Fall Gardening Anyone?

Although it is the dog days of August and quite hot, we planted our fall vegetable garden. I started with a drive up to Agway in Dublin and found some healthy and reasonably priced late fall vegetable plants and seeds. After cleaning out the drooping cucumber and squash monster plants and the one bean plant the bunnies left me, I added several wheelbarrows of mushroom soil and manure and John tilled until the soil looked like crumbly chocolate cake. Following the advice of the handy Agway guide to ward off pesky cabbage maggots and keep them confused, we diversified our planting – so first a row of red cabbage, then romaine lettuce, then stonecrop cabbage, then more romaine, then brussel sprouts, a patch of spinach from seed, broccoli, beans and more romaine to finish. The guide also recommends creating a physical barrier so the flies can’t lay eggs around the plants. Using weed control material I will be cutting out 10-12 inch squares to place around the plants this afternoon. I mended our 8’ high (with 2’ deep wire rabbit fence) deer fence again in hopes of keeping out the bunnies at least long enough to let the plants have a head start. The fence gets torn by birds, wind, claw wielding groundhogs, who knows? Next year I’m fighting back with a solar powered electrical fence. I hope I’m not turning into grumpy Mr. McGregor.