Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 30, 1995                   TAG: 9507310124
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: D2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOHN K. ARBOGAST
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

A VEGETABLE GARDEN FOR HARVESTING IN THE FALL

Certain vegetables that do well in the home garden, such as most leafy greens, can't tolerate continuously hot weather and must be grown when temperatures are cooler. What has been called "the fall garden" for years is really the late summer garden.

Time is of the essence for planting some of these vegetables to allow ample opportunity for seed germination, growth and production before the average date of the first fall frost (Oct. 15 for Roanoke).

Turnips are excellent for planting soon to take advantage of light fall frosts later on as the root matures, because that is supposed to add sweetness to the flavor. Carrots are another outstanding "root crop" for planting right away. he fall weather conditions add crispness to those roots.

Among the leafy greens, no "fall garden" should be without leaf lettuce and bibb lettuce. Both lettuce types can be seeded within the next two weeks, with a little longer late summer seeding period for the leaf type.

Lettuce is considered a "medium-heavy" feeder, which means that the soil should be fertilized before seeding the row with 21/2-3 cups of 10-10-10 thoroughly mixed in per 10 feet, and then about half that amount as a sidedressing six weeks later. Sow leaf lettuce varieties at 10-20 seeds per foot of row, but be sure to thin individual plants to about five inches apart just as soon as the little plants appear sturdy. Bibb lettuce seedlings should be thinned to about 10 inches apart.

Other recommended "fall garden" home garden crops are endive, which closely resembles lettuce in its requirements but is less sensitive to heat; kale; and a mid-August seeding of mustard.

Gardeners who are finished with parts of the garden should get ready to plant fall and winter cover crops to improve the soil in those areas.

Q: Is there any environmentally safe way to kill the roots on paradise trees?

A: According to Dr. Jeff Derr, Extension specialist for weeds in vegetables and ornamentals, the most environmentally safe way to do this is to treat the stump with Roundup at half to full strength, according to the chemical label just as soon as the tree is cut. Apply the Roundup to the cut surface, including the edges, so that the chemical will reach the cambium layer, which is the growth layer just under the bark.

Other methods would include Roundup sprays to the leaves two weeks before cutting if the unwanted woody tree is located so that the Roundup spray or dripping from leaves would not land on adjacent desirable plants; Roundup injected into the trunks two weeks before cutting, a method suited to commercial tree workers; and application to freshly cut stump as mentioned above but with brush control products labeled for cut stump treatment.

Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered during the weeks that the subject is timely. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples, or pictures.