August is the end of harvesting many vegetables that have been cultivated since early spring. The empty spaces left after these crops on the beds should be used by sowing or planting seedlingsaftercrop vegetablesThis will ensure the possibility of harvesting vegetables until late autumn and help keep the soil in good condition. Seewhat vegetables to sow in Augustas an aftercrop for the autumn harvest!
Radish and lettuce are great aftercrop vegetables
After harvesting the main crop of vegetables, usually for early harvest, it is worth sowingaftercrop vegetables , with a short growing season.They will be able to produce the crop in the same year (in September or October). And so we can sow or plant the catch crops, among others. after the end of the cultivation of early carrots, cabbage, spring onions, kohlrabi from seedlings, radishes or dill.
1. Before you sow the crop crop, prepare the beds!
However, beforesowing the crop after crops , you need to properly prepare the patches left over from previous crops. It is about thorough removal of the harvested vegetable remnants from the main crop and thorough loosening or digging through the beds with pitchforks. If the soil is very dry, it is worth watering the beds before digging.
2. Never sow vegetables from the same family that grew earlier for an aftercrop
When choosingspecies of vegetables for catch cropsit is worth following the principle of crop rotation, or in other words - crop rotation. We avoid sowing or planting vegetables from the same botanical family that grew here before.
3. What vegetables are suitable for catch crops?
Vegetables with a short growing seasonare suitable for catch crops, which will yield a harvest in the fall, as well as those that will withstand the first autumn frosts. Among them, we can find vegetables that can be sown directly on flower beds as catch crops, as well as those that require prior preparation of seedlings.
Radish from aftercrop cultivation
Radish- this is the first vegetable that comes to mind when thinking about catch crops. It has a very short growing season (about 4 weeks), which allows it to be cultivated both as a forecrop, a midcrop and an aftercrop. We can sow it in August and even in September. We should only remember to water the radish beds regularly (otherwise the root cores may crack) and to choose a sufficiently sunny position (otherwise the root cores will be poor).Choosingradish as an aftercrop vegetable , however, you need to take into account the fact (which may surprise many people) that it belongs to the cabbage family (also known as cruciferous). For this reason, the cultivation of radishes after cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower or other cruciferous vegetables should not be carried out.
Kohlrabi- is another cruciferous vegetable with a short growing season (depending on the variety from 40 to 60 days), which can be used both as an aftercrop and a forecrop. I recommend it because it has the lowest requirements among all cabbage. However, it requires growing from seedlings. Kohlrabi for autumn harvesting should be sown on the seedbed in late June / early July, and planted as an aftercrop vegetable in the flowerbeds in August.
Plant the kohlrabi as an aftercrop in August
Chinese cabbage- this is another great crop that can be planted from seedlings and sown directly into the beds.However, the latter method, without the use of covers, will only be possible if the cabbage is sown in mid-July. It will then be warm enough to minimize the risk of vernalization, i.e. knocking out the inflorescence shoot. Although Chinese cabbage can tolerate light frosts, let's choose early varieties with a growing season of up to 60 days. Thanks to this, we will finish the harvest by October.
Kale- this is another post-harvest proposal made of brassica vegetables. Although it has a long growing season (from planting seedlings to harvesting about 120 days), it can be harvested until late autumn and even in winter. Kale seedlings are planted in flower beds in June or July, and harvesting begins in November, after the first frost, as lightly frosted is the tastiest. It is a great, fresh greens available in fall and winter, rich in vitamins and minerals, with strong anti-cancer properties and supporting immunity, which will come in handy during colds.
Head lettuce- it works great as catch crops wherever we cannot sow radishes (i.e. after cruciferous vegetables).Summer and autumn varieties of lettuce, grown from seedlings, are also an excellent aftercrop after potatoes, common onion, leek and dwarf beans. Lettuce to be planted in August, sow on the seedbed in the second half of June.
Lamb's lettuce- is a great aftercrop vegetable that is gaining more and more popularity. We can sow it directly into the ground, without the need to prepare seedlings, it has low soil and thermal requirements (it can even winter in the ground until spring). For the autumn harvest, lamb's lettuce can be sown throughout August.
Rocket salad- it works great as an August aftercrop on flower beds that are not so well sunlit. However, rocket requires regular irrigation, as its leaves turn bitter during drought. The collection of rocket leaves can be carried out 6-8 weeks after sowing.
Dill- this vegetable can be sown as an aftercrop until mid-August. It has low soil requirements. It grows perfectly in the company of salads and cruciferous vegetables.Dill can be sown in various parts of the garden. Harvesting will be possible 4-6 weeks after sowing.
In August, it is worth sowing dill as an aftercrop vegetable
Spinach- is a vegetable with a short growing season valued for its nutritional value, which is perfect for a forecrop or aftercrop. Spinach is not grown as the main crop, because it is sown in summer and quickly breaks into the inflorescence shoots, which makes the leaves lose their value. As catch crops, spinach is sown in the first half of August and harvested in October. At a later date, frost-resistant spinach varieties can be sown for the spring harvest. Spinach will work well as an aftercrop after peas, early varieties of cruciferous plants and carrots, and early potatoes.
Spinach is a good catch crop
Cress- this is our last post-harvest proposal.Cress is a vegetable that can be sown in the garden basically all season from March to October. Depending on the weather conditions, the growing season in the ground may be from 2 to 4 weeks. Under the foil, it will be a bit shorter. Cress seeds are sown without covering them with soil, but only slightly kneading. The young stalks are cut just above the ground with ordinary scissors. It is not worth waiting too long with the harvest of watercress, because the older leaves quickly lose their nutritional value.
Good qualityvegetable seeds for catch cropscan be ordered in our store. Especially for you, we have selected vegetable seeds from our offer, which are perfect for catch crops - for sowing in August, and some even later! To see the offer, click on the image below: -)
Finally, I would like to point out thatsowing or planting aftercrop vegetablesis not always advisable. If organic fertilization has been lacking, and the soil already seems tired, too poor or the harvested crops are no longer satisfactory, then it is better to take care of the soil quality and sow the plants for green manure as catch crop."
