I’ve been busy the last week or two getting things started and planted for the fall garden. I actually replanted the I’itoi multiplier onions almost a month ago. They had died back so I lifted and divided them up. I’ve been using these mostly as green onions, and it is so handy to have a perennial onion around for that purpose. In addition to ones outside in the ground, I have more planted in a container and a small planting in the greenhouse bed. The ones in the greenhouse kept us supplied through most of last winter.
I’itoi multiplier onions
I started seeds for broccoli, cabbage, kale and kohlrabi four weeks ago, and those plants are ready to start going in the ground. I’ve been hardening them off outside while they wait to be planted. That’s kale in the below photo, mostly open-pollinated types like White Russian, Lacinato, Dazzling Blue, Red Ursa and Improved Siberian plus a few hybrids including Darkibor, and Starbor.
plug flat of kale seedlings
I’ve already planted a few of the Darkibor amongst the spring planted Prizm kale. Hopefully the new seedlings can find their way up through the much larger neighbors. I really had planned on pulling all the spring planted kale, but these Prizm plants looked pretty healthy after I trimmed them up a bit. I also spread some compost and organic fertilizer before setting the new plants, and gave everyone a drink of Neptune’s Harvest fish and seaweed fertilizer. Everyone seemed to appreciate that and responded with a flush of new growth.
the old and the new kale plants
A couple of doors down from the kale I set out 30 kohlrabi plants in another coldframe bed. I planted a mix of Kolibri, Konan and Quickstar there. I’ll grow the larger Kossak kohlrabi in the main garden area where I can give them more room. I’ve got another coldframe bed ready for lettuce once I get some seeds started.
kohlrabi in coldframe bed
In the main garden, I’ve got a couple of things planted already. I set out two Red Racer cocktail tomato plants back on July 13th. This is a 2018 AAS Winner that was just announced this summer, and Harris Seeds and Garden Trends Wholesale made transplants available for garden communicators and the media to try out. These compact determinate plants get to about three feet tall, and I’ve got them supported by some galvanized wire round cages. I set out two in the main garden and a third in a Smart Pot behind the greenhouse.
Red Racer Cocktail Tomato
They are just now starting to bloom, and I hope to have the first ripe ones in early September. You can read more about them in a post I wrote when they were announced.
blossoms on Red Racer tomato
I’ve also set out a few late summer squash plants nearby. The spring planted ones were all done for, so I decided to see if I could get a few from a fall planting. Powdery mildew is sometimes a problem here in fall, and Astia is a zucchini with a compact growing habit that is supposed to have PM resistance. I also set out a plant each of Flaminio and Clarimore. I started the seeds about three weeks ago in 3.5 inch pots, so they have a head start and should take right off.
zucchini plant
And lastly I pulled the spring planting of Derby bush beans and resowed them in the same spot for fall. These have been doing so well I hated to pull them, but I believe a fresh planting can do even better. Meanwhile we can enjoy the pole beans.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this update, and I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!
We will be planting out autumn/fall brassicas soon. No sooner is our plot planted up than we seem to start clearing them.
Looking good! Love all those kale varieties. No fall plantings for me this year, except perhaps some lettuce. There’s so much on my plate already, I’m considering this a year of transition and not fretting too much about it.
Dave-
I just ordered i’itoi onions from Baker Creek for the first time. They are due to arrive in the next month. Looking at your bed, it looks like you planted the bulbs around 6″ apart..would that be what you would suggest? I am really excited to finally be able to give this variety a try here in Oregon.
Yes, I planted them 6 inches apart. I have seen recommendation to plant further apart, but since I am planning on pulling most of them as scallions that seems to work. That is how I planted them last year and they multiplied like crazy. I had all I could eat, and plenty more to replant this year.
Thanks Dave!
I’m so impressed with how far along you are with fall planting. The little kohlrabies and kales are so cute. We cut down most of the garden today and plan to till in a couple weeks, but I’ll be mostly direct seeding.