In the garden

Harvesting vegetables out of your own garden is very satisfying. Vegetables you grow yourself just seem to taste better, and it’s particularly nice to know they also help reduce the grocery bill.

You can continue to enjoy home-grown vegetables until first frost or, in some cases, until several weeks after the first freeze if you begin putting a fall vegetable garden in now.

In Central Virginia, the first frost usually occurs around Oct. 15, so early August is the right time to begin planning and planting.

“We’ll start our seeds during the next couple of weeks,” says Henrico Master Gardener Robin Bryant, who’s planning a fall garden with residents at the home where she works as a counselor. “It will be time to take out our squash, and that frees up a big space for planting.”

Last year Bryant raised fall crops of lettuce, beets, collards, turnips and kale in her garden. “Some crops will even overwinter here,” she says. “Last year, I thought the kale was dead and started to pull it out, but my boyfriend suggested we leave it in, and it came back in the spring.”

Many vegetables can be grown in the fall, and the flavor of some, such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, Jerusalem artichokes, and Brussels sprouts may actually be improved after a frost.

If they’re mulched, kale, spinach, onions, lettuce, parsley, parsnips, carrots and salsify can be enjoyed throughout the winter.

Before planting fall crops, you may need to restore nutrients removed by spring and summer crops by adding compost or a light application of a complete chemical fertilizer to your soil.

Seeds need to be planted in moist soil so plant after a rain or water thoroughly the day before. The Virginia Extension Service recommends sprouting seeds indoors before planting for a fall garden. Sprouted seeds can be planted deeper than normal which helps prevent them from drying out.

Bryant hasn’t tried sprouting her seeds before planting, but she agrees that attentive watering is a must, especially after seedlings begin to appear. “You have to keep watering,” says Bryant. “Water, water, water, every day, sometimes even twice a day, or the little seedlings are not going to make it.”

Insects may not pose the same problems in fall vegetables because their peak activity is usually in mid-summer, but you’ll still need to check the plants periodically. Rotating crops so that those in the same family are not put back into the same space in the garden can also help prevent disease and pest problems.

“When I was a child gardening with my father, we only had a summer garden,” says Bryant. “But when I became a master gardener, I learned about fall gardens and started planting them.”

“We really enjoy our gardens,” she adds.

Fall gardens help optimize production from your gardening space, and they can be an opportunity to try again if something you planted in the spring didn’t grow. As Henrico Extension Agent Lisa Sanderson says, “Gardening is always a lovely learning experience.”

The 10th Annual Filipino Festival will be held Aug. 7-8 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 8200 Woodman Rd., beginning with opening ceremonies at 5 p.m. Friday and continuing with live entertainment, food and exhibits until 10 p.m. On Saturday the festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a full schedule of performances featuring traditional Filipino dance, music and song.

Filipino cuisine, including BBQ, pansit, lumpia, adobo, halo-halo, lechon, empanada and leche flan, will be available for purchase. The festival will also feature a children's area, church tours, exhibits, and health screenings. > Read more.

The Children’s Museum of Richmond last week opened its new Short Pump location at Short Pump Town Center, to the delight of children who attended a sneak preview of the location July 10. The new facility, located under the forthcoming LL Bean store (formerly the food court) is 8,500 square feet in size – much larger than CMoR’s former Short Pump location at West Broad Village, which opened in 2010. The new space includes The CarMax Foundation Service Station, the Silver Diner, a grocery store, a performance stage and an art studio, as well as a giant Light Bright Wall. > Read more.

The Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Henrico Police are both presenting community events tomorrow, Aug. 1. The Feria Community Resource Fair at Richmond International Raceway brings together community service providers, embassies/consulates from Latin American countries, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and corporations that impact the Latino community. The Division of Police’s Community Day will feature demonstrations and displays from police, fire, animal protection and sheriff’s office, as well as family activities, food, entertainment and more. Other events this weekend include wine, chess and theatre! For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.