Dr. Grow: Garden can be a delight all season long

A pumpkin plant sprouted out of a mound in the Meyr's garden destined to be picked in the fall.

At this time of the year, I am often asked "Is it too late to plant vegetable garden plants and seeds?" The answer to this question depends upon you.

My friend, Kathy, (I've changed her name to protect the innocent, namely myself) is a fair weather gardener. Every Feb. 14 she dutifully plants her lettuce, just like her mother always did. Then on March 17, she thinks about planting potatoes, but never does because her garden is too small.

In April Kathy harvests some lettuce, works up her garden bed, plants a few tomatoes, scatters a few radish seeds, and lines out a row of beans. This is done all in one day so that she can get it over with for the spring. Now she sits back and waits.

In May, Kathy digs a few radishes, continues to pick some lettuce and watches her tomatoes and beans grow. She may even do a little weeding, but not too much, because it is beginning to get warm. The humidity is creeping up, so it gets too sticky to be outside.

It's June, the red line of the thermometer is moving up, and the air has so much moisture in it that there is a haze over the landscape. Kathy looks out from her kitchen window and wonders if anything is ripe. She thinks, "I'll check on the garden when we get a nice cool day."

Now it's July. Kathy happens by the garden and thinks she spots a red tomato. She wonders if it's worth wading through all of the weeds just for one ripe tomato. She finally concludes "It would be easier if I bought one at Schnucks."

Dortha (I'm not changing her name because I'm not afraid of her) on the other hand, has a totally different perspective on vegetable gardening. She thinks the summer is the time to get started.

She says she is worked too hard in the spring to have any time to devote to a garden. I believe she waits to see if her neighbor plants a big garden. If so, I'm sure she thinks he will supply her during the spring and early summer while she sits back and takes it easy. No sense in getting in a hurry.

I suppose by late May, Dortha begins to feel guilty. She finally talks Harold into tilling the garden and begins to plant every variety of vegetable that anyone ever hybridized. I don't think she gets it all planted in one day. It probably takes several days.

By July her garden begins to "come in." The beans start to ripen, her corn is waist high, and the tomatoes are beginning to set blooms. Squash vines cover the ground like kudzu.

Each morning and each evening Dortha walks around the garden. If there is a weed, it gets plucked. If several weeds rear their ugly heads, Dortha plans a hoeing party for the next day. I've been told her favorite toys are a hose and a weed eater.

During each walk around, every plant is inspected to see if a mite, potato bug, tomato horn worm or squash vine borer would dare to enter Dortha's Eden. If so, woe be to it, because its days are numbered. Out comes the sprayer.

If you are like Dortha, you may want to plant a late or fall garden. So what do you plant? Just about everything that you plant in the spring can be planted again in the late summer and early fall.

Start by looking at seed packages. On each package is listed the number of days from planting to harvest. For example, Contender is a 50 day bean. If you plant today, you will be harvesting about the first of September. You could even plant Contender as late as Aug. 10 and be pretty sure that you'll harvest them yet this fall.

Champion radishes are 22 days from planting to harvest. Because they taste hot when grown in warm weather, you may want to wait and plant radishes in September. You may even want to make additional plantings as late as the first of October.

You can even savor corn on the cob this fall. Early sunglow is a 63 day variety. Plant now and you'll be wiping the butter off your chin the middle of September.

The list of vegetables that you can grow from now to this fall include tomatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, turnips, mustard, spinach, and squash. I'm sure I left out a few varieties.

Finding seeds and plants is the toughest thing about fall gardens. Most vendors only sell seed and plants during the spring. Go to your local full-time, yearround garden center. They will have what you need.

If you like to garden, don't quit just because tradition suggests plant only in the spring. You can enjoy watching your garden blossom and grow all season long. When one crop is finished, replant with another one through September.