It’s not too late to start a garden this year!

by Kimberly Burkard

Vegetable gardening is a wonderful activity for the whole family. Not only are there great bonding and learning opportunities in the gardens, but the mental and physical benefits of some light activity in fresh air and sunshine are beyond compare. And the food you produce? Nothing compares to its taste, plus the kids may actually eat those vegetables!

Do not despair if you did not get a garden started in the spring. Even though time is quickly dwindling, there is still time this year. The first frost date for Rochester, which is effectively the end of the growing season, is the end of September. From August 1, that is 60 days and it is still plenty of time for short season vegetables especially those preferring the cooler temperatures that early fall brings. Covering your garden for the first few light frosts will extend your season and your harvests.

But what to plant for a fall harvest?

Great crops to try for fall gardening are:

Greens: lettuce, kale, swiss chard, mustard and other Asian greens, spinach, arugula, corn salad
Peas: Snap, Snow
Misc: Radishes including daikon, kohlrabi, turnips, beets, carrots
Herbs: Cilantro, dill, parsley (parsley will over winter to bloom in the spring)
Baby veggies: many longer maturing varieties of vegetables can always be harvested at the “baby” stage
Onions & Garlic: scallions plus plant hard neck garlic in the fall for next year’s harvest.

Tips for gardening with very young children

Tips to motivate older children to garden

The Children's Garden at Sonnenberg Gardens

For 2015 and beyond, Sonnenberg Gardens has restored a tradition started by Mary Clark Thompson one hundred years ago. Mary and Frederick Thompson, the original owners of Sonnenberg, were great philanthropists and supported many charitable causes. Mary gave produce from her huge kitchen garden to hospitals and asylums in Canandaigua.

Sonnenberg’s newly renovated Children’s Garden is a working 7,000 square foot vegetable garden from which produce will be donated to the local food kitchen and other needy organizations. Sonnenberg plans to donate between 500-800 pounds of produce this year. Find out more at www.sonnenberg.org or via Sonnenberg’s facebook page.

Kimberly Burkard is marketing director at Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, NY.

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