Don't where you are, but I transplanted broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, NAPA cabbage last Saturday just ahead of a cold front that will bring temps dow to high 80's low nineties. These have traditionally done well. Will plant lettuces ( Romaine) radishes, pak choi, turnips, rutabagas, mustards etc as the rain cools the soil down abit. Never had any luck with English peas or Brussels Sprouts. I do plant English peas in late November for spring harvest. You sound like you have a cooler climate, so you should be good on the broccoli and lettuce.

Have to have a location to advise.

It's zone 6, SE NY, I gave frost info in my post. It seems like there isn't much time left?

No, very little time left for starting stuff from seed; transplants are more demanding and must get just-right conditions.

The "days to maturity" listed on seed packets are just a very loose guideline to begin with. Plus with fall crops it almost always takes longer for things to mature due to the decreasing amount of sunlight and cooler temperatures. So no, you haven't got much time left.

Rodney

This post was edited by theforgottenone1013 on Wed, Sep 10, 14 at 9:52

Not much time left... does that mean there is hope for the seeds I planted a few days ago and the seedlings, or too late?

Also I was wondering if these Brussels sprouts attain a decent height if I could keep them alive through the winter for the spring?

It will really depend on the weather and/or if you can cover them and prolong the season.

Not sure about the brussels sprouts as I've never grown them.

Rodney

There is a "formula" for figuring out when to plant a fall garden. First, you find out what your average date for first frost is. Then you add two weeks (14 days) to the days to harvest info on your seed package. (This makes allowance for the shortening days that slow down plant growth.) Count back that many days from your first frost date, and that is when you plant. This all supposes that the crops will be able to continue being harvested for awhile after frost.

Plants like broccoli and cabbage, etc. are transplanted into the garden, so you have to start those seeds 4 to 6 weeks earlier yet.

As Farmerdill said, here in the south, we plant out "cool weather" crops in searing late summer heat. If you have good soil and you are attentive to watering, they do just fine. Perhaps your garden is new and your soil is not as good as it will be in a year or two of working it and adding soil amendments. Keep at it. It will get better.

I have put the various planting dates in my smart phone's calendar and they remind me when it's time to plant different crops.

Just go with arugula, there is not time for anything else.

I don't like arugula.

I will surely get lettuce, if they dont get eaten, the seedlings are looking nice and have 30+ days left before frost.

Should I try throwing a row cover over the broccoli, peas, and brussels sprouts, or will it not work? I have read of people harvesting these things, esp brussels sprouts, in the snow. The brussels sprouts are finally growing and I broke out the Sevin for the broc.

Peter1142,
Please go back into your preference/profile page and list your Zone. It will help other gardeners to know what area you are referring to.

Hugs!

Frost is not the problem. Brassicas will tolerate temps down to the lower 20's. Even lower if short duration. If you have the plants you have little to lose by planting them. Leaf lettuce is fast and while not as cold tolerant should be harvestable before a freeze. English peas while tolerant of cold, become much more susceptible when blooming and setting peas. Brussels have a long season and z 6 should get single digit temps in winter.

farmerdill, would you recommend a row cover to improve my odds and extend the season, for the broc and/or peas? My pea seedlings are the biggest of what I have, they are just doing very lousy from all the hot weather. They were planted a month ago.

While it seems unlikely to get harvestable Brussels, can I keep them alive under cover for the Spring? I have heard of people doing this.

Temps consistently in the 20's doesn't happen here until December, even at night. I have a nice south-facing spot that gets lots of fall/winter sun also.

Peas are much more iffy than brassicas. Pea flowers cannot take anything less than 28 degrees, and any yield will be minimal.
Sounds like your winters are mild enough for brassicas to last well into December or even overwinter with protection. Two layers of Agribon-19 will work very well, but don't put the cover on too early or the reduction in light will slow growth even more. If you put some 6 mil poly over the row cover, that will improve things even further by blocking the wind.

You can still plant spinach--not much else, though winter lettuces (you will need hardy varieties) may make it under row covers. Forget the broccoli and peas--they won't make it.

January and February are the real brutal months here. Last year with that polar vortex was rough, caused some damage. It was negative for weeks. It was below freezing during the day by Thanksgiving. Hard to imagine anything surviving last fall or winter. But the year before was so mild it was barely below freezing all winter.

We'll see what happens. Thanks for the rec for the row cover. We'll see how it goes. I am not going to give up hope for my seedlings yet for sure. May be a mild fall. Its only 2 rows really... everything else is pretty much done except the tomatoes so..

Concur with Slimy Okra. Brussels overwinter nicely here. The problem is that they are biennial and are programed to seed immediately after going through a winter dormancy. They typically bolt in early spring. You will have to work to get get English peas before freezing weather. The broccoli and lettuce should make it, if they are far enough along to be ready by early November.

Brussels sprouts: I have harvested them in the snow of December when I planted them the April before. 90 days not nearly enough -- they seem to take forever (for me, anyway). If you can get them to live through the winter, you can enjoy delicious flowers and seed pods as they go to seed in the spring. (though no actual brussels sprouts)

I grow savoy cabbage as a winter harvest crop. I sow it in little starter packs, outside in mid June, transplant to bigger pots all under remay and watered faithfully, then into the garden, still under row covers, in mid August. I harvest in Dec. and Jan. And last winter, the last two heads survived the polar vortex--colder than 6 below zero, with no damage whatsoever. Remarkable plants.

I plant a fall garden every year. In N. C. you have to sew
seed in mid July, but its so hot I have to grow the plants
in the shade. I have a shed on the North side of a block
barn with a plastic roof. It takes about 6 wks. to grow a transplant and its cooler by then, about Labor Day. I plant
broc., cabbage, cauliflower and collards.