I love summer in Bend. This is what it's looked like in town, where we've been milking the last couple weeks of summer vacation before the kids go back to school.

Every other day has been a new adventure on a creek, lake, river, or trail, and we've spent most of this summer exploring locally which has been so much fun.

But, I was a little taken aback this week with the 7:45 pm sunsets, as I've gotten so used to it getting dark at 10 pm for most of summer! (Aren't we lucky up here? 😊)

It reminded me that fall will be here before we know it, and it's time to start thinking about fall crops.

If you haven't started your fall garden yet, you still have time to do so—even if nighttime temps begin to drop precipitously close to freezing in a couple of months. (And trust me, I start plenty of plants this time of year even though my first frost is usually end of September.)

That's because I rely on cool-weather crops that grow fast, and I'm talking 40-days-or-less-from-seed fast!

The key to harvesting in fall is to sow your seeds ASAP, since they benefit from the warm soil and (waning) summer daylength to germinate and develop quickly.

They can also keep growing through late fall and winter if you live someplace mild (or if you cover them with frost cloth to overwinter). Some of these plants actually turn sweeter as the weather gets colder, so don't be afraid to let them linger in the ground a bit longer!

Seasonal tips

How to Plant a Fall Garden in the Heat of Summer Read more

My Interactive Frost Date Lookup Tool Read more

My Favorite Asian Quick Pickled Cucumbers Read more

You Can Eat the Seed Pods on Your Radish Plants—Here's How Read more

Why Chickens Go Broody—and What To Do About It Read more

How We Found Land to Build On—and How You Can, Too Read more

Thinking about planting a new tree?

As I've explained in this post, fall is the best time to plant a new tree.

Which means if you've been thinking about adding a tree to your yard, you should start thinking about what to buy and where to plant it as the weather becomes more favorable.

One of my favorite online tree nurseries—formerly called FastGrowingTrees—just rebranded as Trees.com and to celebrate, they're offering 20% off all orders through Monday, August 31 with code TREES20.

I've ordered several trees from Trees.com (including a 7ft peach tree a few years ago) because where I live, most nurseries have already closed by late summer/early fall or don't have much of a selection left. So I go online to find specific varieties that'll grow well in my area and I've always had good experiences with these trees being shipped to my house.

Check out the sale if you're in the market for a new tree. Don't forget to use code TREES20 by August 31.​

P.S. Plop the seeds in the ground right now and harvest these 10 vegetables in 40 days or less.