Category Archives: Fall Gardening

Peas, Potatoes, Lettuce and Cole Crop Seedlings Planted, Total Solar Eclipse

Garden activity is really starting to ramp up. Pea seeds (Green Arrow) were planted out into the garden around the third week of March and have since germinated. These were the saved pea seeds from last year’s crop and almost every pea seed germinated, which is great. Lettuce seedlings were transplanted out into the garden under the plastic covered hoop on April 9th. The following number of seedlings were transplanted out into the garden on April 18th: 17 broccoli, 6 cabbage, and 6 kohlrabi. Brussels sprout seedlings will be transplanted out in about another week. Seed potatoes (Red Norland and Superior) were planted out into the two raised beds and various grow bags in the first week of April. Some of these have started to emerge from the soil.

Harvest of the first of the green onions (the top setting onions that were planted last fall) started on April 8th, with more to come. Harvest of the overwintered lettuce (Sierra) started on April 9th. Harvest of the early March seeded radishes (started under a plastic covered hoop next to the overwintered lettuce) began on April 17th with more to come.

All of the pepper and tomatoes seedlings were transplanted into larger pots about one week ago. They are still in the cold frame and will remain there until they are ready to be planted out into the garden, probably by the 2nd week of May.

The weather and the garden has finally started to warm up and dry out since the garden received over 3 inches of rain in a short 24-hour period about two weeks ago. Before then it had been very dry.

The total solar eclipse that took place here in Indianapolis on April 8th was awesome. The one thing that surprised me the most was how dark it was during the approximately 4 minutes of the total eclipse. I have experienced at least 2 partial solar eclipse in the past and those were pretty interesting, but nothing like this. The time leading up to totality was interesting as well. The best way to describe it was that it looked like the sun was filtered, and you could feel the lack of warmth of the sun on your skin during the hour or so leading up to totality. The speed that it went from light to total darkness also surprised me, it was in a matter of a few seconds. Being a weather geek, I was also surprised by the drop in temperature. I heard that temperatures dropped around 10 degrees during totality, which I would believe. I was also interested to see how my chickens would react to the eclipse. They had been free ranging in the back yard for a few hours before totality. During the time leading up to totality they seem unaffected, but when totality started (total darkness) they started to make their way to the coop, but did not actually go in. I do have a light in the coop, which stays on most of the day, which probably confused them a little as well (see picture below). After totality, when it started to get light again, they went about their business like nothing happened. This was truly a once in a lifetime event that I will probably not experience again.

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(From Bottom to Top) Peas Emerging from the Soil, with Green Onion and Some Potatoes Starting to Poke Up Through the Soil in the Raised Bed. Picture Taken 4-20-24

(Left to Right Clockwise) Cabbage and Broccoli Seedlings, Radish, Overwintered Lettuce, and Green Onions, Picture Taken 4-20-24

Fall Planted Top Setting Onions and March Planted Onion Transplants are Growing Nicely. April Transplanted Lettuce Seedlings are Getting Bigger Growing Under the Protective Hoop, Picture Taken 4-20-24

A Peak Inside the Hoop Showing the Spring Planted Lettuce Seedlings, Picture Taken 4-20-24

2023 Garden Recap, Most Crops Finished for the Year

Most of the 2023 garden has finished producing for the year. I was able to cut the last harvestable lettuce leaves a few days ago. I am still harvesting carrots, but those should be finishing up in another two weeks or so. Low temperatures in the Indianapolis area reached the upper teens on November 28 and 29th, which effectively ended the 2023 growing season. Right up to that time I was harvesting the last of the brussels sprouts, cabbage and kohlrabi. Even though it is late December, I am still enjoying the cabbage and kohlrabi as they tend to keep for a long time in the refrigerator. I snapped a few pictures of some of the mid November harvest below. Overall, I was very pleased with the production of the 2023 garden and am looking forward to a hopefully very productive 2024 garden. This January, I will be going through all of my seed inventory and making my seed order for the 2024 gardening season. Here is wishing all of you a very happy and productive 2024.

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Cabbage and Cauliflower Harvested on 11-17-23

Lettuce Still Growing, Picture Taken 11-19-23

Carrots Still Looking Good, Picture Taken 11-19-23

Hard Freeze Hits Fall Garden, Still Very Dry

Well, a hard freeze hit the garden on October 31st, with lows hitting 23 degrees. The cool season plants that I wanted to protect were covered with row covers and they survived, although I had my doubts. The brussels spouts were not covered (it is hard, if not impossible, to cover those, being that some of the plants are almost five foot tall). Despite not being covered the brussels sprouts did fine as they seem to tolerate cold very well. Before the freeze I was able to harvest some of the last peppers and tomatoes. I also harvested the first three of the six cauliflower heads on October 29th, they were huge! (see one of pics below). I still have two heads of cauliflower in the garden. The lettuce continues to grow very well, which was covered with a plastic covered hoop. I always let some of my Sierra lettuce plants self-seed in the fall, which have really taken hold in half of the lettuce plot. The carrots were also covered with a plastic covered hoop. I will be harvesting more of the carrots as we move through November and December. The harvest has pretty much finished up on the broccoli. The fall broccoli did really well this year. I did manage to harvest a few heads of cabbage and one head of kohlrabi over the last few weeks, with many more to come. I have some really giant heads of kohlrabi still in the garden. I will be harvesting those over the next month or so. I was able to plant seven small rows of topsetting onions (these were the ones that were saved from this years plants) out into the garden in the last week of October. I covered these with some dry leaves and then temporarily covered them with a row cover to keep the squirrels from digging them up until they grow some roots.

Since the hard freeze, the weather has turned warmer, but it is still very dry in the garden. I have been watering the carrots about every three days. The rest of the plants seem to be doing okay without additional watering. The 2023 gardening season is winding down, but if the weather stays warm enough, I should be harvesting up and into December.

Kohlrabi and Cabbage Harvested, Picture Taken 10-27-23

Giant Heads of Cauliflower Harvested, Picture Taken 10-29-23

Lettuce Plot, Notice the Smaller Self Seeded Plants on the Right, Picture Taken 11-3-23

Carrots Still Growing and Looking Nice, Picture Taken 11-3-23

Brussels Sprouts Ready for Harvesting, Picture Taken 11-7-23

Chickens Feasting on the Remaining Broccoli Plants, Picture Taken 11-5-23

Great Fall Harvest Continues, It Finally Rained!!!!

The excellent fall harvest continues. The first heads of broccoli were harvested on October 2nd and a lot of the broccoli continues to be harvested as it matures. The brussels sprouts continue to grow and it now looks like I will have a pretty decent harvest when the time comes to pick them off of the stalks. The first of the cabbage is almost ready to harvest as well as the kohlrabi. I like to keep kohlrabi in the fall garden as long as possible as it gets sweeter with a few frosts. The cauliflower continues to head up, so I started to tie up the outer leaves of plants to keep the heads white. The garden did experience two lite frosts about five days ago, but it did not do much damage, even to the warm season plants. I finally received some much needed rain over the last week or so!!!! The last of the green beans were harvested about four days ago. Limited harvest still continues on the peppers and tomatoes, but their days are numbered. Harvest still continues on the lettuce and the celery, with more to come. The late July planted carrots are just getting to harvestable size, so I might be pulling a few of those within the next week or so. Overall, I have been very pleased with the production of the fall vegetable garden this year.

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First Two Heads of Fall Broccoli Awaiting to be Harvested, Picture Taken 10-2-23

Two Giant Heads of Broccoli, Picture Taken 10-20-23

Fall Garden is Cranking, Drought Continues

The early fall garden is growing really well despite the very dry conditions. Most of central and northern Indiana is experiencing a moderate drought. At least the temperatures have been cooler, which helps most of the fall plants in the garden. As long as I continue to water these plants, they should do well. Evaporation rates this time of year tend to decrease which helps out a lot. My garden did receive some much needed rain two days ago, although it was not nearly enough to break the drought. The heat loving plants like the peppers and tomatoes are still producing. I had one of the best tomato crops ever. I had so many Roma tomatoes that I stopped watering the plants, but they continue to push on new growth and new tomatoes. The peppers are also still producing, but I have watered them a little more. The mid to late summer planting of bush green beans starting producing around the second week of September with many more beans to come. The Rattlesnake pole beans continue to impress me with their constant production, despite not really being watered much. The early August planted seedlings of lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi are really starting to grow. In fact, I have many small heads of broccoli starting to form on most of the plants. I anticipate harvesting some of these heads in another week to ten days. I have been harvesting lettuce again for about a month now, with more to come. The Tango hybrid celery plants have grown just okay this year. I lost many of the plants due to black heart disease. This was probably due to the very hot and dry conditions. I still have three mature celery plants growing and have been harvesting stalks from them. The late July sown carrots are finally getting some good top growth. The brussels sprouts are starting to mature with a few plump sprouts showing up on a few of the stalks. I really enjoy gardening this time of year as the plants mature much slower which allows you to enjoy a fresh harvest over a longer period of time. The average first frost for central Indiana is fast approaching (usually around October 10th). The two week weather forecast is still showing slightly above normal temperatures with no signs of frost, but unfortunately, not much rain either. Happy Fall Gardening!!

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Sierra Lettuce Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 9-27-23

Kohlrabi, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Cabbage, Picture Taken 9-27-23

Two Celery Plants, Picture Taken 9-27-23

Scarlet Nantes Carrots, Picture Taken 9-27-23

Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower, Picture Taken 9-27-23

Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli, Picture Taken 9-27-23

Chickens Enjoying Brussels Sprout Leaves Pinned Up Through Fence in Front of Tomatoes, Picture Taken 9-27-23

Early September Garden Producing Well, Still Very Dry

The very dry conditions continue in my early September garden, but at least the temperatures have cooled a bit over the last week or so. The fall garden has all been planted and the seedlings are growing pretty well so far. The Roma tomatoes are really producing right now. Looks like another fantastic crop of tomatoes this year, just like last year. The tomato plants are starting to develop a leaf disease that is causing browning of the leaves near the bottom of the plants, but no worries. I should have plenty of tomatoes from now until frost. The later planting of bush green beans are doing well and should be ready to harvest within the next week. Harvest also continues on peppers, celery, and a few pole green beans. I was able to harvest a few leaves from the early August planted lettuce seedlings. I have been giving these plants some shade when the temperatures start to warm up. Needless to say, I have been doing some watering, but not as much on the more mature plants of peppers and tomatoes. The late July sowing of carrots are starting to grow, although slowly. The average first frost of fall is only about 5 weeks away, so cooler weather is just around the corner. Make sure to check out the many picture of my garden below.

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Kohlrabi, Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Growing in Old Corn Bed, Picture Taken 9-2-23

Cauliflower Growing in Old Potato Bed, Picture Taken 9-2-23

Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower Growing in Another Old Potato Bed, Picture Taken 9-2-23

Fall Planted Broccoli and Spring Planted Brussels Sprouts, Picture Taken 9-2-23

Roma Tomato Plants Producing Abundantly, Picture Taken 9-1-23

Early April Planted Sierra Lettuce Plants Finally Flowering and Going to Seed, Picture Taken 9-1-23

Early August Planted Sierra Lettuce Growing Nicely, Picture Taken 9-1-23

Late July Sown Scarlet Nantes Carrots Starting to Grow, Picture Taken 9-1-23

Mid to Late July Planted Bush Green Beans Almost Ready to Harvest, Picture Taken 9-1-23

Fall Garden Getting Planted, Good Summer Harvest Continues Despite the Dryness

The fall garden planting has officially begun. I sowed seeds of Nantes carrots on July 29th, and they have just started to poke their green shoots above the ground. Over the past several days I have been transplanting lettuce, cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli seedlings out into the garden. I will be transplanting additional seedlings of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi seedlings out into the garden over the next several days. All of these additional transplants will be going into the raised bed where the corn was growing. Speaking of the corn, the last of the Silver Queen sweet corn will be harvested today. Overall, the corn harvest has been really good this year. The Roma tomatoes are starting to turn red and I will begin harvesting these in earnest over the next few days. Harvest continues on the hot banana peppers and the jalapeno peppers as well as on the pole green beans, bush lima beans, celery, and cucumbers. The very dry conditions have continued in my garden, but at least some sparse rain has fallen over the last few weeks. I have continued to “artificially” water the garden, as needed.

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Silver Queen Sweet Corn, Picture Taken 7-29-23

Harvest Ramps Up, Dry Conditions Continue

The harvesting activity in the garden has really ramped up over the last several weeks. Harvest started on the Red Norland potatoes in the grown bags on July 12th. Total harvest out of four of the five bags was pretty good (see picture below). That is not a picture of the exact total as a few potatoes were previously harvested out of the bags. Potato harvest began today on both of the 4ftx4ft raised beds (see pictures below) and the harvest was pretty good from those beds as well. I started harvesting the first of the Diva cucumbers a few days ago and was able to put up six jars or dill refrigerator pickles. There are many more cucumbers on the vines. I will probably put up another 4 jars of refrigerator pickles over the coming weeks. I probably harvested the last of the spring planted lettuce this last week. Harvest also started on the Tango celery this last week and harvest continues on the Hot Banana and Jalapeno peppers, Rattlesnake pole beans, and Derby bush green beans. Planting of more bush green beans was completed about one week ago. The Silver Queen White corn will be ready to start harvesting in another four or five days, YUM! The six Roma tomato plants are still growing like crazy, but no red tomatoes as of yet. The spring planted Green Arrow peas were finished growing and were pulled up. The Yellow Candy onion plants were also pulled up about a week ago and those have been drying in the barn. The onion crop was excellent this year and I might just run out of mesh bags to store all of this bounty!

The garden did received some much needed rain over the last week, but it still remains very dry here in Central Indiana. The forecast looks like it will be hot and dry over the next week or so. I hope to be able to sow seeds of Nantes carrots in about another 10 days and, if the weather is somewhat favorable, I hope to plant out seedlings of cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, lettuce, and broccoli by the second week of August, for a fall harvest.

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Potato Harvest from 4 Grow Bags, Picture Taken 7-12-23

Potato Harvest from One of the 4ftx4ft Raised Bed, Picture Taken 7-23-23

Potato Harvest from the Other 4ftx4ft Raised Bed, Picture Taken 7-23-23

Some of the Yellow Candy Onions Drying in the Barn, Picture Taken 7-23-23

Left to Right: Red Cannas and White Disco Belle Hibiscus in Front of Chicken Run, 4ftx4ft Raised Bed, and 8ftx4ft Corn Raised Bed, Picture Taken 7-21-23

Dry Conditions Improve, Garden Continues to Produce

The extreme dry conditions in the garden have improved slightly as at least some rain has fallen over the last several weeks. However, most of Central Indiana is still in a moderate to severe drought. The garden has continued to produce very well despite the extreme dry conditions. The onion harvest has started and it looks like it will be another great year for the onions. The Red Candy onions were pulled up and are currently drying on screens in the barn. It looks like the red onion crop this year will be the best I have had. The Candy yellow onions are still in the ground, but will be pulled up soon and moved to the barn to dry. In addition, the top setting onion tops will be harvested and allowed to dry and then planted out into the garden in late fall. The rest of the plants will be dug up and composted. Over the last several weeks harvest has also begun on broccoli and kohlrabi. Harvest still continues on the lettuce, but the last of the peas were harvested a few days ago. Overall, the peas harvest was pretty good this year. Harvest began two days ago on the hot banana peppers, with many more to come. The peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes have really exploded in growth. The Roma tomato plants have as many blooms and small tomatoes on them as I have ever seen. Needless to say, I think my tomato harvest will be excellent this year. The Silver Queen white corn is nearing 7 foot tall with many small ears already starting to form. The Tango celery plants have also started to get some good size to them and I expect harvest on a few outside stalks to begin soon. The Derby bush green beans and the Rattlesnake pole green beans are growing nicely and harvest should begin on those very soon. Some limited harvesting of the spring planted Red Norland potatoes has begun. A full harvesting of these potatoes, both in the grow bags and the two raised beds, will take place sometime over the next week to ten days.

I have decided to start saving seeds of the Green Arrow peas, so I am letting some of the better looking pods dry on the vines before pulling up the plants. By the way, I started seeds of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi on July 1st for transplanting out into the garden by early to mid August. Fall will be here before you know it! Over the next few weeks I will be planting bush green beans in the area were the onions and peas were growing. I will need to make sure to place soaker hoses in those plots first, so they the beans will have plenty of water as they begin to grow.

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Ears Starting to Develop on the Silver Queen Write Corn, Picture Taken 7-7-23

Rattlesnake Pole Green Beans, Picture Taken 7-7-23

Right to Left: Cucumbers, Peppers, Bush Green Beans, and Tomatoes (Behind) Growing Like Crazy, Picture Taken 7-7-23

Clockwise from Left: Walking Onions, Candy Onions, Celery, Hot Banana Peppers (Barely Visible), and Lettuce, Picture Taken 7-7-23

Giant Kohlrabi Harvested, Picture Taken 7-4-23

The Perfect Early Summer Dinner: Fresh Garden Broccoli, Fresh Garden Potatoes and a Perfectly Grilled Grilled Ribeye Steak, YUM!

Desert Dryness Continues, Garden Continues to Grow Well

Well, it is now official. We are now in a moderate drought here in Indianapolis. The very wet and cold March is now but a distant memory. Obviously, I have been watering the garden on a regular basis now. Despite the drought, the garden continues to grow and produce. Harvest still continues on the lettuce and the first harvest of broccoli will begin today, hooray!! I have started to harvest a few Green Arrow peas, with many more to harvest over the next few weeks. I have been having all kinds of problems with sparrows pulling on the leaves and tendrils of the pea plants. It got so bad that I had to cover the plants with a large row cover, for a time. I have since removed the row cover. A few birds have returned, but not as many as before, so hopefully those issues are passed. Harvest will also start soon on some of the Kossack kohlrabi plants as they are starting to get to harvestable size. The potatoes in the grow bags are just about finished growing and some of the potatoes have started to push up out of the soil, so some harvesting of these potatoes will start over the next few weeks (I am getting tired of watering these bags every other day anyways). The pepper and tomato plants are starting to flower and are getting some good size to them. I even noticed some small tomatoes and peppers on the plants already. The Diva cucumber plants are starting to climb up their cages and should start blooming in the next few weeks. Most of the Rattlesnake pole bean vines have reached the top of the bean towers. The tops of the March planted onions have started to flop over, which is a sign that they are nearing harvest time (it has been 90 days since they were planted out). These onions (Candy and Red Candy Apple) have really bulbed up nicely and it looks like I will have a really good crop of onions for the second year in a row. The Silver Queen corn is getting really tall and should start shooting up tassels soon. Wow, can you believe it is already June 24th. I will start planting seeds of lettuce, cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, and cauliflower, for a fall harvest, by early July. I have loaded you up with garden pictures for this post (see below). Happy Summer Gardening!!

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