1 hour uses 360 gallons of water.  That’s the equivalent of 12 five-minute showers, 50 runs of the dishwasher, 225 flushes of a toilet, or 12 loads of laundry. 

There are many beneficial insects to be found in a healthy garden, and it’s best to let them go about their business. But, when you’ve identified an insect pest that’s damaging your garden, removing it “by hand”can sometimes be an effective control. However, if you’ve tried to snag a bug or two, you know how elusive they can be.

Many bugs have a “stop, drop, and roll” defense mechanism, and they will fall off of the plant as you reach for them; and once they’re down in the interior of the plant or on the ground, they’ve escaped your grasp. You can use that natural behavior of the bug to your advantage, with a simple homemade bug catcher… what I like to call the Bug Catch-o-matic.

To make this simple “trap”, all you need is a milk jug (or similar plastic container), the plastic bag that you carried the milk home in (or similar), and a rubber band.

Step 1:  Cut the plastic container in half, just below the handle. As an option, you could just cut the bottom off of the jug if you want to have a deep catcher. However, I find that it’s easier to maneuver the bug catcher if it’s smaller.

Step 2: I like to trim the handles off of the plastic bag, so it’s a more uniform length.


Step 3: Remove the cap from the plastic jug (if it’s not already gone).

Step 4: Turn the jug upside-down, and use a rubber band to attach the opening of the plastic bag to the bottom of the jug (where the cap was).

That’s it! The plastic jug serves as a “bug funnel” with a convenient handle. Just position the Catch-o-matic under the
bug(s) you want to trap, give the stem a shake, and the bugs will usually fall in on their own. You can stroll through the garden and catch a sack full of pests, and simply discard the bag when you’re done. Reload your Bug Catch-o-matic with an empty bag, and you can reuse it as needed.

blog entry and photos by Mark Murphy, CMG