The growing season in the northeast winds down after September. As the days got shorter, we prepared our suburban fall vegetable garden so that it will be set up for success next spring.
It was a great first summer with our garden and we are looking forward to what we can grow next year. But we wanted to set up our suburban fall vegetable garden in a way that will lead to a greater yield of produce in the next growing season. {Check out how we built our garden HERE.}
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FINAL HARVEST
The first thing we did was to harvest the last of what was growing. That included pinto beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce.
〈HOW WE BUILT OUR BACKYARD GARDEN〉 〈SMALL GARDEN MID-SUMMER UPDATE〉
The best-tasting vegetables are the ones grown in your own garden.
This was my first time growing sweet potatoes and I learned a few lessons. One of those was that next time, I will keep the vines from growing so long. That way, the plant’s energy is poured into the potato instead of the leaves.
REMOVE ALL PLANTS
Once the harvest was in, we worked to remove all of the bushes. These plants will continue to help us in the future as we tossed them into our compost pile. There were also a few plants, including a zinnia, dahlia, and black-eyed Susan’s that needed transplanting. These flowers “got caught” in here when we built the garden.
WEEDS AND COMPOST
Any remaining weeds were dug out and my kids scattered compost around the area. This was a free way to add nutrients to our fall suburban vegetable garden. All summer long, we added to our compost pile and now it was time to get it into our garden.
James then used our rototiller to work the compost into the soil.
The ground looked so rich, full, and nutrient-dense with all that beautiful compost.
PLANTING RYEGRASS
Years ago, when my kids were little, I had a huge vegetable garden in a previous home. My dad passed on a gardening book that I used as my go-to resource. This was before the internet {or what it is today} and books were a main source of information. In it, the author mentions planting ryegrass for various reasons. One being to protect the soil over the winter, but also as a way to add nutrients.
I decided to give it a try. It felt a little late in the year to try and grow something in the northeast, but I figured that it didn’t hurt to try. Johnny’s Seeds was recommended and I ordered 1 pound.
Funny story: I recently told my dad about planting ryegrass and he asked if it was perennial or annual. I had a moment of panic because perennial ryegrass would defeat the entire purpose. Turns out, I planted annual ryegrass, so all is good.
We’ve had a dry summer and fall and it wasn’t until we had a few straight days of rain before it began to germinate.
Due to me sowing my seeds by hand and not ordering enough, the ryegrass is a little sparse in some areas. But I’m okay with that. Perfection isn’t needed and any way that more nutrients can be added to our suburban fall vegetable garden is welcomed.
WINDOW BOXES
Building windows boxes for our herbs was a great use of space. We enjoyed fresh herbs during the summer and dried some for use this winter. But like all good things, those came to an end. It was really easy to put all the dead plants and potting soil into our compost pile, which will be added to our garden in the spring.
〈HOW TO BUILD A WINDOW BOX〉 〈STEP BY STEP OF DRYING HERBS〉
OUTDOOR SUCCULENTS
As the weather became cooler, our succulents began to change colors. We store these enamel pots with succulents in our basement during the winter.
This really was a great summer to build a vegetable garden. The fresh produce was amazing. And we are happy with the efforts we put into our suburban fall vegetable garden that will lead to a successful growing season next year!
Have you prepared your outdoor space for the winter?
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