The mild fall weather of Cochise County allows us to enjoy a bounty of fresh vegetables, provided we plan and plant a cool weather garden in the next few weeks. Most cool season crops are leaf or root vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower have edible flowers) and are termed hardy, hardy. Their seeds germinate under cooler soil conditions and they need to reach maturity in cool weather. Also, many hardy crops are frost tolerant. They will continue to grow until the ground freezes. Covering the plants can extend their growing season.

VEGETABLE VARIETIES

The right vegetable variety assures better results. Select varieties that are disease and insect distant, productive, and have good flavor. Part of gardening is also trial and experimentation. So a gardening log or record of the varieties you plant and the performance of each can add to gardening pleasure and be a valuable resource each year. The following varieties of vegetables are among those suggested for cool weather crops in Arizona: Beets: Detroit Dark Red, which can be stored for the winter; Broccoli: Calabrese and Waltham 29; Brussels Sprouts: Jade Cross and Long Island Improved; Cabbage: Danish Ballhead and Flat Dutch; Carrots: Imperator with 8 or 9 inch roots for light, sandy soil with no stones; Cauliflower: Snowball M; Chard; Fordhock Giant, a green variety; Rhubarb, a red variety; Kale: Dwarf Blue Curled or Dwarf Green Curled; Lettuce: head varieties include Great Lakes 659, Mesa 659, and Empire; leaf varieties include Black Seeded Simpson, Salad Bowl, Ruby, Prizehead, Oak Leaf, and Grand Rapids; Radishes: Cherry Belle, a round, red variety and White Icicle, a long, white variety; Spinach: Bloomsdale Long Standing and Resistoflay; Turnip: Purple Top White Globe and Seven Top for the greens.

HERBS

Herbs add flavor and aroma to many foods. They may be grown in pots or directly in the garden. Some may be started in the fall garden, then potted and brought inside to a sunny location for winter protection. Chives are prolific growing perennials. They may be propagated from a clump or from seed. Pot and move indoors over winter. A companion plant to carrots, but not to peas and beans. Parsley, a biennial, thrives in cool temperatures. Soak seeds overnight in water to speed germination. Treat as an annual. A companion plant to onions and carrots. Rosemary, a woody perennial, familiar in the Arizona landscape, may also be grown in the garden. It propagates easily from stem cuttings. A companion plant to carrots, cabbage, sage, and beans. Garden sage, Salvia officinalis, is a very hardy perennial which can be propagated from seeds, layers, or cuttings. A companion plant to the cabbage plants (cole family), carrots, and rosemary, but do not plant near cucumbers.

SEEDING Select a sunny, well-drained location and prepare the soil, adding organic material and fertilizer. Use new seeds as the germination of older seeds may not be successful. Scarifying and then soaking some seeds may speed up germination. Seeding maybe done directly in the soil in straight rows (cool weather crops do not require hills), which makes a garden easier to maintain. Space the seeds equal distances apart according to the directions on the particular seed packet. A general guideline for planting depth is four times the seed size. Smaller seeds, like lettuce, should be covered with 1/4 to 1/2 inch of soil. Larger seeds, like peas, plant at a depth of 1 to 2 inches. If the soil is sandy, plant seeds a bit deeper. Cover the seeds, firming the soil with your hands or a hoe. Then irrigate the newly planted seeds lightly and continue a watering routine. Seedlings will need deeper regular watering. Thin the plants when established. Thinning of leaf vegetables are edible and good in salads.