Preparation for fall planting begins now!

Fall Planting Season: Get Ready for a Bountiful Harvest!

Fall planting season is almost here! I know, it feels like eternal Hades outside, but the heat will end, and the Fall season will arrive with all the excitement and relief we are anticipating.

Preparing for Fall Vegetable Gardens

July is the prep month for our Fall vegetable gardens. If there’s a silver lining to the drought and dry soil, it’s that it’s much easier to till and add additives in dry soil versus wet. Now is the time to add an inch of compost or humus to enrich the soil. It’s also the perfect moment to treat with gypsum if there’s heavy clay content in your chosen garden area. Soil additives come in several forms and can be confusing, even for seasoned gardeners.

Understanding Soil Additives

Topsoil in southeast Texas is a sandy, light greyish-tan loam, made of equal parts river sand and the top inch of dirt. Topsoil is used as filler to install lawns and to bring landscapes to grade. In large raised containers, it serves as the bottom and middle filler, with the top 6 inches filled with humus, manure, or compost. Remember, topsoil is not black, rich dirt, nor does it resemble potting soil!

Humus is a fully decomposed product that results from a compost pile, which may consist of leaves, manure, clippings, or other organic materials. Compost is the material that is in the process of decomposing, like manure and leaf mold. It takes 1 to 3 years to create humus if left to decompose naturally. Both humus and compost are excellent for improving your soil’s nutrition, moisture retention, and structure. They have very low NPK (fertilizer content), and since veggies are heavy feeders, they need to be fed every 30 days for a good harvest.

Manure is something most people are familiar with! Different manures have varying nitrogen contents and should always be aged before use. What does that mean? July is a great time to bring in a load of mushroom compost and cover it with a black tarp for 3 to 4 weeks. The high heat will decompose the nitrogen content in half the time, making it ready for your Fall garden by late August. Fresh manure is never advised to be added in high heat, and only add 1/16th of it to your other additives. There are several products on the market that are essentially “ready-made” vegetable beds.

Mulch can also be confusing. There are many different varieties, and you need to know what pH you need to maintain for your specific plants. Use pine bark mulch if your landscape consists of azaleas, camellias, ferns, redbuds, hollies, roses, and other acid-loving plants. Hardwood mulches, such as black mulch, red mulch, cedar, and cypress, promote alkalinity (sweeter) in the soil. Hardwood mulch is great for palms, tropicals, Indian Hawthorne, cacti, and other plants that thrive in alkaline environments.

Testing Your Soil

If in doubt, inexpensive test kits for pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium can be purchased at independent garden centers. It’s wise to test each season to check all balances before planting a garden or adding elements. This ensures you do not add the wrong element and maintain a balanced ratio for your desired plants. Unfortunately, weeds are not particular and thrive in any pH!

Planting Timeline

July 1st is the earliest planting date for growing your own pumpkins and corn. Most varieties need 100 to 120 days to harvest, so getting your seeds planted now is imperative to meet the first frost date and Halloween. The following is a chart from Texas A&M Agrilife that may be useful for planning your fall seed planting. Walker County is Region III. The chart is for starter plants, but you can subtract 3 to 4 weeks from the recommended date for seed planting.

Conclusion

Happy gardening! I’m excited to see what you all will grow this fall! Remember, the right preparation now will lead to a bountiful harvest later. Let’s make this season the best one yet!