Fall garden planting, anyone?

[Sue Sullivan]

Just realized its the last day in July and I should be moving forward
with my fall garden planting if I"m going to actually have a fall
garden this year, which I never seem to manage. I wondered what others
were doing to squeeze in a final harvest.
I have started some beets from seed, after reading they can be
transplanted. I thought it might be too hot to germinate them in the
field, though it has been pretty reasonable this last week, so perhaps
I didn't need to go to the extra work. I also have cabbage and
broccoli seedlings that are about a week old. Not sure they will have
enough time to ripen this year but given how hot this year has been so
far, I'm gambling on a late first frost and planning on a covered bed
for these.
I have one bucket of carrots started and will start a couple more now
-- five gallon buckets, holes drilled in the bottom, filled with a
potting soil mix. I've planted carrot seeds randomly spaced through
it. Again, I container started because I have such a hard time getting
carrot seeds to germinate thoroughly out in the beds/field in the heat/
dryness of summer. They all seem to have germinated well in the bucket
in the shade, as it's stayed uniformly moist.
I have some parsley and basil started for fall herbs. And I'm trying
to start spinach in a small flat but not getting much germination yet.
I'm going to direct sow some into the farm garden I'm growing in, as
well as some in the home garden beds.
I have dozens of strawberry runners potted up, to create a new bed or
two. I'm finding that yield starts to drop in my beds after the third
year and with space at a premium in the backyard, I'm willing to go
through the extra work of digging up old beds and replanting elsewhere
(and that's mostly because my wonderful husband digs up the old beds
for me!) So with the runners that spill out of the beds and try to
root in my lawn , I fill 2" containers with potting soil, crimp wire
to make a long, narrow U shape and pin the baby plants onto the soil
by their umbilical runner. After 3-4 weeks, I can cut them off the
mother plant and xplant into a new bed come late August/early
September, and I get a much better first year crop than if I waited to
xplant runners coming out of dormancy in the spring.
I have yet to dig soil and build cold frames for some new winter beds;
I hope to get to that this coming week. I would like to have at least
two covered beds for greens and carrots this winter, and my existing
raised beds are full right now and most need some composting/renewal
over the winter anyway.
Would love to hear from others about their gardening right now,
Sue