Formula for success - planting fall vegetables

August isn't really my favorite month. By now, I've had enough of summer heat and I'm anxious for autumn. And yet, I know that the respite that autumn holds, of colored leaves, cooler temperatures and visits to the local pumpkin patch will arrive and depart all too quickly, to be replaced by the bitterness of winter.

And so, August prods me to go outside.

The tricky part is trying to determine what can still be planted in August. Although it may seem far away, the first frost date is lurking out there in the shadows and needs to be taken into consideration for planting any cold sensitive plants, especially anything that produces fruit or vegetables.

Of course, no one can predict when the first frost of the season will actually occur. Sources such as the National Climatic Data Center, The Farmers Almanac, and Victory Seeds all list different dates for the average "first killing frost date" for DC. The earliest of which seems to be October 17th.....less than 60 days away. (Although a more accurate date is probably late October or early to mid November).

So now that we know that date, we can do a little math to determine what can still be planted.

I found this somewhat confusing formula on the Virginia Cooperative Extension website (as well as many other sites around the internet). I found it odd that none of them explained it fully and I have to admit I was a little lost. After looking at it a little closer, I've come up with my own explanation of what it is supposed to mean. The formula:

1. Number of days for seeds to germinate, if you grow your own from seed +
2. Average harvest period +
3. Fall Factor (about two weeks) +
4. Frost Tender Factor (if applicable; 2 weeks =
5. Days to count back from first frost date.

Here is the formula breakdown (as I understand it):

1) First, if you are growing your plants from seeds, you have to determine the average number of days for the seeds to germinate. Most seed packets will contain this information. It can also be found on many seed catalog websites. Here is a list I found on the Heirloom Seeds website.

2) I asked several "garden experts" I know what they thought "average harvest period" meant. To me, it was logical to think it meant the time from when a plant sprouts until when you can expect to start your "harvest". Other people thought it might mean the length of harvest period.

3) According to the University of Virginia Extension website "The Fall Factor takes into account the slower growth that results from cooler weather and shorter days in the fall and amounts to about two weeks."

4) "The Frost Tender Factor is added only for those crops that are sensitive to frost (corn, bean, cucumber, tomato, squash), as these must mature two weeks before frost in order to produce a reasonable harvest."

So if you take all of those numbers, add, subtract, carry the one, etc. you can probably determine what you can still plant with the hopes of getting some more luscious home grown food and veggies before old man winter comes along and spoils your plans for fresh, homegrown produce.

If you would rather spend your time planting instead of doing math, the folks at Johnny's Selected Seeds were kind enough to let me share their Fall Planting Calculator with you. Just put your cursor in the the square over the When to Plant column, and plug in the date that you think the first killing frost will occur. The worksheet does the rest for you.

They've got other great calculators on their website including a seed calculator, a target harvest date calculator, a caterpillar tunnel worksheet, and more. I encourage you to check them out!


More information from the Virginia Cooperative Extension:

Fall Vegetable Gardening

Building a Sustainable Future - One Flower at a Time - National Honey Bee Day

August 20, 2011 is a day to appreciate your honey - and the bees that produce it. It is National Honey Bee Day!

Protecting honey bees is another important reason to eliminate chemicals from your landscape. National Honey Bee Day will help you to understand why.

National Honey Bee Day was started by grassroots minded beekeepers to build community awareness of the bee industry, through education and promotion.  

The primary goals of the National Honey Bee Day Program include:  
1) Promotion and advancement of beekeeping.  
2) Educate the public about honey bees and beekeeping.  
3) Make the public aware of environmental concerns as they effect honey bees.

I've often mentioned the importance of pollinators and the dangers they face because of chemicals that some gardeners use in their gardens (among other things). The National Honey Bee Day website states:

We ask that every beekeeper join in this cause. We ask that backyard gardeners, those who love nature, environmental groups, and folks from every corner of society get involved and support saving the honey bee.

It's just not the honey bee in peril. Bats, butterflies, frogs, and other native pollinators are all being killed off through the increased use of chemicals and new lethal pesticides, herbicide, and fungicides on the market. The honey bee industry has suffered several years now with staggering losses due to "Colony Collapse Disorder". Yet to date, not one chemical has been banned or one farming practice changed. But the losses continue to mount year after year. 

There will be several National Honey Bee Day events in the area.

National Honey Bee Day at Sky Meadows State Park - 8/20/2011 - 11am - 4pm

Honey Bee Festival - Norfolk Botanic Gardens - 8/20/2100 - 10am - ?

But if you can't attend either one, I encourage you to visit the National Honey Bee Day website to learn more about the dangers facing honey bees - and the many reasons we need them!

For more information about bees, and other pollinators, visit:

Enjoying the Birds & Bees in Your Own Back Yard - Gardening to Attract Pollinators

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Honey Bees

First Rooftop Garden Built for Bees

Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine a Serious Issue - Don't Move that Firewood!

Stop – Don’t Move that Firewood!! America’s neighborhoods and forests are under attack. The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetle has destroyed tens of millions of ash trees. It lives in firewood. Move firewood and you spread the destruction. Help us protect the trees — and stop the beetle. Promise you won’t move firewood. Source – Stop the Beetle

If you are like me, you may be on the lookout for future firewood. Fireplace season isn’t that far away, so any piles of lumber from cut down trees look like potential fireplace fodder to me.

But because of concern over Emerald Ash Borers (EAB), there is quarantine in effect for many local areas that prohibits the movement of ash trees and wood out of quarantined area, as well as movement of all hardwood firewood.

This quarantine was issued by the United States Department of Agriculture Domestic (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in order to prevent the spread of EAB. Specifically, the interstate movement of EAB-host wood and wood products is regulated, including firewood of all hardwood species, nursery stock, green lumber, waste, compost, and chips of ash species. (Source)

The areas of quarantine include:

Washington DC; Virginia: the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William & Fauquier, and the independent cities of Alexandria, Fairfax City, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park? (source) ; 

Maryland: All of Prince George's and Charles Counties are under quarantine and considered to be the Quarantine Area. Moving regulated articles out of these counties is prohibited. Additionally, the area of Prince George’s county south of I-495 and Pennsylvania Avenue, and the area of Charles County north of MD Rte. 6 between St. Mary's County and southbound Rte. 301, and north of MD Rt. 225 between southbound MD Rt. 301 and MD Rt. 210, and north of MD Rt. 210 between MD Rt. 225 and the US Navy Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head, is considered to be the Infested Area. Moving regulated articles into the rest of the Quarantine Area from the Infested Area is prohibited. (Source)

From the University of Maryland  Extension Home and Garden Information Center: (Source)

The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive pest from Asia that feeds on and kills ash trees within three years after infestation. Ash trees are one of the most common and important landscaping trees used in Maryland and are common in western Maryland forests. Ash wood is used for all traditional applications of hardwood from flooring and cabinets to baseball bats.  

Ash is the most common tree in Baltimore City with approximately 293,000 trees and accounts for about six million trees in Baltimore and surrounding counties. USDA has estimated that losses could exceed $227.5 million in the Baltimore area alone if the emerald ash borer were to become established. 

To help stop this damaging beetle, homeowners and citizens who live in and travel through known infested areas can help: 

* Don’t move firewood – buy it where you burn it. Hauling firewood is the most common way for damaging plant pests to be moved from one area to another. In addition, the state quarantine prohibits anyone from moving hardwood firewood or any other ash tree materials out of the regulated area.

*  Don’t plant ash trees. As the EAB is expanding its range in Maryland, diversified plantings of alternative tree species are recommended for residential landscaping. 

* Report any signs of the emerald ash borer to the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center at 1-800-342-2507

For more, extensive information about the Emerald Ash Borer and the serious damage it can cause, visit Stop The Beetle or the USDA website.

Garden Talk: Harvesting Summer Vegetables, Starting Fall Vegetables

What: Garden Talk - Harvesting Summer Vegetables, Starting Fall Vegetables

When: Wednesday, August 17, 7pm

Where: Central Library Community Garden (east plaza near tennis courts), 1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington Va.

Join Don Weber, USDA-ARS entomologist, to learn how, in the midst of the summer harvest, just a few minutes planting will reward you in September, October, and even November! You can extend your gardening with easy, nutritious fall-harvested crops. Our mild climate allows excellent late-season yields of broccoli, cabbage, bok choi, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and many other vegetables.

Win a yard full of plants – house included

Back in December, I wrote a post about DIY network’s Blog Cabin Sweepstakes. I love sweepstakes. I enter them all the time. And I’ve actually won WAY more than my share of good things. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to quit trying to win more!

Starting Monday, you can enter to win a renovated home on the Chesapeake Bay in Susan, Virginia, about 155 miles southeast of DC.

For the past five years, DIY Network has let viewers vote on various options to be included in a home that they build or remodel. At the end of the renovation, viewers can register to win the home.

Since this year’s home is on the Chesapeake Bay, when I first heard about the contest, I contacted Lisa Dyer of DIY Network to ask her if they were going to keep the beauty of the Bay in mind by incorporating Bay Friendly Landscaping.

No matter where you live in the DC area, your lawn and garden practices can have an impact on the Bay. But properties that are directly on the water, such as this one, have an almost immediate effect. Everything that goes into the ground on this property has the potential of finding its way into the Bay. So the use of eco-friendly landscaping is very important.

The premise of the show is that the network gives viewers the opportunity to vote on the options for the home. In December, Ms Dyer told me this:

I confirmed that we are indeed incorporating Bay-friendly landscaping choices into our Blog Cabin online voting. That polling period will be from Feb. 28 – March 13. While we don’t have specifics on what exact questions will be asked at this time, we will have confirmation around early to mid-February at the latest, so I will follow up with you then to provide the specifics.

Well, I forgot to pay attention to their website in Feb and March (and Ms Dyer forgot to follow up with me) so I don’t really know if they asked viewers about whether they should use Bay-friendly landscaping. But it looks like they are done with their landscaping now, so let’s see how they did.

The before photo (above) shows a huge expanse of lawn, and not much else. Not necessarily bad for the Bay, if you don’t use a lot of chemicals to keep it green or over-water it.

But the after photos look much better.

Looks like they used lots of mulch, perhaps a gravel or crushed shell driveway, and at least some of the plants are natives. According to the caption on their page “What About the Landscape” , we can :

Expect to see hollies, magnolias, petunias, grasses and long-blooming hydrangeas. Shrubs, trees and flowering plants were chosen for their drought tolerance, hardiness and color.

You be the judge? How did they do? If you won this house, would you keep these plantings or add new ones?

Wasting Water is Weird

When I first saw this public service campaign, I honestly didn't know what to say about it. I mean, other than it's really, really weird.

WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has teamed up with Lowe's, Kohler, Bosch and P&G to remind people not to waste water. Their new campaign is called Wasting Water is Weird and it's already running online. It will soon launch on television as well. It’s an important message delivered by a guy named Rip the Drip, who shows up in people's homes to remind them that, well, wasting water is weird.

At first, I thought that it was a little TOO weird. Kind of creepy, even. But I guess that's the point. It will definitely stick in people's minds. The campaign is so weird, that it really might help remind people not to waste water. And it will certainly give the guy who plays Rip the Drip something interesting to list on his resume.

Sales of Imprelis Herbicide Halted. Refunds Planned

Over the past few weeks, several readers have contacted me and asked if I had heard about an herbicide named Imprelis. I had read about it, in passing, but hadn't had the time to look into it in depth.

What I originally read was that Imprelis herbicide, which was marketed as an environmentally friendly herbicide for professional use (landscape services, etc), was suspected in the deaths of thousands of Norway Spruces, eastern white pines, and other trees on lawns and golf courses across the country. (Source) 

I just got the chance to look into it further  and have discovered that DuPont, the manufacturer of Imprelis, has halted sales of the product and is planning a product return and refund program. Additionally, they have setup an entire website, called Imprelis Facts,  to answer questions about the product.

If you utilize a landscape service to maintain your lawn, you might want to ask them if they use Imprelis.

I tried to dig a little deeper and find out why it was first thought to be environmentally friendly. I only found a vague mention of it being "less" toxic to mammals.

I also thought it was interesting that, even though it was marketed as environmentally friendly, companies that applied the product were instructed to provide this notice to all of their customers:

Today we have treated your lawn with an innovative weed control product from DuPont. The product label requires that you do not use grass clippings from areas treated with Imprelis for mulching or compost, or allow for collection to composting facilities. Grass clippings must either be left on the treated area, or, if allowed by local yard waste regulations, disposed of in the trash.

As usual, my recommendation is to stay away from herbicides and other lawn chemicals whenever you can, even if they are listed as being more environmentally friendly.

Read More:

Changing Your Relationship With Weeds

Please Don't Poison My Planet

Beware of Second Hand Herbicides

City Blossoms Fall Internships

City Blossoms is seeking energetic, creative, garden-loving individuals to promote access to interactive, holistically healthy green spaces for all urban citizens.

City Blossoms' programming includes regular weekly workshops at several locations in Washington, D.C., and Takoma Park, as well as family-oriented weekend events, volunteer days and various community celebrations.

City Blossoms would like to hire three interns in the areas of administrative support, communications & outreach, and instruction. Must be available to work weekdays and Saturdays. Internship includes hands-on experience in community building through dynamic, multi-purpose green spaces.

A small stipend is provided for successful completion of this internship. Potential for part-time employment is contingent on the completion of this internship. Applicants with access to a car are highly desired. Please send your resume with a cover letter that includes qualifications specific to one of the three opportunities to Lola Bloom lola@cityblossoms.org or Rebecca Lemos Rebecca@cityblossoms.org

Washington Youth Garden Hiring

The Washington Youth Garden is a non-profit garden and environmental science education organization located on the grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. They are currently seeking people for several positions. 

The Education Assistant position is a part-time (30 hrs/week) professional 3-month position that will support the Washington Youth Garden's Education Coordinator and other WYG staff in the execution and advancement of WYG's Garden Science program.  Via the Garden Science program, the WYG partners with local elementary schools to provide environmental science and nutrition education.  Key components: 1) an interactive eight week garden-based curriculum for third and fourth grade classes;  2) the development, installation, education and management of edible school gardens;  3) a full day field experience to the WYG in May for each school;  and 4) teacher trainings and parent orientations.   

 For additional details and application instructions please visit this page on the Washington Youth Garden website: Education Assistant

WYG is also hiring a Garden Manager. The Garden Manager is responsible for planning, designing and overseeing the maintenance of a ¾-acre demonstration and production garden used for WYG educational programs, workshops, trainings and U.S. National Arboretum visitors. 

For additional details on the Garden Manager position please visit: Garden Manager

Taming the natives - or at least our views about them

I read another wonderful post on Thomas Rainer's blog, Grounded Design, today. The post, entitled "Native Plants and the Wild Look" is written in Mr. Rainer's consistently eloquent style and makes some great points about the use of native plants in a landscape.

I've long thought that many gardeners give native plants a "bad name" because they think that natives should be allowed to grow unkempt and untamed. I feel that this is going to discourage gardeners with an eye for a more structured landscape from even considering native plants.

Rainer addresses some of these issues in his post, but as usual, presents them in a writing style that is so engaging that I find myself appreciating the words as much as the wisdom.

Here are some excerpts, but I encourage you to visit Rainer's blog to read the whole post: 

Excerpts from Native Plants and the Wild Look, by Thomas Rainer  

I have a conflicted relationship with wildness. 

When I think about the sea of lawns and generic plantings that dominate our built landscapes, when I reflect on how quickly our native woodlands are disappearing, I yearn for more wildness. In many ways, our landscapes are too tidy. Our shrubs are too clipped, our lawns too manicured, our planted spaces too restrained. Despite recent progress with more sustainable gardens, the McLandscape is still the dominant form in our country…. 

While I praise wildness on the one hand, I am concerned that it has become the de rigueur of native gardens these days. It is as if a native garden, by definition, must be wild and sprawling. To create a native garden is not only a statement against exotic plants, but it is a statement against traditional garden forms altogether. Almost all of the sustainable landscape techniques, including rain gardens, bioswales, and green roofs—have adopted a wild aesthetic…. 

My second problem with the wild look is my fear that we’re turning the public away from using native plants. When native plants are associated with a wild, chaotic landscape, we narrow their potential adoption in built landscapes. Yes, I do think the American public needs to adopt an aesthetic that permits a bit of wildness, spontaneity, and heck—even a bit of sloppiness. But the way to do that is not to replace our front lawns with a tall grass prairie. We do that by creating native gardens that fit into traditional or contemporary garden forms.

 It's a great post, on a great blog. Check it out!