There's still time for some fall planting

By Rennie Phillips

I can hardly believe it's Oct. 1. Where has the summer gone? I was talking to my brother in Nebraska, and he said they already have used their wood stove. About all we have used here in Missouri is our AC. Boy, we have been hot and super dry. But it's only about three or four weeks away from our first frost this fall. If you have delayed getting anything planted, don't despair. There are a few things you can still plant.

There are some 30- to 35-day turnips you can still plant. Shogun is one and Hakurei is another. Both are hen-egg to tennis-ball size and really taste good. Greens are good as well. Or you could plant some purple-top turnips and eat the greens. I doubt you will get turnip bulbs with only a month left. You can try local stores and they may have them.

Most of the radishes will make, especially the small ones. Most stores will have the seed. Lettuce is another reliable crop you can plant. If you plant your radishes and lettuce so that you can cover it, I know both will make. It seems like we have a frost or two, then it warms up for two or three weeks.

I ended up planting my fall turnips at the end of August, so I was a couple weeks late. I went ahead and mixed in some radishes, beets, lettuce seed and even some Austrian peas. I got a good stand of the peas. I read an article that said Austrian peas can be added to salads and they are simply delicious. We'll find out.

If your tomatoes are like mine, they outgrew their cages and are down on the ground. Some of my cages are right at 5 feet tall, so the plants are at least 9 or 10 feet long. They have really been doing well producing tomatoes. Most of them are small, so we have been turning them into tomato juice. My Kellogg's tomatoes are a big, yellow tomato, with many being at least a pound. I have them caged up to about 6 feet and they are even touching the ground. They are still producing some beautiful big yellow tomatoes. I had two with supper the other evening.

When I talked to my brother in Nebraska he was working his cucumbers so he could harvest the seeds for next year. He plants a long Asian type, an open-pollinated cucumber, I believe. He seems to always have good luck with them. We planted some General Lee and some double yield about a month ago. They are blooming up a storm, so should have some cucumbers later in October. Hopefully we can make some refrigerator pickles. We have made a bunch of dill pickles but no refrigerator pickles or what I call ice-box pickles.

I got to thinking about ice-box pickles, so I wondered what green tomatoes would taste like if made like ice-box pickles. Basically one adds vinegar, sugar, canning salt, celery seed, mustard seed and turmeric. Each recipe is a little different. I think one recipe uses allspice. I think a sprig or two of dill would add to the taste. Some would add a hot pepper or two. We'll pass on that one. I told Marge we need to make a gallon or two of green tomato ice-box pickles. Maybe we'll add onions and garlic. I really do like garlic; maybe we'll add a good bunch of garlic. The other day for dinner I fried a pound of hamburger and added one fair-sized onion and six or seven cloves of garlic. I got that all fried up, then added some taco seasoning. So I've been enjoying taco salad the last few days. I sure can taste the garlic in it.

Sometime during October we need to get our garlic planted. I usually till a spot I can water. After tilling the soil, I normally add about 4 inches of straw. The straw seems to keep the weeds at bay and also helps with moisture. Then, when I have time, I take my dibbler and start planting dill. I plant the cloves about 2 inches deep and about 6 inches apart. After planting the garlic I'd go ahead and water it. It should come up this fall, which will help it make bigger bulbs next summer. If you have some balanced fertilizer like 12-12-12, I'd scatter some before tilling. I can't tell you how many pounds. I usually fill a coffee can and then scatter mine by hand.

If you haven't had your garden tested, now would be a good time. If I had to guess, I'd say most gardens in our area need lime. The only question is how much. It takes about a week to get the results back, so you have plenty of time. Pick up one of the sample envelopes next time you are down by Benton at the Ag Office. Directions are printed on the envelope or ask one of the workers. Or give me a call.

Back in the summer a friend of ours gave Marge and I some purple hull beans, so Marge spent a couple evenings shelling them. At that time we didn't have time to cook them, so Marge froze them. A week ago we bought the shank end of a ham, and boy has it been good. So I got to wondering about taking the bone from the ham, adding the purple hull peas and turnip greens. I may have to cook the greens a couple times before adding them to the ham and beans. I kind of think that sounds good. Oh yeah, I need to add some garlic and some onions.

Have a great fall.