Ben Sharda is KCCG’s Executive Director and he has led KCCG for more than 30 years. His practical approach to gardening has played a key role in KCCG’s success. This month, Ben offers tips on fertilizing your plants.

KCCG has always promoted and encouraged planting for fall garden crops. We grow plants for sale and offer seeds of the cool season crops that are good candidates for fall gardens. We also host workshops and offer planting information.

In many years, the weather is so hot and humid, that some gardeners feel that planting for fall is not worth the effort because it does not seem like it will be successful.

This year, however, the weather during the fall garden planting season is AMAZING! The last few days we have had very moderate (even cool) temperatures and the forecast for the next 10-14 days is for more of the same (highs in the mid to low 80s and night time temperatures in the 60s).

This is as good as it gets for August in Kansas City and it is very conducive to planting cool season crops. So, it is definitely a good year to try planting crops for fall!

A few things to keep in mind about planting crops for fall:

• Don’t wait too long! The prime time is now and over the next week to 10 days. If you wait too long, some crops like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage may not produce their “heads” in time.
• Check the planting calendar for ideal planting dates (planting calendar is available on our website).
• Water young transplants and newly planted seeds often – seeds will not germinate until they have several days of the soil staying moist.
• Mulch with straw or grass clippings (unsprayed) or cotton burr compost to keep the soil moist and cool. Soil without mulch will be hot, dry, and “baked” in the sun.

If you have questions about planting fall garden crops – call us at 816.931.3877 or send an email to: contact[at]kccg.org