If you are a vegetable gardener, you are likely familiar with the average final freeze date of April 15^thbecause this is typically when we consider the official start of garden season. But did you know there is an additional vegetable growing season here in Oklahoma? This second and often overlooked garden season is our fall garden. Here’s what you need to know about fall gardening season.

Fall gardening season begins around the middle of July. This is the time where we begin to plant a second round of vegetables intended for a cooler season harvest. For the most part we can group the vegetables we might select for our fall garden into two categories. First would be the tender vegetables. Tender vegetables are those that need to be harvested before the first frost which is around November 15^thon average. Vegetables in this category would include beans, cilantro, corn, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, and tomatoes.

At our Seed to Supper Farm where we teach Master Gardeners how to grow vegetables and then donate those vegetables to area food pantries, we have started planting our tender vegetables for the fall. Thus far we have planted acorn and butternut squash along with corn intended for an early fall harvest. This will be our first time growing a fall corn crop, but another thing we do at our farm is try new things.

The other category of vegetables appropriate for fall planting would be those that fall in the semi-hardy category. Semi-hardy plants would be those that can take a few light frosts while continuing to produce. Plants in this category would include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, potatoes, kale, peas, spinach, Swiss Chard, and turnips to name a few. We’ll be planting seeds for some of these at our farm in the next couple of weeks.

One of the things I particularly like about a robust fall garden is that with cooler temperatures on the distant horizon, it just makes gardening a little more enjoyable…at least for me. Yes, it’s hot outside now, but in a few weeks, we’re going to see those temperature start to drop making it much more enjoyable to be outside.

As an added bonus, fall gardens don’t seem to have as many issues with insect pests. One of the reasons for this is that some of our more voracious insect pests life cycles are already completed or are at least winding down…I’m talking to you squash bugs. Yes, there are still squash bugs out there, but in the fall, you’re not going to be fighting as many generations as they build up in your garden.

Also, some of the fall crops we might choose to plant are not as appealing to a variety of insects. For example, squash bug much prefer zucchini or yellow squash over the fall varieties like acorn or butternut. Will squash bug still try to go after acorn and butternut squash, yes. But, possibly due to reduced numbers, they seem easier to deal with in the fall.

When planting your fall garden, you should familiarize yourself with the number of days between planting and harvest on the crops you would like to plant. For example, let’s say you are wanting to plant a fall crop of cucumbers. Since cucumbers are considered a tender fall plant, you would want to plant cucumbers at a time when they will have at a minimum of 60 to 70 days before November 15^th. But we also need to remember that our first freeze last year was October 30^th and then on October 18^th the year before. For example, to be safe we would not want to plant cucumbers after mid-August, meaning late July to early August would be the best time to plant.

You’ll have greater success with some plants if you place them in your garden as plants rather than as seeds. Vegetables in this category would include cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. Since it typically takes 4 to 6 weeks to go from seed to planting ready, now would be the time to start your seeds indoors for these plants.

For greater success utilizing transplants, don’t forget to harden off your plants. Hardening off involves gradually introducing them to the outdoors rather than just moving them from your nice indoor growing room to the harsh outdoors. To harden off your seedlings, plan on a few days of gradually increasing their outdoor exposure.

At first, put them outside in a shady area for a couple of hours. Each day you can increase the length of time outside and the amount of sunshine they receive. If you do this properly, you’ll notice physical changes in your plants as the begin to look more like outdoor plants rather than the pampered babies they have been. Once you plant them, keep them watered as they are going to be struggling to put out roots to meet their water and nutritional needs.

We have some great information from OSU on fall gardens on our website (www.tulsamastergardeners.org). Just click on the Lawn and Garden Help Section and then on Vegetables. See you in the garden!

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org. Photo: Tom Ingram