End of Season Harvesting
- While some gardeners are able to keep their vegetable gardens going into November and December, many of us start to wrap up in October. Here are some final tips for getting the most out of your autumn harvests!
- Harvest before a hard frost or before the temperatures drop below 28°F
- Clean your garden as you go. If you've harvested your last tomato, pull the plant. Not only does this help prevent a big "final project" once the garden is empty, but good cleanup is also one of the easiest ways to reduce pests and diseases in next year's garden.
- Keep safety in mind! Fall crops yield large fruit like pumpkins and winter squash. Practice proper lifting techniques and don't push yourself to carry more than you can handle.
- Find a way to cover your soil. While it may be too late to plant cover crops, gardeners can use natural mulches like shredded leaves, or straw to cover the soil and prevent erosion during winter months.
Warm Season Vegetables
As temperatures cool, warm-season vegetables will slow their growth and production and are often the first crops affected by frost. Harvest what you can before cold weather arrives. Tomatoes and peppers can be harvested green and ripened or used in a variety of recipes.
Herbs & Leafy Greens
As temperatures cool, some leafy greens really come into their own. While lettuce and other tender greens may begin to decline, crops like kale, Swiss chard, and escarole often continue to produce well into fall. Harvest outer leaves as needed and allow plants to keep growing.
Harvest tender herbs and frost-sensitive greens before a hard frost. Many herbs can be dried, frozen, or dehydrated for long-term storage.
Pumpkins & Winter Squash
Knowing when to harvest pumpkins and other winter squash is important because picking them too early can reduce their storage life.
Harvest pumpkins when they have reached their full mature color and the rind is hard enough to resist puncturing with a fingernail. The stem should be dry and brown, and the vines and leaves will usually have begun to die back.
Root Vegetables
Cool weather often improves the flavor of many root crops. Carrots, beets, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, and radishes can continue to be harvested throughout the fall, and some will tolerate light frosts. In fact, cool temperatures can enhance sweetness in crops such as carrots and parsnips.
Harvest root vegetables before the ground freezes solid. Mulching around plants can help extend the harvest season and make digging easier later into the fall.
Extend the Season
If you're one of those gardeners interested in extending your garden season as long as possible, these links might be for you!
Season Extenders and Growing Fall Vegetables
Interesting Insects: Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonfly
The last dragonfly on the scene in fall is the native Autumn Meadowhawk Sympetrum vicinum. They are one of the last dragonflies to emerge as adults from late July- September.
They are not fussy about habitat as long as there is some water nearby, especially with woodlands in the area. In the cool fall weather you can find them in sunny spots basking on rocks and small branches.
As long as temperatures are above 50 degrees F. they can fly, often well into November.
American Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
American witch hazel is a shrub native to Connecticut and most of the Eastern United States. This shrub blooms in October and November, making it one of the last plants to bloom for the season. Witch hazel can be grown as an understory shrub or as part of a woodland border in full sun to part shade.
Learn More About American Witch Hazel
The CT Native Plant Availability List: Updated and even MORE user-friendly!
This native plant guide was created to assist municipalities, conservation organizations, homeowners, landscape architects, designers, and contractors with locating native plants for habitat restoration and wildlife enhancement.
The Connecticut Native Plant Availability List, by UConn Extension and CT DEEP Wildlife Division, identifies nurseries and garden centers that grow/sell native trees, shrubs, and perennials. Along with several nurseries that are new to the list, we have also added the ability for users to view the Availability List sorted by Nursery!
Seeking Samples with Blueberry Rust
The UConn Plant Diagnostic Lab is seeking samples with symptoms of blueberry rust for a research project run by our collaborators at the University of Florida Plant Diagnostic Center. Symptoms include red/orange lesions on the tops of leaves with rusty orange/yellow sporulation on leaf undersides. Please contact our office if you have any questions.
