FREE VEGETABLE GARDEN JOURNAL — DOWNLOAD YOURS TODAY

Here is what is inside: Cover page with space for your name, year, and growing zone

1. My Garden at a Glance — frost dates, soil type, garden dimensions

2. Vegetables I Plan to Grow — checklist with variety and quantity

3. Garden Layout Sketch — grid paper for drawing your garden beds

4. Seed Starting Schedule — indoor start dates, germination, transplant dates

5. Individual Crop Records — one page per vegetable variety

6. Monthly Garden Notes — for April through October

7. Planting Dates Master Log — everything planted and when

8. Pest and Disease Log — what appeared and what you did about it

9. Harvest Tracker — date, vegetable, amount, fresh or preserved

10. End of Season Review — what worked, what did not, what to change

11. Notes for Next Year — a letter to your future gardening self

12. Companion Planting Quick Reference — quick chart for your binder

And more...!

Print it at home, put it in a binder, or have it spiral bound at your local copy center. Use it all season long.

CARING FOR YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN IN HIGH SUMMER

Download it free by clicking the link below: vegetable-garden-care.html July and August are the months when your garden needs the most consistent attention — and the months when it is easiest to let things slide.

A little care now makes an enormous difference in what you harvest through fall.A few things worth doing this week: Water deeply, not frequently — one good deep watering is better than several shallow ones. In summer heat, water in the early morning so foliage dries before evening.

Harvest every two to three days — cucumbers, zucchini, and beans left on the plant too long signal the plant to stop producing. Keep picking and the harvest keeps coming.

Watch for yellowing leaves — on tomatoes and cucumbers especially, yellowing leaves are the first sign of a problem. Catch it early and it is usually fixable.

Feed your heavy feeders — tomatoes, peppers, and squash all benefit from a feeding in midsummer as they move into peak production. A balanced fertilizer or compost tea works well.

Mulch if you have not already — three inches of mulch around your plants conserves moisture, keeps roots cool, and reduces watering needs significantly.

IS IT TOO LATE TO PLANT A FALL VEGETABLE GARDEN?

Most cool-season vegetables need 60 to 80 days from planting to harvest — which means planting in late July or early August gives you a harvest before frost in most of the country. What to plant right now for a fall harvest:

Broccoli — start transplants indoors now, set out in three weeks

Cabbage — same timing as broccoli

Kale — direct sow now, it actually improves after frost

Spinach — direct sow in four to six weeks for fall harvest

Lettuce — direct sow in four weeks, succession plant every two weeks

Carrots — direct sow now, they need the full season Fall vegetables often taste better than spring ones.

Frost converts starches to sugars and broccoli, kale, and carrots all become noticeably sweeter after a light frost.

A fall garden is one of the most rewarding things you can do and most gardeners skip it simply because they do not think about it in time. Do not skip it this year. fall-vegetable-garden.html

BACK TO SCHOOL? WE HAVE FREE WORKSHEETS FOR KIDS

A few favorites:

Vegetable Garden Scavenger Hunt — three grade levels from Preschool through Grade 4, perfect for an end-of-summer garden walk

Vegetable Flash Cards — 32 vegetables, great for learning plant names

Go Fish Card Games — six complete sets covering vegetables, fruits, berries, and flowers — print, cut, and play

Plant Life Cycle Worksheets — six levels from Preschool through Grade 8

Cut and Paste Activity Sets — color, cut, and create for younger children

Everything is free to download and print as many copies as you need. Visit our Kids Gardening page to see the complete library.

A WORD ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER

Now go check on your garden — something is probably ready to pick. Until next time — keep growing.

Charlotte

Vegetable Gardening Online

www.vegetable-gardening-online.com

Growing Knowledge — Growing Your Garden since 2009

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