I live in east central MS. I usually have very good luck this time of summer with second crop cucumbers (if the pickleworms leave them alone), cowpeas and okra (like farmerdill said: my hero). I turn a bit of organic fertilizer into the soil, rake it smooth and plant. Then water daily until germination. They typically come up in about half the time they take in the spring. It's time now to plant pumpkins for Halloween too. There's still time for sweet potatoes if you can get slips. I also have a good stand of yardlong beans that I sowed about 10 days ago. This is my first year for them, but I am told they do well in heat. (I believe they are in the cowpea family.) I took cuttings from my tomato plants last week to root for fall. I have not done this before, but if you have space, it's worth a shot. I plan to add blood meal to the soil before planting. I'll be starting broccoli, kale, and collards from seed next week. Farmerdill, if you check back in, can you tell us if you plant fall tomatoes? Any tips on how and just when to set out transplants?

Good to see that Justaguy2 would go out on a rather firm limb on this question and that Makalu would have some wise encouragement. Persephone, it is difficult for gardeners who are otherwise such a hopeful bunch to discourage others. Once again, I've let a few dates slip by me this year. A recent one was finally getting around to trying to overwinter spinach. Now just when exactly was it, that I was supposed to plant the seeds?? Regardless of the air temperature your seedlings may experience once, and if, they emerge - soil temperature is critical for germination. Generally, the soil is warmer at this time of year than during the Spring, however, it is cooling quickly. I just put a thermometer in the soil in the most protected part of my yard - temperature, 42°F. There has been a big cool-down since it finally made it to 70°F in early July. If you look at the link below you will see the days to germination of some of the crops you've been thinking about. Note that it would take me 51 days to have the carrots germinate even if soil temperature would hold steady. Even a quick crop like lettuce takes 15 days. My spinach would be 23 days. If I was to plant spinach now it would be mid-October before it would emerge. Average minimum overnight temperature in my location is 35°F thru the month of October, 28°F during the month of November. Probably frost would occur at least half the nights during the plants first 2 weeks of "growth." Actual growth is just not going to happen. Get the soil ready and plan, plan, plan . . . for Spring. Steve Here is a link that might be useful: Days to Germination for Vegetables/Temperatures University of Minnesota

Hey Bluethumb, I was offline for the weekend, too busy in the garden. But I'm really glad to hear that your cukes perked up again. Like others have mentioned, I suspect that they were suffering from overwatering while in the peat pots. Then the stress of transplanting made them weak, which is exactly when the bugs move in for a munch. Now that they are perking up, try not to overwater. A good test is to dig a small hole in the ground with your finger - if the soil is moist down to 1 inch, you're good, no need to water. I agree with kimmsr that letting the plants wilt puts them under stress, but it is definitely a sign that they're ready for a drink. Many plants will wilt in the midday sun whether the soil is moist or not, so don't be fooled by that. Water deeply rather than frequently - once the plants are established, one inch of water a week should be fine. About your compost pile, your friend is right, there's no need to get fancy or to worry too much about carbon to nitrogen ratios and all the other technical stuff you'll read. Pile it up good, turn it once in a while, and be patient. I don't know how much space you have, but I like to use a 3-pile system, so that I have one pile ready in early spring, one in the fall and one on the go. I usually start a new pile or two every spring and add to it over the spring and summer. The bottom layer of that pile will be ready in the Fall. I skim off the top of the spring/summer pile that hasn't decomposed and use it to start a new pile in the fall and add to it all winter. The top of the winter pile gets turned into the spring pile, and so on. I'm not that scientific about it, I just use what's ready and turn what's not. You should try to have a good mix of browns (e.g. Fall leaves, small twigs, dry grass) and greens (e.g. grass clippings, kitchen scraps, weeds that have not gone to seed) so that your pile is never too wet and turns into a sloppy mass - but even that I don't worry about too much. Just turn regularly and use whatever looks closest to dirt. If you can recognize what the material is, it's not ready to use. If it smells earthy and looks like dirt - use it!

The ends of your leaves are probably suffering from a little frost damage. That alone is not a big deal. If you think they really need a boost I would hit them with one feeding of liquid fish emulsion. Fertilization is NOT recommended for the last month or so of growing, so you are kind of cutting it close but in your case I bet you'd be better off using it. It's neat that you are in a place where you can grow both kinds of garlic--always good to hedge your bets.