A fall garden

The cool season vegetable seedlings are now available at the nurseries. With the temperatures nudging toward 100 it is hard to think about the fall garden but now is the time. The light is subtly different, and the afternoon shadows seem longer. If the speed with which the summer passed is any indication I had best be getting my seedlings in the ground before the narrow window passes.

Each year I am sorely tempted by the crucifers, despite my complete inability to grow any of them successfully. In my imaginary fall garden Brussels sprouts stand tall and packed with those lovely mini-cabbages from top to bottom and I serve my own cauliflower and broccoli at Thanksgiving dinner. A gardener’s imagination is a powerful force. But pragmatism will probably triumph. Lettuces and chard will do quite nicely if I plant them under a reemay umbrella. Add some radishes and peas to complete this year’s fall garden.

But I have not yet been to the nursery. My imaginative twin may still win. A quick visit to one Master Gardener page (admittedly not from Oregon) hasn’t really helped matters:

When I plant cauliflower in early spring, I get small, ricey discolored heads; when I plant for the fall, I cut snowy white heads with excellent flavor. I have similar good results with fall plantings of Brussels sprouts.

A siren song similar to seed catalogs in the spring! Cauliflower isn’t all that hard to grow. Is it?