August is here, which means it's time to start replacing hot-weather crops like green beans and sweet corn with cooler-weather crops.
Master Gardener Jennifer Dornbush reports from the MGHC Food Gardening Team on growing carrots this fall.
One of my favorites is carrots. Carrots are easy to grow and harvest. Like most root crops, carrots are best grown from seeds rather than transplants.
Prepare Your Soil
When preparing your garden for a new planting, remember that carrots prefer loose, friable soil. If you are growing carrots in the ground, amend heavy garden soil with compost and remove heavy clay clods and rocks. Even very small obstructions can cause deformities in the roots. You can plant carrots in raised beds in loose soil. Good soil drainage is essential for root crops. Add a pre-plant fertilizer to the soil before you sow the seeds.
Choose Your Seeds
There are many varieties of carrots to choose, from long ones like Yaya, Bolero, and Purple Haze, to short ones like Short 'n Sweet, a variety that grow to only 4 inches long. Choose the variety that works best in your garden, whether in the ground or in a raised bed.
Sow Your Seeds
Carrot seeds are very tiny, which makes them difficult to sow evenly. Mixing the tiny seeds with a small amount of sand or cornmeal makes it easier to distribute them evenly. Cover seeds lightly about ¼ inch deep with fine soil or compost and maintain even moisture. In the hot days of August this might mean watering them twice a day. Watch for sprouts in 10 to 21 days. When seedlings reach 1 to 2 inches tall, thin them to 1 to 3 inches apart.
Harvest Your Carrots
Depending on the weather, carrots will be ready to harvest in 65 to 70 days when the roots have reached the size desired for eating. Cooler temperatures in the fall allow the roots to be harvested over a longer period of time. Don’t harvest the carrots until you are ready to use them. The cool soil in the fall and winter can be outdoor cool storage, so leave them in the ground until you are ready for them. Be sure to harvest your carrots before spring weather starts to turn warm—before the carrots become woody and start to split.
The UT Hort website recommends planting carrots between 8/1 and 9/1 for East Tennessee. Cooler temperatures may actually sweeten the carrots. So, go ahead, grab some seeds and give it a try. You could be harvesting carrots from your garden for Thanksgiving.
Master Gardener Ann Bartlett gives us a little insight into a few root vegetables to consider for fall.
I once worked with a woman who loved rutabagas. I know this because she frequently brought the leftovers to eat for lunch. It seemed an odd preference to me until I learned that rutabagas are called “yellow turnips” in Europe. My husband and daughter love turnips, so I decided to learn more about fall root vegetables.
Rutabaga, Brassica napus, is a relatively modern vegetable introduced to England from Sweden in 1755. (In England they are called “swedes.”). It is believed to be a cross between turnips and Brassica oleracea, kohlrabi. An autumn crop, they taste best after frost. It’s time to plant them here where they will overwinter in the garden, taking 60 to 80 days to mature.
When you find rutabagas in the grocery store, they have been coated with wax to prolong their shelf life. After removing the coating, cook them as you would other yellow vegetables. They do have a distinctive “earthy” flavor. Try topping steamed rutabaga with caramelized onions for a welcome change in cool season fare.
Kohlrabi (stem turnip) Brassica oleracea, is a favorite vegetable in India and China. It is another modern vegetable first mentioned in the 1500s. A rapidly maturing crop, it is well suited to the spring garden where it is planted every two weeks until warm weather arrives. It may be planted here by September first for an early fall harvest. Kohlrabi prefers fertile, consistently moist soil. It may be eaten raw or cooked. The tops taste much like kale and may be similarly prepared.
Turnips, Brassica rapa, have been cultivated for millennia. Unfortunately, they were considered to be food for the poor and were even used as winter forage for farm animals. It is a cool season crop well suited to the fall garden, where they are not fussy about soils. If you want to harvest the roots, plant them by September 15. If you are more interested in the greens, you have until the end of September to plant them. The tops are rich in vitamins A, B, and C. The roots are a low-calorie foil for fatty meats. Although not a huge fan of turnips, I must agree that they do add something special when mashed with potatoes or yams.
Save the Date: Fall Garden Festival September 28
Join us September 28 at the Bonny Oaks Arboretum, 6183 Adamson Circle, Chattanooga, for our annual MGHC Fall Garden Festival! Hours are 10 am to 4 pm, and tickets are $5.00 for adults (children under 12 free). Prepare for fall gardening by visiting plant vendors (trees, shrubs, perennials, herbs), enjoy hand-crafted foods, and browse nature-inspired art. Master Gardener demos and exhibits plus educational activities for children make this a fun family event.
See the Fall Festival web page for vendor and participant information. Bring the family and be prepared for a day of fun and friendship at this popular outdoor festival!