Another Round for the House!

If you live far from the equator of our planet Earth, you understand how frustratingly short a growing season can be. The night air in central Massachusetts is already chilly. We are only weeks from the first apples ripening. Our state typically sees its fist snowfall in October- less than two months away! However, there is still plenty of growing to do in the Food It Yourself garden. There are plenty of crops that will have ample time to mature in the late summer and early fall, even in New England.

The sweet corn I planted in May has formed tassels, and the ears are just barely visible. I decided to try for a second crop, as I still had plenty of seed in the packet I bought this year. Besides, I had an empty bed where my first round of snow peas and Swiss chard had been. I have learned, the hard way, that the adorable house sparrows and gold finches who crowd my bird feeder love to eat seed corn, too. I finally wised up and stapled some row cover cloth over the raised bed until the corn germinates. I planted this bed seven days ago. I will remove the cloth in a few days, but just look at what has sprouted underneath!

I was thinking of planting a second round of string beans, but Mr. Food It Yourself requested more snow peas. I have plenty of seeds for that, too! For my first round, I used up-turned tomato cages as a support, and it worked very well. I used them again this time. The one important point is that the cages have to be anchored to the ground if the “pointy parts” are upwards facing. You can purchase landscaping staples, or get creative with extra coat hangers. I used some of each with equal success.

My top tip for spacing large seeds like corn, peas, beans, and squash: lay all the seeds out on the prepared soil, then gently press into the ground. I placed chicken wire fences to keep the chickens from disturbing my newly planted crops and watered everything in.

Speaking of which, I have to mention that this was the first day since early June that I had to water my plants. We have had such a wet summer that I have simply not needed to water by hand. Indeed, many places in northern New England have seen floods this summer. This is a stark contrast to last summer, when I did not try for second plantings of my fast-growing crops because of drought restrictions. I have said it before and I will say it again: in New England the weather is the biggest “pest” gardeners have to deal with.

I am hopeful for my second-round crops. Yes, there is always the danger of an early frost wiping everything out. However, it is also possible that the atmosphere will be kind and I will get a good crop from these second plantings. How is your garden growing this year? If you are in the southern hemisphere, what are you planning to grow when spring hits? Share in the coments!