Believe it or not, now is the time to start planning your fall garden. "What? You've got to be kidding!" Nope, no joke, some of the best tasting veggies are grown in the shorter days of summer into the cooler days of fall. While many, many gardeners in this region put their gardens to bed in August as soon as they pull off the last of the sweet corn, grow weary of picking beans or dealing with yet ANOTHER bushel of fresh tomatoes, planning and planting for a fall garden offers many advantages over a summer garden.

Fall gardens are not prone to the significant insect pressure found in late spring and early summer on many crops. And, unless wet weather is chronic in late summer, many of the early fungi and bacteria that plague crops early in the growing season simply can't get a toe-hold later on. Another benefit is soil temperature: With soil at its warmest of the year, seeds tend to germinate much more rapidly in August than in April. Speedier plant growth is evident, also, with earlier bloom in most cases.

But for me, without a doubt, the biggest benefit to sweating in July for a fall harvest is simply T-A-S-T-E. Compared to those veggies started in spring and harvested during the heat of summer, late season veggies are scrumptiously delectable. And I don't need a scientist to tell me that the sugar content of, say, cucumbers is higher when grown late in the season. I can taste it for myself.

Try it for yourself and see. Go dig out the seed packets you saved from the spring garden, and check how many days to harvest or maturity for each type of crop. Count back from the expected date of first frost and add a week, maybe two, to number of days. That will determine exactly when to plant the crop. For instance, if first frost in your area is October 15, and your cucumber variety takes 65 days to harvest, plan to sow your seed no later than August 1. From August 1 to October 5 is 65 days, with an extra 10 days to frost. Since cucumbers germinate readily in warm soil, you can start them late in July to assure a longer harvest window of opportunity. To get even more mileage, sow your seed in pots mid-July and set them out as soon as true leaves appear.

My other favorite fall crop to grow is snap peas. While sugar snaps don't like hot weather, you CAN grow a bumper crop of them if you start in late July. First, check the number of days to maturity and do the math as above. Either pre-sprout the seeds and sow as soon as they break dormancy, or soak seeds overnight in tepid water, being SURE to plant them immediately the next day. They'll pop up out of the ground and almost grow while you watch. If the weather is extremely hot and sunny, give them a little shade by throwing a white or light fabric (old curtains or bedsheets) over them during the hottest part of the day, generally between 11 AM and 2 PM. Keep soil temperatures cooler by providing mulch early on.

Many vegetables can be planted as fall crops. Try root crops like radishes, carrots, beets, turnip, and rutabaga. All kinds of greens including bok choy, chard, and kale prefer cooler weather and some can even withstand light frost.

So take advantage of the many benefits of late season gardening. Go harvest that fall cucumber and taste the exquisite difference in flavor and texture. The shorter day length spurs the plants to mature more quickly, and the cooler nightime temperatures also hasten crop set. Grab a handful of sugar snap peas and revel in the amazing crispy sweetness the late season weather encourages and which simply just isn't there for veggies harvested in the heat of the summer.

Just as the chickens know when it is time to go to the roost, and the rooster knows when to crow, the plants 'know' and respond to the signal to produce.