Plant Lettuce, Kale and Other Cold Crops Right Now!
Monday, October 9th, 2017
Hurry. It’s not too late!
Plant Lettuce, Kale and other cold crops right now, and surprise everybody at Thanksgiving with fresh greens from your garden.
Yes, it’s late, but not too late. Most leaf lettuce and almost all kales love fall weather. In fact, they prefer it to spring! If you haven’t put in fall greens, do it now. We’ll ship your seed quickly.
Kale grows rapidly, laughs at early frosts, and just keeps on growing. Greens like arugula and some lettuce varieties do the same, so hurry, and put in some seeds now. Think of the crisp, young fresh salads you can serve with the turkey!
Even if some of your fall-planted greens are still short, toss them in as tender baby greens or sprouts. Everyone will love it.
2 thoughts on “Plant Lettuce, Kale and Other Cold Crops Right Now!”
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I live in senior apartments in Lewisville, Tx. I have two garden plots in the very back of the property and am finding I can do less and less gardening, but I just can’t give it up. Spring is coming. And I know I’ll be sorry if I can’t dig in the dirt.
I am trying to go to perenials so that I will have less work to do. Any suggestions will be appreciated. It is in full sun and gets very hot here in the late summer. I grew up in MS and have had to relearn what to plant here.
Hi Brenda: I apologize for my late answer, but since it’s spring, I know you’re ready to get into your garden plots. Here’s what I’d suggest. You mention perennials, and I know why….you figure they’ll come up each year for you, and that’s right. BUT….remember, the average perennial blooms only 2 weeks. The average annual blooms for 2 months! So scattering some annual seed of easy-grow flowers may be more rewarding, and not much work.
As for perennials, I suggest Bearded Iris. They’re tough perennials, and I have a friend in Dallas (near you) who grows them like crazy. I’ve seen her garden…she tells me they’re great in spring when they bloom, but like almost everything else, die down with the summer heat, but always survive and even spread for more each year. They’re usually planted in fall. Beyond those, in spring, you can easily seed in a Texas classic, the Pink Texas Primrose. It’s also called Showy Evening Primrose. (Oenothera speciosa) And once you’ve planted them, they’re there every year. It’s one of the few perennials that often bloom their first year By the way, it was Lady Bird Johnson’s favorite wildflower, and you know she was a true expert. The pink primroses bloom in spring, normally, but you can seed them anytime. Some consider them “invasive” since they scatter the seed everywhere after they bloom….but in your case, who cares? A self-seeding beauty is just what you need! I’ve grown them, and if you end up with too many, it’s easy to just pull them out in no time. If I were you, I’d order an ounce of Showy Primrose, and plant lots of them.
Beyond perennials, I’d suggest using seed of the EASY QUICK-GROWING annuals that bloom almost all summer, and should give you plenty of flowers outside, and always enough to cut for bouquets inside. My first suggestion would be Zinnias–as you know, they come in tall or short types in a rainbow of colors–AND tolerate heat well. You could edge your plots with constantly blooming marigolds and/or pink or white fibrous begonias (best bought in six-packs in spring), both of which seem to enjoy summer heat. Have fun!.