I'm direct seeding some arugula and other easy seeders, have pots out now germinating cabbage and lettuce for transplant when ready (I direct seed in coldframes as soil doesn't crust up).

Dan

The only lettuces I still have going strong are buttercrunch and some Tom Thumb. Both get a good amount of shade. I did plant some heatwave lettuce a few weeks ago that has germinated but that's about it. They are still really small.

I have a few areas opening up soon that I was hoping to get some fall stuff started soon. I'm also going to try kale for the first time. Other things on my list include Brussel Sprouts, collards, spinach, pak choy and cauliflower. One area which will surely be overgrown by asparagus by September I'm thinking of growing some buckwheat which will be followed by garlic.

Bonnie, I set out kale as just about the earliest spring transplants and they just keep going all year! Harvest continuous and continuing.

The spring sown peas were so disappointing this year because of bugs, I don't know if I will sow seed at the end of this month, or not. Snow peas, yes -- they only need to develop pods and no seed to be useful. Even if they have slowed to a crawl in October because of the cold, the tendrils are fine. (I've never had such serious problem with the peas as I did this spring!)

You may still get away with some bush beans. They can germinate well in summer heat but harvest depends on that 1st frost date.

I will begin sowing seed for bok choy and komatsuna again next month.

DW likes romaine lettuce and might well like Jericho. I suppose I should count myself lucky that she appreciates such a bolt-resistant group. Personally, I'd take the Batavian (crisphead) over the romaine. And, what I really prefer are the butterheads . . .

Puddin'head Steve

You also can seed basil and cilantro. Last year, I planted a whole row of basil and it was about a foot high in Sept, and we mowed it down and made 3 quarts of pesto.

Good stuff, that.

I have a kale in the middle of the budadas that was left over from the coldframe. Still going and is now shaded by the potatoes. Hoping it doesn't croak before fall. I have cilantro and basil in succession this year, not a true fall crop like the lettuce-cabbage-etc in the OP.

Dan

David, that's a good idea about the cilantro. My cilantro always bolts way before I have any tomatoes or peppers for salsa, but maybe if I sow it now, the timing will be about right. My basils are just now about a foot high, but I always wish I had some that wasn't leggy or bolting to bring indoors in the fall for the kitchen window, so maybe I'll sow some more. That reminds me, I need to start looking for pine nuts, since it's almost time for some pesto making. Can't wait!!!

Today, I sowed four kinds of lettuce - Four Seasons, Formidana, Rouge de Grenoblouse, and Thai Green. They were all in the package I received from Seeds of Change when they were doing their "Sowing Millions" giveaway. I've grown Four Seasons before, but the others are all new to me.

My seeds in pots are starting to germinate: lettuce and cabbage. I still have to set up the garden area to ward off sowbugs, which will mow down many of my young veggies and flowers if'n I'm not careful.

Dan

Worked a little radish seed into the garden yesterday and now have tiny bunches of lettuce starts out there. We will see if that works out. There are more lettuce starts if the 1st ones shrivel up and die. More radish seed for later sowings, also. The onion harvest is making room for succession crops.

Since I have now harvested about 40sqft of the potato patch, and the soil has been returned to the bed over the top of a thick layer of compostables, I will begin sowing seed for Asian greens tomorrow!

What I'm most looking forward to is Komatsuna Summerfest. The plants are tender and nice early in the season but they bolted quickly. They won't have that problem in the fall and were superb last fall!

I've only planted it in the spring but Choy Sum is something you want to bolt because, like broccoli, the stalk and flower buds are valued. Still, the leaves are tasty too - if it decides not to develop flowers. There's also a chance that Choy Sum can overwinter and I just might allow it to do so.

A fan of Maruba Santoh, I grew Beka Santoh for the first time this spring. It is supposed to be a "loose head Chinese cabbage," as is Fun Jen, which I've had in my garden for about the last 5 years. This fall will be my chance to grow them side-by-side and see how much difference there is between the 2. Honestly, they are very much like tender mustards. Maruba Santoh is more mild and a great salad veggie but I learned last year that it is too slow growing to work as a fall crop.

The greatest number of square feet in the soil of what will become my former potato patch will be taken up with baby bok choy. For over 20 years, I've grown bok choy and found times for sowing and harvest throughout nearly all of the growing season. I've got both green stem (2 varieties) and Red Choi.

Filling in the entire potato patch will take me much of August since the potato harvest will take that much time. Succession sowing thru most of it then, transplanting from the 1st part into the last few sections.

Got the seed packets all in a bundle, ready to go!

Steve

Here they come!

{{gwi:1214945}}

Nearest the camera on the left is Komatsuna. Continuing out in that row is either Choy Sum or Yu Choy Sum. One is a smaller version of the other so, I'll figure it out eventually.

Next are rows of Beka Santoh and then Fun Jen. I've never grown them at the same time. Altho' I've had Fun Jen in the garden for a few years, this was the first spring with Beka Santoh. Beka and Jen both seem to be very mild mustard greens. I DO know which is planted where so I can compare and contrast . . .

The little red plants yonder are Red Choy. Red Choy is good and will go with the green bok choy I have planted elsewhere. I put down new seed for green Lu Lan bok choy and Astro arugula today.

Elsewhere on part of what was potato patch ground, tiny South Sea Gai Lan have emerged. At least, this is supposed to be gai lan but it wasn't like the gai lan that I've grown before when I had it under plastic in the spring of 2010. The leaves were nearly as large as cabbage leaves! The flavor was quite a bit like cabbage also for this "Chinese Kale." Maybe, "Chinese Collards" would be more accurate to describe this veggie. I'm curious as to whether it can grow as well outdoors during the fall.

All fun Asian greens, each - a little different from the other. The arugula? Oh, DW asked for that . . . I don't really care for arugula.

The potatoes are now nearly one-half harvested. I think I'd better stop with the sowing of seed and just plan on doing a fair amount of transplanting into the remaining ground as it becomes available. Oh and the open ground where onions had been growing earlier - that has radish seedlings in it. Along with the lettuce starts that have just been set out, I should have the fixin's for some nice fall salads - if I can keep that arugula out of them!

Steve
notice the volunteer tomato plants in the picture? ;o)

I see you're growing a fresh batch of Portulaca greens for your salads too! ;-)

I can NEVER believe all the different things you grow--and how much you grow!!!

No Junk Food Diet in your future!

:-)
Skybird

One way to grow a lot of variety is to buy seed in larger packets. Another way is to save seed. I've done both - some of the seed that went into the ground is several years old. Some of the radish seed and all of the bok choy seed I planted yesterday was from saved seed.

Those gardeners who would want us to tolerate purslane should try to imagine what that bed would look like in about 2 weeks if I don't sit down and pull those weeds, Skybird! Yes, it is edible and has an interesting lemony flavor. However, the purslane would crush those other, more desirable plants.

I have learned to appreciate the value of leafy vegetables more and more learning about what they are capable of doing. This photosynthesis thing that they are up to is really, very remarkable! Not only are they "bulking up" while adding the sweetness of sugars but the plant is really focused on producing chlorophyll for the whole process!

All that green chlorophyll is just the usual plant components of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, with a tiny bit of magnesium thrown in. But there in the midst of it: nitrogen! So, protein!

If you dry a leaf, you may remove 90% of its composition - water. If it has about 3% protein to begin with, you've got a food with 30% protein! Now, it isn't a balanced protein for our bodies but as a percentage, that's nearly as much as beef jerky!

If we just eat the leaves without drying - what's the water? Just something that we would be drinking anyway!

But yeah, chlorophyll! It's a good thing!

Steve

We occasionally dry swiss chard - the dried flakes are rather salty tasting, and make an interesting addition/flavoring to food. Kinda like the dried seaweed in Japanese cooking.

I had dried kale for the first time the other day. I think the bag is still where I left it in the kitchen. Tooo salty! And, they put some strong flavored cheese on it. Too much!

Bonnie, do you have kale to try now?

Maybe it will be mild when sown late in the year. I suspect not - it provides a rather stout mouthful at the dinner table. 'Sokay . . . if'n you like kale. I really wonder if Bonnie's husband will . . .

I intended to sow broccoli seed several weeks ago. Does that work for the fall?

Steve

Not yet, Steve. The kale and Swiss chard only an inch or two tall now. I saw a recipe for Kale Chips the other day, but I think it was just oil and salt, and baking in the oven until crisp. Don't recall any cheese in it. I'll probably have to try a small batch first, before feeding it to the rest of the family. If the flavor is too strong, I may try freezing the kale, and using it in soups, or pasta dishes.

My peas I planted at the end of July are about 6" tall, and I think I might actually have time to get a fall crop. They sure look healthier than the ones I planted in the spring.

The lettuce I sowed indoors mid-July is ready to go in the ground. Just waiting for a cool, overcast day to transplant.

None of the cilantro germinated. Guess the seed must have been old. Doesn't matter anyway, since I'm STILL waiting on my first ripe tomato! Several are very close now. Probably only a matter of days : )

Bonnie

Following some nice Sterling White onions these were set out amongst the maturing and now harvested onions several weeks ago. Lettuce!

The onions that came out of that bed:

{{gwi:1214948}}

Steve

Very nice, Steve!

I piddled around so long with getting my fall lettuce transplanted, that I decided it was kind of late to put it in the ground. Yesterday, I put it in containers on the porch. That way I can just bring it into the garage if it gets too cold. Since I don't have a cold frame, or tunnel to go over my veggie bed, I have to drag out the row covers everytime there is a frost warning. It's worth the effort for tomatoes and peppers, but once those have been pulled, I don't want to go through the effort for a small patch of lettuce. I guess I start getting lazy by this point in the season ...

Lettuce is funny, Bonnie.

Not funny ha ha . . .

Nothing, essentially, will germinate at a lower temperature in the spring. But you know, it won't grow all that well as the temperature begins to drop in the fall.

It isn't just the cooler temperature that slows plants down. There is also less sunlight. We will soon have the same hours of light that we had in March and then, there will be less than that. Think back about how much growing was going on in March! Just about none . . .

Steve