Autumn’s Approach Signals Bedtime For Your Garden

As I sit here staring out the window, I can’t help but feel a wee bit of melancholy. There is something about the appearance of my garden that suggests the advent of fall. Already, leaves are beginning to take on the warm, rich hues of bronze, gold and red. It won’t be long before we’re donning sweatshirts, raking leaves and putting our gardens to bed.

I really shouldn’t feel any sadness though, because like all seasonal changes in the Inland Northwest, the fall offers sights, sounds and smells absent for nearly a year. I can almost smell the gyros, elephant ears and barbecue of the Interstate Fair. Not to mention the rich, earthy aroma of the cow and horse barns. And just hearing talk of football conjures up the wonderful smell of burning leaves.

It’s also time for harvesting the remainder of our vegetable gardens. Following are a few tips for harvesting and storing this bounty:

Carrots: There are many choices for overwintering these sweet treats. If your soil is loose enough (sandy), you might try leaving a few carrots in the ground over winter. Cover them with six to eight inches of hay, straw, or pine needles. Cover this mulch with plastic. This should keep the ground from freezing so you can harvest fresh carrots all winter. However, watch for wire worms and carrot rust fly maggots. If they start boring into the carrots, dig the crop and store them.

Carrots also can be stored in a root cellar where it is dark, the humidity high and the temperature near freezing. I have found the best method for storing carrots is simply using empty bread sacks with a few holes punched in them. I wash the carrots (don’t scrub), leave about one inch of green top and store them in the bags in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.

Onions: After the tops have died back and the paper skin has formed, onions can be dug. Set them out in a warm, airy place for a week or so. Laying them on an old window screen supported by a couple of bricks works great. Do not wash them. Store them in a cool dry place in mesh bags or old pantyhose.

Potatoes: After the tops have died back, leave them in the ground for another week or so. This allows the skins to mature. The digging chore can be a lot of fun when children are involved - a little like searching for Easter eggs. Let the potatoes dry in a warm place for a few days. Brush the dry soil off with your hands (do not wash) and store them in a dark room with moderate humidity at a temperature around 40 degrees. Light will cause them to turn green and higher temperatures will cause them to sprout.

Pumpkins and winter squash: Winter squash must ripen on the vine. The rind should be hard and the stem dry. When harvesting, leave at least one or two inches of stem attached to the squash and pumpkins. Store pumpkins in a semi-warm room, at 50 to 60 degrees. Store winter squash (butternut, buttercup, hubbards and acorn) in a cool, dark, dry area. Setting them on pallets, where air can circulate around them, is much better than putting them directly on the floor.

Tomatoes: Remember, it takes heat to ripen tomatoes, not direct sunlight. When frost threatens, gather tomatoes that have started to turn color. Wrap them individually in newspaper and set them in a box. Place the box in a warm place. You’ll have delicious tomatoes for many weeks. Solid green, immature tomatoes will usually rot before they begin to ripen.

To speed up ripening on the vine, cover the tomato plants with a black garbage bag at night. This will hold heat around the tomatoes. Also try stressing the plants. Withhold water until the plants start to wilt, then water deeply. Cut a few of the roots with a shovel. Start six to eight inches out from the plant. Jab the shovel into the ground, cutting roots. Make a cut on one side of the plant and a cut on the other side.

If this doesn’t work, there is always fried green tomatoes, green tomato relish, pickled green tomatoes….

Garlic: Plant garlic now for a wonderful harvest next summer. If you’re a true garlic fan, there are literally dozens of varieties to choose from - hot, mild, pungent, etc. If you prefer a more mild flavor, elephant garlic (which is actually a leek, not a garlic) may be more to your liking.

Separate the cloves. Plant the larger ones and use the smaller ones in your next spaghetti sauce. Plant each clove two to four inches deep, flat end of the clove at the bottom of the hole. Once the ground freezes, cover the garlic with six to eight inches of needles, leaves, straw or any other large, airy mulch.

Spinach can also be planted later in October for an early spring harvest. You get to enjoy the spinach before the bugs do.

I will be at the Interstate Fair every day from noon to 6 p.m. at the KXLY booth answering gardening questions. Please drop by with your questions or just to say “hi.” Hope to see you there.

, DataTimes MEMO: Phyllis Stephens is a Spokane-based horticulturist and landscape designer.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review