2022 Fall Home and Garden

2022 Fall Home & Garden LINCOLN DAILY NEWS Sept. 23, 2022 Page 15 You’ll want to wait to put in many other vegetables considered summer crops. Put in pepper or tomato plants too early and your plants will suffer setbacks from a cold snap. Squash of all sorts - summer, acorn, spaghetti, pumpkin, like the heat. Corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes are a long season. You might get even more than one shot per season on some plants like zucchini, green beans and many root crops are fast growing to harvest. Re-seed cold-weather loving plants late summer for a late fall harvest - sweet peas (did you know sautéed edible pea plants are nutritious and delicious,) carrots, cilantro, dill, fennel, cabbages and lettuces, turnips, radishes, rutabaga, and some of these either processed by freezing, canning, drying, or packed and stored properly in a cool place can grace your Thanksgiving, maybe even Christmas and beyond holiday tables. Here in central Illinois, the average frost-free date is May 1. On this date, you have a 50% chance that it will be safe to plant. So, garden preparations, seed and garden plant acquisition for long crops or heat loving plants should be coordinated with a May 1 planting date in mind. If you have already planted and have seedlings above ground, a forecast of frost means that you should cover tender seedlings with tented plastic for the night until the threat of frost is over. Preparing the soil for your vegetable garden is rather easy and you don’t need expensive equipment. Choose a plot that gets full sun for most of the day. If the plot currently has grass on it, you can set the height on your mower to it’s lowest setting and scalp the grass off the plot. Then, using a good sharp shovel, the soil should be turned over and then raked to eliminate big clods and smooth the soil. Apply a 10-10-10 granular fertilizer to your plot according to the label directions. The plant food will give your plants a good start. After casting the fertilizer, give the plot one more raking to be ready for planting. Plants and seeds should be planted in rows, spaced according to seed packet or plant label instructions. Vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and cabbages can be purchased as plants to get a fast start. Other plants such as green beans, corn, radishes and many other vegetables can be planted from seeds. Follow the instructions for planting, spacing and seed depth from each seed package. CONTINUED u