Fall gardening is great, because it's getting cooler and you can spend more time in the garden. Just remember that now is the time to get ready for fall production.

One of the main quests for fall gardeners is a consistent supply of produce through the fall and winter. This usually is accomplished by staggering plantings of vegetables on a seven- to 28-day schedule.

These early plantings during hot weather are a gamble. But it's not a bad gamble. It's sort of like "pay your money and take your chances."

Use the shorter planting interval for early plantings. Many of the fall vegetable crops planted in the summer to early fall will mature much faster than those planted in late fall, due to the higher temperatures.

Carrots, spinach and beets don't germinate well during hot weather, so it's easier to get a stand with these crops when the weather cools off in late September and early October.

Here are the planting dates and intervals for the fall vegetable crops adapted to staggered plantings.