Fall garden harvesting – so many ways, but which way is best? The cool crisp air of fall makes the kale look all the better and more enticing to harvest. But how many leaves are safe to harvest? The spinach looks like it is filling out nicely. What leaves are best to pick for dinner? Scallions are growing great! How do I find a sustainable harvest rate so I don’t run out before spring? These are just a few of the scenarios you may have encountered when harvesting in the fall. Farmer Nathan has some tips to help you on your road to success with your fall vegetable garden.
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How much to harvest
Fall garden harvesting is such a delight. Whether pulling a crisp carrot or snapping off the brussel sprouts. Picking your curly kale or harvesting a beautiful bowl of salad greens. Joy is sure to abound. I hope to help you get the most out of your fall garden.
Greens can be tricky knowing how much to harvest. The temptation is to harvest the leaves that are ready to bring the bounty in. Fall, however, brings the challenge of needing to balance how much you harvest with how much you leave on the plant. I find that harvesting 50% of the leaf surface or less is a good balance to give the plant enough leaf surface to continue to produce photosynthesis. Depending on where you live, you can expect another harvest from those plants in 2-3 weeks!
How to harvest
Now that you know how much to harvest, the next trick is knowing how to harvest. During the fall & leading up to winter, I like to focus on harvesting the lowest hanging leaves and working up the plant. These leaves are the oldest and often are shadowed by the leaves above, making them less productive at producing energy for the plant. They are also the leaves that have the highest chance of harboring pests. By consistently harvesting these lower leaves, you not only promote additional upward growth but also help potential pest issues! This is especially helpful with my fall pest nemesis – the aphid.
Root crop fall garden harvest tips
Root crops such as carrots, radishes, turnips, and beets can be challenging. This is compounded during the fall when the greens of a root crop can look large and healthy and the roots can be small and immature. For fall garden harvesting, I like to take my index finger and lightly dig around the root of a root crop to gauge the size of the root. If it seems like a decent size, harvest can begin! Make sure to thin out your carrots and beets to give them the best success to grow to full size.
Preventative care for plants
Fall brings cooler temperatures, higher moisture levels, and thankfully fewer pests. Even so, there are many things that can plague the garden. Preventative care is my favorite approach to such potential problems. For an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Here are my 5 quick tips for your fall garden preventative care:
- Keep it clean! Any dead plant matter (especially from the plant you are growing) has the potential of harboring diseases and pests. Clean the garden beds out on a weekly basis to keep the air moving well around the plants.
- Pull out weak or dead plants. Any plant that is looking like it won’t make it for a couple of more weeks should be pulled quickly. For a weak plant is a vulnerable plant and bugs know this! Plants emit a chemical signal when stressed that insects can pick up on. The trouble is they will likely spread quickly to your other healthy plants if you are not vigilant to remove affected plants.
- Fertilize regularly. To prevent your plants from weakening, it is a good idea to replenish their energy as needed. I like to use a foliar spray in particular mixing fish emulsion with liquid kelp to boost nutrient uptake when the soil microbes are slower. An application every 2 weeks can help to keep your plants strong and healthy.
- Monitor for pests. Anytime I walk the garden, I look under the leaves of a plant every few feet to watch for lurking pests. It doesn’t take long and early spotting of a pest can lead to a much quicker resolution and success.
- Don’t over water. It can be easy to feel like the irrigation needs to be frequently given similar to the summer season. With the cooler temperatures and higher humidity, this can be a recipe for disaster with diseases. I like to water once per week if possible or as needed. It is often good to let the surface of the soil dry out before watering again to help aid in soil breathing. By keeping it a bit dryer, it will also help prevent moisture from setting on the plant leaves as much. This will help keep leaf molds and mildews lighter and hopefully not as prevalent in your fall garden.
Want to try other fall crops? Check out our top 15 fall veggies to grow post!