The vegetables will all grow fine although the squash may keep you busy fighting insects.

The hardest thing I see on your list are the berries (especially blueberries because of soil requirements) but if you have already had berries then you probably understand that one.

You do know that red and yellow peppers start out as green ones and change colors as they near maturity, right? I can't think of any that start out red. There are a few that start out very light yellow, but that probably isn't what you are talking about.

I find that carrots are hard to grow but most people think they are easy, so just start out with your list and give it a try. It may not be perfect the first year, but it will be a great learning experience to prepare for year two. It's a rewarding hobby.

Yeah, I know the peppers start out green. I'm just weird because I don't like green peppers at all (especially cooked...blech) but I absolutely love the yellow and red ones. I won't be picking any green ones. :p

The blueberry I have is doing okay. It would probably be bigger and more productive if it had more acidic soil, but it's full of berries this year even without the perfect conditions. I think the acid-loving plant food is really helping it along. If I start a new bed for them this fall I'll go all out with the peat moss and other acidifying stuff to make them happy.

I remember carrots being hard to grow when I was a kid in Kansas, so I'm not too sure how they'll go this time around. My fiance eats them almost every day, so I figured I had to at least give it an honest try to see how they compare to the store-bought ones.

I think everything on your list has the potential to grow well here, although raspberries can be very particular about their soil and moisture and also about how much heat they'll tolerate.

Other than the special pH needs of the blueberries which you already know about, everything on your list should grow just fine as long as it is planted into well-prepared soil at the proper time.

In case you've never planted garlic before, it normally is planted in the fall here.

Carrots are generally easy, but I believe I get a better-tasting crop in the fall than in the spring. Heat can adversely affect the flavor and texture of carrots, making them tough and bitter. In the spring, we often go from "too cold" to "insanely hot" so fast that sometimes the carrots have barely germinated and then suddenly the temperatures are warmer than the optimal temps for growing carrots. Also, carrots germinate very slowly in cold soil and very quickly in warm soil so it is a lot easier to start them in late summer than in mid-winter. I suspect Carol's carrot issues have to do with her soil staying so wet, but that's just a guess.

With almost every squash, you'll have to fight squash vine borers and squash bugs with only a few exceptions and those are mostly winter squash. With cucumbers, they'll grow and produce very well as long as you can keep the cucumber beetles from giving them bacterial diseases that quickly kill them. There are many wonderful vining types in various sizes, shapes and colors. Not all cucumbers are green.

Some years you'll get great yields from some fruits and veggies and other years you won't. It all evens out though.

Oh yeahhhh ! I finally got signed on to Garden Web, have been reading it for a while but it would never take any of the user names I gave it soooo I got this one also might fit me cause I like my little cat naps !!! LOL and a perfect time to log in because I am interested in a fall garden also. But never have done one. I have extremely sandy soil here. My spring garden is comming along pretty well but I wonder When should I start planting a fall garden?

If carrots will turn out better if I plant them late, can I grow lettuce (or some other early crop) first in one bed and then pull them out mid-summer and plant carrots in the same spot?

The raspberry I have (I think it's a Latham) seems to grow pretty vigorously, but it doesn't produce many berries. I think it's a combination of not enough fertilizer and not enough sun, but I'm not sure. If they don't like heat much, then maybe the shade's a helpful thing?

A note on asparagus. The new hybrids are much more productive than the old martha washington which you can still find. There are several hybrids. The one I have is UC157. There's also one called Jersey Giant. For notes on the best ways to start peas and broccoli, do a search of this site and they should come up.

ZZZZZ...I start my fall garden depending on the fall rains, but generally speaking, seeds for transplants can be started early Aug and then in early Sept is a good time to start direct seeding. There's also lots of info here that a search will bring up.

zzzzzzz,

I've linked the Fall Garden Planting Guide from OSU below. The recommended dates for planting work out pretty well, although in a year that's hotter than average, I might plant a couple of weeks later than the recommended dates, especially if the temperatures are over 100 degrees at planting time. It takes a couple of years of growing a fall garden to figure out which planting dates work best in your specific part of the state.

Miraje. Lettuce will go to seed once the temperatures are regularly exceeding 85-90 degrees (it can vary a little with the variety planted). For me, that's usually sometime in May but this year some of my lettuce started bolting last week....and we have the early hot weather to blame for that! In a cooler, wetter year, you might be able to harvest lettuce into early June, especially if it is shaded during the middle part of the day and has very good moisture.

You start carrots in August (OSU says as early as mid-July, but mid-August works better at my end of the state). So, you probably could squeeze in a round of 50-60 dtm bush beans or Six Week Purplehull Peas in that in-between time when it is too late for the lettuce to perform well and too early to seed the carrots.

Someone else will have to help you with the raspberry questions. I don't grow them. Blackberries perform much better in our heat and soil, so that's what I grow.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Fall Garden Guide