August is a transitional time in the vegetable garden. While cool-season planting begins in earnest next month, some of the more heat-tolerant cool-season vegetables, such as the cole crops, can be planted into the garden now. And because our first frosts generally don’t arrive until late November or early December, we can also plant warm-season vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers for fall production……….

It is important to prepare beds properly before planting. Clear the site of all weeds or finished vegetable plants. Turn the soil with a shovel, fork or tiller to a depth of at least 8 inches, and cover the tilled soil with a 2-to-4-inch layer of organic matter, such as leaves, grass clippings, aged manure or compost. ……..

Fertilizer can be sprinkled on top of the organic matter. Apply general-purpose fertilizer following package directions for rates………..

Mix the organic matter and fertilizer thoroughly into the soil, turning the soil with a shovel, garden fork or a tiller until the added materials are evenly distributed. ……..

Now is the time to plant tomato and bell pepper transplants for fall production. If your pepper plants from spring are still in reasonably good shape, they will often produce an excellent fall crop once the weather begins to cool. …………

Spring-planted tomato plants rarely survive summer in decent shape, and new transplants are generally used for the fall crop………..

Cole crops to be planted this month from seeds or transplants include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, kale, rape and collards. Cole is the Old English word for cabbage, and these days is used to refer to this group of closely related vegetables. We still use the word when we call cabbage salad coleslaw.

Broccoli is one of the best and easiest to grow of the group. Transplants may be planted now through early October. Seeds can be planted now through early September. ……….

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