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Successive Planting Prolongs Vegetable Harvest

Productive vegetables can become overwhelmingly abundant.

Cool season vegetables are now becoming seasonable. Regardless of warm weather, it is technically autumn, so the weather will get cooler. It might be tempting to sow all seed and plant all seedlings for vegetables at once. There should be no rush, though. Spring is half a year from now. Until then, successive planting can prolong vegetable harvests.

Successive planting entails cultivation of small crops throughout their seasons. The first vegetable crops, or groups, should begin as soon as they are seasonal. The last should finish at about the end of their seasons. Various vegetables grow at various rates. Some begin or finish earlier or later than others. Timing should not be too complicated, though.

Each crop of vegetables should ideally finish production as its subsequent crop begins. The typical duration of production should determine the frequency of subsequent crops. For example, each beet crop is productive for about two weeks. Each subsequent crop should therefore begin two weeks after its preceding crop. Production can last all winter.

Successive planting is not merely for cool season vegetables. It is as effective for warm season vegetables, and some spring and summer bulbs. The earliest cool season crops can replace the first warm season crops to finish. The process continues for weeks until the cool season vegetables replace all others. There is no rush for successive planting.

Large vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, require more space. They also require fewer crops because they mature relatively slowly. Successive planting for them may involve only one early crop and one late crop. Each crop might be productive for more than a month. Individual plants within each crop might mature at different rates.

Cucumber and pea are actually fruits rather than vegetables. Their vines are productive until they succumb to the weather. Those that start now may produce until the middle of winter. Those that start after the middle winter may produce until spring. Therefore, two crops may be the extent of their successive planting. One may suffice for mild climates. Cucumbers are actually warm season vegetables that grow for autumn and early spring.

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Six on Saturday: Bark

It has been quite a while since I shared pictures of the interesting bark around here.

1. Umbellularia californica, bay is known by several common names, such as California bay laurel, California bay, California laurel, Oregon myrtle, mountain laurel, spicebush, pepperwood, cinnamon bush, peppernut tree, headache tree and balm of Heaven. Wow!

2. Platanus racemosa, California sycamore is technically not a riparian species, but does prefer to be near water. They can grow a bit too well in lawns, and then become too big.

3. Arbutus mensiesii, madrone has both very smooth bark and finely checkered bark like this. The smooth bark is chestnut brown, and is about as smooth and shiny as chestnuts.

4. Quercus lobata, valley oak is still relatively young. Otherwise, its bark would be more deeply furrowed. It might be here for another six centuries, and grow impressively large.

5. Quercus agrifolia, coast live oak has variable bark. It is mostly smooth and gray while young, but can get striated at an early age. It eventually roughens and darkens with age.

6. Lithocarpus densiflorus, tanoak is technically not an oak, but creates acorns anyway. The gray portions of its bark resemble that of coast live oak, but are not quite as smooth.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

Posted on by tonytomeo

Collard

Some varieties of collard are perennial.

Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and Brussels sprout are all of the same species. Brassica oleracea is weirdly diverse, and also includes kale and collard. All varieties are collectively the cole crops. They are cool season vegetables that grow from autumn until spring. Most are biennials that grow as annuals. Some kales and collards are perennial.

Collard does not form heads like cabbage does. It instead grows loosely on stout stalks. Most are only about two feet high. A few perennial types can grow six feet high, and can grow from cuttings. All other types grow from seed or cell pack seedlings. More varieties are available as seed than as seedlings. Online markets offer more than nurseries stock.

Although perennial collards provide greens all year, they are better during cool weather. Also, collard greens are best while young and tender, before they mature too completely. They are easy to collect from the bottoms of the foliar rosettes, upward towards the tops. They need, however, to retain enough leaves to continue growing through their season.

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Cool Season Vegetables Are Back

Cool season vegetables are now seasonable.

Cool season annuals are a clue. They are currently replacing deteriorating warm season annuals. Vegetable gardening should involve a similar process. After all, most vegetable plants are annuals. Some of those that performed through summer are now getting tired. Cool season vegetables, or winter vegetables, should replace warm season vegetables.

Just like different flowering annuals, different vegetables operate on different schedules. Some warm season vegetables finish late in summer. Others continue until autumn chill. Some cool season vegetables prefer to start early, while the weather is still warm. Others can start late to grow through winter. The transition may continue through part of autumn.

Furthermore, different phases of some vegetables begin and finish at different times. For example, most corn is finished for summer. However, some late phases can continue for early autumn. Early phases of beet can begin now. Later phases might continue through winter. Summer vegetables should relinquish space as cool season vegetables need it.

Most cool season vegetables are true vegetables. In other words, they are not fruit which contain seeds, like tomato, squash and corn. Cabbage and Chard are distended foliage. Broccoli and cauliflower are distended floral bloom. Carrot and beet are distended roots. All initially grow slower than warm season vegetables, but then do not take time to ripen.

All cool season vegetables that are roots should grow from directly sown seed. They are susceptible to disfigurement with transplanting. Besides, they typically grow in quantities that are excessive for transplanting. They include beet, radish, turnip, carrot and parsnip. Cucumber and pea are conducive to transplanting, but also grow very easily from seed.

Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and heading lettuces are larger cool season vegetables. Since only a few are desirable, planting them as cell pack seedlings is a practical option. They happen to be more conducive to transplanting than root vegetables are. Seedlings of cool season vegetables are now available from nurseries. Seed are always available. Although seedlings start growing sooner, more varieties are available from seed.

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Six on Saturday: Early & Late

Punctuality is an attribute that is not endowed equally. Some plant species march to the beat of a different drum.

1. Lagerstroemia indica, crape myrtle is ready for autumn with its foliar color. However, the weather has not gotten cool yet. This may be the result of distress through summer.

2. Clerodendrum myricoides, butterfly flower supposedly begins to bloom in June, and then finishes about now. However, this tardy specimen is only beginning to bloom now.

3. Camellia sasanqua, sasanqua camellia should bloom for autumn or winter. However, this specimen blooms whenever it wants to. It seems to be at a different time every year.

4. Hebe buxifolia, boxwood hebe should have bloomed for June or July. However, it did nothing at the time. Instead, it is blooming now. I believe that this one is ‘Patty’s Purple’.

5. Crinum bulbispermum, Orange River lily bloomed on time for spring, but is doing so again. However, it can bloom randomly any time, so is technically neither early nor late.

6. Rhody says that it is never too early or too late for a nap. He is an expert on that topic. He also mentioned that it is bad grammar to use “however” in each of these six citations.

Anyone who would like to participate in this meme should peruse this participant guide for Six on Saturday.

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French Marigolds

Marigolds are traditional flowers for autumn.

The Maya actually cultivated marigolds long before the French. The ancestors of French marigolds, Tagetes patula, were native to Mexico and Guatemala. French horticulturists merely hybridized the varieties that are now most popular. The largest varieties can grow a foot high and broad. Most, though, stay significantly lower as compact bedding plants.

Contrary to their popularity during autumn, French marigolds are warm season annuals. With frequent deadheading, they can perform from spring until cool winter weather. They are popular as short term annuals merely because they perform best while young. Bloom is slightly less abundant as they age. They can perform as well for spring as for autumn.

Many varieties of French marigolds are available. Yet, their floral color range is limited to yellow, orange and red. Brown flowers are really dark orange. Creamy white flowers are really very pale yellow. White marigolds are uncommon because richer colors are more popular. Like most bedding plants, French marigolds want rich soil and regular watering.

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Cool Season Annuals Are Back

Cool season annuals are now seasonable.

Warm season annuals may not seem ready to relinquish their space. Although some are beginning to get tired after a season of performance, some are not. They might be happy to continue blooming until cooler winter weather. Bedding plants are temporary, though. The time for winter annuals, or cool season annuals, to have their turn is now beginning.

There is no rush, though. Only cool season annuals that begin as seed must do so while the weather is still warm. Most begin as cell pack seedlings, so can, if necessary, wait for a little while longer. Some actually prefer to begin later in autumn. Ornamental kales and cyclamens can wait until winter. Various cool season annuals are on various schedules.

Besides, various warm season annuals are also on various schedules. Some deteriorate sooner than others. Ideally, their replacement should coincide with the beginning of their deterioration. Some are already deteriorating, so are ready for their replacement. Others, though, can perform until cooler autumn weather. Their replacement is generally sooner.

Some annuals, both warm season and cool season, are actually perennial. They merely perform as annuals because replacement is easier than salvage. They likely get shabby during their off season, but can have potential to survive. Wax begonias, for example are warm season annuals. They get tired through winter but can survive until the next spring.

On small scales, cool season annuals can coexist with overwintering wax begonias. For example, pansies can partially obscure tired wax begonias through winter. In spring, the wax begonias may regenerate to replace the pansies. Sweet Williams and primroses are cool season annuals that are actually perennials. They can survive through the summer.

Pansies and violas are the most familiar and reliable of cool season annuals. Marigolds, calendulas, and snapdragons are popular autumn annuals. Cyclamens and ornamental kales can replace them later for winter. Stocks are notably fragrant cool season annuals. Alyssums can begin about now and continue into next summer, as if they are perennials. Iceland poppies are nice for pots and smaller plantings. Cornflowers are nice wildflowers for cutting.