The garden education podcast series is a review of pertinent vegetable gardening information in the Chicago, IL area.
It has been a challenging year on many levels here in Chicago and vegetable gardening is one area that has experienced many challenges. In Chicago, we had a spring that was cold and wet, then we had some incredible temperature swings, so many people are behind or have gotten off to a rocky start.
June has arrived and the activity level has increased dramatically with many of us working hard to catch up. So the warm weather crops are planted and now we are in cultivation mode ready for the season to unfold until the harvest.
But wait, it may seem counter-intuitive but June is the time to plan for and initiate your fall garden. Believe it or not, there are crops that you should be starting seeds for indoors before the first frost date is only 14 or so weeks away. That's right the first frost date is that close.
In the links below you will find pertinent information about planning and initiating your fall garden including what seeds should be started indoors and which seeds may be sown directly. We will revisit fall gardening in more detail in the July garden education podcast episode, but again it is time to get started.
Farmers Almanac Best Vegetables for a Fall Garden
Planting Schedule for Spring and Fall in Chicago
Leafy Place
I want to give a shout-out to our CPHP partners and our collective organization, Chicago Grows Food (the website is being updated). This year the partnership is doing a home garden pilot program installing as many as 50 home garden systems and we hope this catalyzes an expansion of home veggie gardening. The partnership includes Drs. Saria Lofton, UIC, Howard Rosing, DePaul University, and Akilah Martin, soil scientist. Organizations include organizations such as Gardeneers and Stein Learning Garden at St. Sabina, that have been responsible for the installations. Also, Openlands and Healthy Schools Campaign have been essential partners. Of course, I cannot forget about the glue for the project Marjorie Kersten, Ph.D. candidate UIC, Robert Johnson, and Peter Hoy.
If you or someone you know would like to be a guest on the July podcast to discuss fall gardening and season extension please contact, Orrin Williams at orrinw@uic.edu.
Keywords: fall vegetable gardening USDA zones, 5 and 6, high tunnels, low tunnels, hobby greenhouses, cold frames, how to start seeds, cool-weather crops, pollinator plants for vegetable gardens, season extension for vegetable gardens
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Office of Community Engagement and Health Partnerships, or the Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion. The material and information presented here are for general information purposes only. While the podcast is designed to promote the development of healthy communities through food, we offer no health advice and encourage our listeners to seek guidance from their health care professionals.