The days are beginning to get shorter. The temperatures should start cooling off a bit, at least that’s what is supposed to happen. In some cases, it’s time to consider looking toward fall while in other cases we will continue to focus on summer.

In the vegetable garden, we need to be focused on the present and on the future. Presently, the summer crops including cucumbers, string beans, okra, peppers, and a few other crops are still producing really well and need to be picked every couple of days. Picking them this often allows for harvest at the peak of ripeness. Morning is the best time to pick them when they have the highest water and sugar content.

However, it’s also time to start planting a fall vegetable garden as well. Transplants for many of our fall favorites like cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Swiss chard should start showing up in garden centers ready for planting, if they haven’t already. The sooner these get in the garden the larger they can get before it’s time to harvest them this fall.

Plants that we direct seed like carrots, radish, beets, lettuce, rutabagas, and turnips need to get planted now so they will get enough size for a decent harvest. Many of these seeds germinate quicker during the heat of the summer than they do when the soil is cool in the early spring, so keep an eye on them and keep the soil moist for best results.