CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 09/18/01

It's Fall: Time to Get Out in the Garden

A neighbor says the only thing to do in July and August is to hunker down in the air-conditioning. He has a point. Now that the end of summer is here, though, it's time to get off the couch and head for the garden.

Gardening right through the fall and winter has some real advantages.

For one thing, the weather will be much cooler. Insects aren't nearly the problem they can be during the summer. This is particularly true after a cold snap. And some vegetables even taste better if grown in the cool of the year.


Photo: Wayne McLaurin

Broccoli and other cole crops grow well in fall gardens in Georgia.
Many cool-season crops will do just fine, including onions, carrots, cole crops (broccoli, cauliflower, collards, cabbage), turnip greens and sweet peas, or garden peas. Others you can try include radishes, rutabagas, leeks, garlic and artichokes.

Sweet Vidalia Onions

Georgia is famous for its sweet Vidalia onions. Why not try them in your garden? You can grow Vidalia onions from transplants you can buy at local stores throughout the fall, usually in bundles of about 50 plants.

Plant them in November or December with an in-row spacing of 4 to 6 inches and a between-row spacing of 14 to 18 inches.

Onions are heavy feeders, so you'll need a complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 that also contains sulfur. Apply about 1 pound per 100 square feet before transplanting and apply again the end of January.

At the end of February, apply 0.5 pound of calcium nitrate (15-0-0). Your onions will be ready in April. Make sure the burgers are ready, too.

Collards, Cabbage

Cole crops, particularly collards and cabbage, have been a mainstay in the South. These can be started from seed or transplants.

Direct seeding should be done in late summer or early fall. Transplants can be set out a little later. Space plants 12 to 18 inches in the row, with rows 2 to 3 feet apart.

Several caterpillars can be troublesome on these crops, so keep an eye on them. They're particularly hard to control on broccoli or cauliflower if they get into the developing flower.

Bt products are particularly good at controlling these problems. Bt is a bacterium you can buy under many brand names. It makes caterpillars sick and eventually kills them.

Long History in South

Collards have a long history in the South. They probably did as much as any food to keep hunger at bay for many poor farmers. Even today you'll see collard plants 2 to 3 feet tall during the winter in the backyard of rural homes.

The lower leaves are often snapped off as the plants grow, leaving a tall, bare stem and a cluster of leaves on top. You don't have to harvest them this way. You can pull an entire plant once it reaches 18 to 24 inches tall.

Turnips can be grown much like cole crops. The bonus is that the tops and roots are both edible. Turnip greens are prepared much like collards, with the roots diced and added to the pot. You'll have to act quickly to get a crop in, though, because they require about 70 days to mature.

Garden Peas, Too

Garden peas probably won't last through a hard freeze, but will stand some light frost. Start them in September for peas in late November. Plant 3 to 4 seeds per foot in rows 6 to 24 inches apart.

Use the close spacing to form a bed of peas and the wider spacing if they need to be trellised. Check when you buy your seeds to see if they need trellising.

Edible-pod types are tasty. Often they will have "Sugar" in the name, such as "Sugar Pod," "Sugar Snap" or "SugarAnn."

George Boyhan is a Cooperative Extension horticulturist with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Terry Kelley is a former University of Georgia Cooperative Extension horticulturist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Terry Kelley
George E. Boyhan
A new UGA study found that children improved their diet quality when they ate school-prepared lunches. CAES News
UGA study shows all students benefit from healthy school lunches 04/24/24 Erica P. Techo
School lunches have come a long way from square pizza and fish sticks, and students across the board are benefiting from improved nutritional standards in the cafeteria. A new study from the University of Georgia found that children from all walks of life improved their diet quality when they ate school-prepared lunches following the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act nutritional guidelines instead of home-prepared lunches.
Jeffrey Dean (center), assistant provost and campus director for UGA-Griffin, with 2024 Classified Employee Award recipients Daniel Nordstrom (left) and Kenny Corley. (Photos by Ashley Biles) CAES News
Corley, Nordstrom named UGA-Griffin 2024 Classified Employees of the Year 04/23/24 Ashley N Biles
The University of Georgia Griffin campus recently named Kenny Corley and Daniel Nordstrom the 2024 Classified Employees of the Year. The designation was made at the 35th annual Employee Recognition Ceremony held April 3. The Employee of the Year award is presented to classified personnel who have made a significant impact on programs at UGA-Griffin through superior job knowledge and performance, work attitude, initiative, dependability and time management.
A Master Gardener with UGA Extension teaches a class at the GROWL Fulton County Demonstration and Teaching Garden. (Submitted photo) CAES News
Volunteers uplift statewide UGA Extension outreach programs 04/22/24 Sheri Dorn, Keri Gandy Hobbs
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension depends on thousands of volunteers who give generously to extend program impact and reach in support Extension missions. During Volunteer Appreciation Week April 21-28, UGA Extension celebrates the many volunteers who donate their time to facilitate 4-H, Master Gardener and Family and Consumer Sciences programming. Volunteers across Extension contributed over 324,200 hours in 2023, the equivalent of more than 155 full-time employees.
uga commencement CAES News
CAES to celebrate new graduates during May 9 convocation 04/18/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
As another academic year draws to a close, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is gearing up for its Athens campus convocation ceremony, which will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, at The Classic Center in Athens. “Each year, it’s an honor to celebrate the success of our CAES graduates,” said CAES Dean and Director Nick T. Place. “It’s amazing what these students accomplish during their time with us, and I’m always excited to commemorate this next step in their lives as they continue on to either further studies or the start of their careers.”
A student harvests red clover at UGArden. CAES News
UGA horticulture class shows students the science behind herbal remedies 04/16/24 Sameeka Prabath Rajamani
The field of medicine is ever-changing, and the use of herbal medicines may play a bigger role in health care as the value of natural remedies gain recognition in the Western world. Students at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are delving into the field of medicinal remedies through the class “Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants.” Offered to undergraduate students through the Department of Horticulture, the class helps students develop a deeper understanding of the connection between nature and health.
Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms CAES News
Using robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms 04/15/24 David Mitchell
During the pandemic, labor problems became acute on many farms in Georgia and across the country. Farms once staffed by humans to bring produce from the field to stores for purchase were suddenly short-staffed, and the global supply chain was severely impacted. Working with UGA’s Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center and A&M Farms in Lyons, Georgia, a team of researchers led by School of Computing Professor Prashant Doshi is designing collaborative robots to mitigate some of these potential challenges.