OK Guys, it's time to start getting ready for fall gardening. Plan out your garden and buy your supplies, because September is the perfect month to start planting (in Arizona anyway!).
Here's what to do:
1) Build your box: 4' wide by as long as you want. Just make sure you can walk on all sides of your garden!
2) Fill it with the perfect soil mixture: 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss.
3) Divide it into 1' x 1' squares.
4) Plan out what you want to plant. Each square can grow something different.
Remember:
-Pick a flat area for your garden that gets at least 8 hours of daily sunshine.
-If you choose vegetables that need a trellis (peas, tomatoes, etc.), place them together on an outside row of your foot-by-foot garden.
And now, everything you need to know about September gardening:
September
Rainfall...
Average: 0.66 inches
Record: 5.5 inches (1939)
Temperature (degrees F)...
Average High: 98.3 degrees
Lowest High: 66 degrees (1895)
Record High: 116 degrees (1950)
Average Low: 72.8 degrees
Highest Low: 90 degrees (1982, 1983)
Record Low: 47 degrees (1895, 1965)
Vegetables...
Plant seeds: Snap Beans, Beets, Bok Choy, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard, Collard Greens, Cucumbers, Endive, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce (Head & Leaf), Leeks, Mustard, Green Onions, Peas, Radishes, Spinach, Turnips
Plant Transplants: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard, Lettuce (Head & Leaf)
Stay tuned for information on how many of each vegetable to plant in each square!
***note from Jill:
The soil comes in big bags and can be expensive if you are planting a small garden, because you won't use it all. (I have 2' x 2' boxes I got from someone" The nursery on Baseline just west of Lindsay (I think it's A&P Nursery) has a pre-mixed bag of soil that has the exact mixture as above. It is the square foot gardening mix. Also, if you can't make your own box (which is the cheapest way) You can buy a square foot gardening set up at this same nursery.
--shout out to Amber for hooking us up with this info, I'm pretty stoked about it.
Can you put it right on top of grass? or should you clear the grass out from under first?
ReplyDeleteOh and what about tomatoes, can you plant them in September? I didn't see them listed.
ReplyDeleteSo excited!! I can't wait to get started, I have no excuses now with all this great information.
ReplyDeleteClear the grass out or put a weed stopper underneath. Otherwise, you will have grass growing up though your garden! About tomatoes- if you hurry up and plant them, they should be fine. They just don't do very well with the cold weather of December and January. Spring planting for Tomatoes is February and March.
ReplyDeletesadly, my garden is just finishing up! But oh how I have LOVED just running out to get fresh ingredients for dinner....hope you get there soon! When all I have is snow and cold! :)
ReplyDeleteTell me more about this weed stopper, is it called a weed stopper or is there a technical term? Where do you get it? Is there some better than others?
ReplyDelete