Planting The Fall Garden

Normally we would have planted our fall garden two weeks ago, but there's no point in planting seeds in a drought. Then came Isaac and the gentle rain. Rain is again in our weather forecast, so we finally felt a fall garden would have a fighting chance. Out we went early this morning, before the heat set in. Dennis had already prepared a small plot, incorporating lots of compost.

In the foreground are a basket of seed packets and a tray of the most pitiful seedlings I've ever started. The almost invisible plants are escarole and radicchio, but they have not thrived and most of the escarole died of damping off. Still, we would plant them. Maybe they will do better in the garden soil.

First Dennis made the rows.

I followed along dropping seeds: arugula, turnips, and kale.

Next, Dennis dug holes for the pitiful escarole and radicchio.

After freeing the pitiful plants from their styrofoam containers, he firmed them into the soil. Because they are so tiny and vulnerable, we decided to shelter them with old, rusty coffee cans.

Finally, we covered the rows of seeds with soil, tamped it down, and set up a sprinkler to water them in. After all, sometimes the weather forecast is wrong. These tiny seeds and seedlings need all the help they can get. We are hopeful.