Q: We went on vacation at the end of June and now our vegetable garden has been taken over by weeds. Is it too early to begin thinking about starting over and doing a fall garden?
A: If you are a northern gardener, the next few weeks are the perfect time to start your fall garden. Fall vegetable crops can be started from seed indoors at the beginning of the month for planting outside at the end of the month.
Cool-season vegetable crops like broccoli, peas, cabbage, collards, kale, mustard, beet and spinach will all grow to be larger plants than early spring planted crops and will therefore produce a bigger crop. These plants prefer to produce flowers and fruit during cool weather. Start them in the mid to late summer and they will be mature plants that produce vegetables in the fall. Read the package labels to find how long it takes from planting to harvesting and plant according to when your garden will get a frost. Some crops like Brussels sprouts produce better after a frost….