After I harvested my onions and potatoes, I had a few empty beds that I wanted to plant some quick growing crops in. In one of the beds I planted peas and they are cruising along nicely. Only a few weeks after they went into the soil, they sprouted and grew enough to need a trellis. I normally put up the trellis before I plant, but at that time, I didn't have enough of the right kind of fence, or the supports to hold it up. I was since given a free section of old chicken wire fence and decided to use that to make the trellis for the peas. I still didn't have good supports to hold it up, but I cobbled some out of rebar, 2x4's and baling twine. I had to be careful as I set it up so I didn't damage any of the young pea seedlings, but I managed to squeeze it down the middle of the row with little harm to the plants. A few days later the peas have found the trellis and have reached out their tendrils to pull themselves up. I hope it stays warm long enough to get a little crop out of this patch. I didn't get much out of my spring peas and they are one of my favorite things to eat!
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The other bed that I planted was simply a salad bed with a variety of lettuce and spinach. Those crops can tolerate a bit of cold and I will probably cover them with a little hoop house in a few weeks to keep them going into winter. It sure will be nice to harvest salad greens in the cold of winter if I can make this work.
Most people think of fall as the time for the garden to be winding down, but with a little foresight, you can still squeeze a few more crops out of the soil if you plan it right. I think I planted the peas about three or four weeks ago, and the lettuce two or three weeks ago. With the cold season on it's way I won't have to worry about the lettuce or spincah bolting from the heat. I also made sure to choose frost tolerant crops to extend the garden season as much as possible. I know they won't survive the deep freezes of winter, but the garden can feed me a little while longer yet.
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