Midsummer rescue

Let’s face it. By this time of the year, after midsummer heat, vacations and runaway weeds, a lot of vegetable gardens aren’t looking or producing their best. The tomatoes, cukes and squash have just recently started to produce, though, if you can find them through the weeds, and it would be a shame to abandon them now. It won’t be long before the cooler weather beckons us back outdoors, so there’s no time like the present to dig in, straighten out the mess and plant things that will thrive in the cooler temperatures.

The vegetable garden’s midsummer rescue doesn’t have to be done all at once. Start where you have crops that are already growing and producing. When you remove the weeds, your veggies will thank you for the extra breathing room by pushing out fresh growth and producing better than they otherwise could. After that, pull out anything that is either finished producing or is too weed-choked to recover. I must admit, my snow pea vines are still standing, brown and shriveled, awaiting my attention.

As small areas of bare soil begin to appear, it’s not too late to plant kale, bok choy and Swiss chard, all of which can easily withstand the frosts that are not all that far away. Lettuce makes a good fall crop too, but it may still be too hot for it to do well unless it’s provided some temporary shade.

Some areas of the vegetable garden may not be needed for the rest of the summer, but that’s no reason to let the weeds take over. The more weeds you allow to go to seed this year, the bigger your problems will be next year, when each of those thousands of seeds begin to sprout. As you remove the weeds from each section, consider planting a cover crop, or simply cover the soil with a weed barrier fabric until spring. In addition to keeping weeds in check, cover crops of clover, winter wheat or annual ryegrass will improve the soil when you till it under in the spring.

It may or may not be too late to get in one more sowing of some frost sensitive plants. All of the information you need to make that decision is right at your fingertips. Each seed packet has a days-to-harvest number. The first frost date here seems to be between the last week of September to the second week in October. All you need to do is to count backwards from the first frost date and add two weeks to account for the shorter days and cooler temperatures, and you’ll see if there’s still time to plant your seeds. Keep in mind, though, that crops that can tolerate some frost will sail through the first few cold nights and well into November, especially if they are provided some added protection with frost cloth.

So don’t throw up your hands just because things might be a little out of hand right now. There’s still lots of time left in the vegetable gardening season.

For more information about extending the gardening season, find a copy of “Four Season Harvest” by Eliot Coleman—and happy harvest!