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by Jeannie Hanson Part of learning any subject is getting familiar with it’s basic concepts and it’s own special vocabulary. Much of this information is on the seed packet itself. Here’s what to look for:
The fall or early spring vegetables are cool season crops.
Average First & Last Frosts: if a plant is susceptible to being frozen to death, the best plan would be to grow it after the last spring frost and before the first frost of fall. In the Sacramento Valley, this gives me from February to November as a growing season, which is why California produces more than half of the country's fruits, nuts and vegetables! My husband’s Swedish ancestors, who lived in Minnesota, only had from May to September. No dawdling for them! Dedicated gardeners in the colder ranges are more likely to have greenhouses and start vegetables from seeds so they can jump start the season. I’d love a greenhouse, but don’t really need one…sigh. To find out what your growing window is, click here for last spring frost, and here for first fall frost. What’s Your Zone? The last item for today is gardening zones. You don’t particularly need to know this for your fall vegetable garden, but it’s a term you’ll run into rather quickly in garden books or discussions. There are actually two zonal systems …the U.S. Department of Agriculture system, which charts the average annual minimum temperatures across the U.S., and the AHS (American Horticultural Society) system, which classifies regions based upon the severity of summer heat. Both of these are valuable, and are used to determine what sorts of plants are most likely to thrive in an area, but most gardening books refer to the USDA zones. I live in Zone 9, which is like Italy and the Napa Valley. I can, and do, grow grapes! (If you’re living in Connecticut, you’re probably a Zone 5 or 6 and your gardening requirements will be much like your inland Oregon sisters. Plants that grow well in Texas will probably have problems in Ohio, and vice versa. This fall, why not start your own Victory Garden? If you’re inexperienced, start small… one seed packet, one large pot, some potting soil, a bit of fertilizer. Perhaps your family will like to participate. Come harvest time, don’t forget the victory cry, “I GREW IT MYSELF!” Some Other Great Seed Companies: Renee’s Seeds; J.L. Hudson, Seedsman; Burpee Seeds, Heirloom Seeds; and many others. They will happily send you a catalogue, which can be fun to muse over in the cold winter months! Don't forget to leave a comment to enter our fabulous FALL SEED GIVEAWAY!!! Click here.
Jeannie Hanson is a full service gardener offering garden design, coaching and seasonal maintenance/planting. Her business, Geno’s Garden, specializes in small space gardens. Jeannie loves working and creating in the garden and likes to help others achieve the same satisfaction. “I believe there’s twice as much pleasure to being in a garden you’ve created yourself,” says Jeannie. “The tomato tastes sweeter, the path is more charming, the garden art more remarkable.” www.genosgarden.com Got a gardening question? Email Jeannie directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it !
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Comments (9)
  written by cobird2, August 28, 2009
We don't always think of gardening as exciting but when those little seeds sprout and the tiny green leaves grow and then a tiny flower appears, it IS exciting!
 written by rcmc02, August 28, 2009
We missed planting our summer garden due to my health problems but still hoping to have a Fall garden this year. I love teaching my grandsons how food grows and they like to eat whatever they grow so it's much easier to get healthy foods into their diets. Gardening is also a great way to exercize and being outdoors is good for the soul. We have raised garden beds and tall pots so I can reach them from my wheelchair, it really helps to keep my joints moving and there's nothing better then fresh veggies with no chemicals sprayed on them, growing your own is the safest way to go. Thanks for all the gardening tips.
 written by marlonbeth, August 26, 2009
I want to win because I am just getting started with growing veggies. I planted some garlic last fall and got a few bulbs, and have planted some tomatoes, basil, onions, and zucchini for the summer time. All of my limited knowledge is mostly in summer planting (really just tomatoes, all the other stuff this was my first year), but I would love to know more about fall planting and getting all that yummy squash and greens, pumpkins....mmmm..
 written by KellySedai78, August 25, 2009
I want to win because times are getting really hard here where I live. We're having trouble being able to afford even the most basic essentials, and growing our own garden would really be a big help to our food budget. Thank you!
 written by velvet1116, August 24, 2009
I want to win because we plant a huge garden every year and the seed would be wonderful
Thanks
 written by genosgarden, August 24, 2009
I've got a fair amount of gardening experience, but there are plenty who have tons more...that's one of the things I love about gardening...there's SO much to learn, but it's so fun along the way. My garden project for this fall is to build a couple of raised 4 x 4 beds out of some old fencing boards (yea, I'm classy), and plant an assortment of root veggies...plus garlic and onion in them. Jeannie
 written by carriscary, August 24, 2009
I've been gardening for years- but Fall gardening is still fairly new to me. Thanks for the info!
 written by kywildcat1954, August 23, 2009
I want to win because I really need to start a garden. I live on a fixed income so I need to grow my fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits/berries now. I love to get fresh produce at farmer's markets but they're limited in offerings around here.
 written by mailforkim2, August 23, 2009
I want to win because I really do want t start a garden. We love fresh veggies but the cost at the grocery store for them keeps going up. Where I grew up we had a lot of fresh vegetables around. Either homegrown or from a roadside stand. Hard to find that around here.
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Warm Season/Cool Season: vegetables are divided into two types of crops. The summer vegetables that are being harvested now are warm season crops.
Timing: each seed has its own germination time (how long before that little seed wakes up and starts pushing out its first root, stem and leaves), and, its own maturation time (how long it takes before that young plant matures and can be harvested). Most plants need to start and stop this process within the boundaries of the last frost of spring and the 1st frost of autumn, so timing is everything. Cool season snap peas need about 65 days; fast-growing radishes, about 3 weeks. Micro greens (great on pizza with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes) can be grown indoors or outdoors, and take just 25 days!). In the case of this artichoke, it can take up to 8 months to produce a crop, but, then, will continue producing year after year…and be a lovely ornamental plant in the garden as well!
For specific information on vegetable gardening in your backyard, check out the Gardening Notes and Tips on Botanical Interests’ 
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