Waiting for Fall

So, according to my handy Travis County planting guide, these plants and seeds are going into the fall garden right now. And I am extra excited this year to have 2 full sun beds with at least 8 inches of really good soil, fresh from Natural Gardener. Last week I planted one of these 4'X4' plots, mostly with seeds but also with a six-pack of spinach. However, the afternoons have been sunny and hot (86 degrees right now).

And I'm hoping the seedlings I saw for the first time this morning make it. The spinach plants are getting a little stressed, despite getting a good watering this morning.

You may notice my lazy gardener way of cat/bird-proofing the planted areas. It's not pretty, but it's a good way to recycle those nursery trays and some random green flexible mesh I had. My neighbors are probably eyeing it dubiously. With a little luck, the bed will be full of young plants within a few weeks. I want the fantasia orange chard to turn out to look as fabulous as it sounds.

Mostly I'm trying to keep my expectations low with this front yard vegetable experiment, at least for this first season. But it's got to be better than the last 7 years of growing veggies in the shade, right? And the forecast has some cool nights starting tonight, and slightly cooler days...soon, fall, very soon.