Fall lettuce planting.

OK, so it’s the end of July and everyone’s feeling the heat of summer. And, if your garden is at all like mine, it may be a tad overgrown. It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s just too hot to spend much time weeding and such. I generally dart outside just long enough to give everything a drink and then run back in for air conditioned comfort.

But, take heart! One of the best times to garden is right around the corner. This is especially true of cool loving crops like radishes, Brussels sprouts and romaine lettuce. If you plant these out eight weeks prior to the first average frost, you can achieve great results. This is due to the fact that both seed and small transplants will germinate and grow well in the warm soils during the remaining warm weeks and then, as it gets cooler, will really take off. Some of my best harvest have been during this time period!

Ask you might guess, success is all in how well you time everything. So, here are a few hints to perhaps help anyone who’s interested along. Start with a chart that shows the average first date of frost for your particular local. I’m located in the south end of zone 6 and so can expect Jack Frost on or after October the 29th. There is a nifty map can help you figure out your particular target date.

Once you have that firmly in mind, you can begin to make plans on what it is you want to plant and when. If you are going with romaine transplants and you live in SW Missouri as I do you can wait until the beginning of September to place them in the ground. If you are going with seed, then try for mid August. Note however that if the temperatures are above the mid eighties, then you will need to shade the ground. Lettuce, as a rule like cooler ground temperatures in order to germinate. The same is true of the other cole crops to one extent or the other so do a little research.

Now, if you have a cold frame, then you are really in the cat birds seat. Please check out my series of blogs concerning this subject. I was able to maintain a fresh stream of lettuce not only through the fall months, but even in the very early spring by using these to the greatest effect. Note that do not even need to make a very large structure either. In my video on ‘Building a Cold Frame’ I will show you how.