Planting a Fall Garden

When you think of fall, the first things that probably come to mind are pumpkins, a fat turkey and football. However, fall happens to be so much for than that! Fall can be the best time to plant a vegetable garden. I anticipate that this year’s fall garden will be easier than our spring and summer gardens. The pest problems we had during the spring and summer shouldn’t be as heavy (goodbye stink bugs!) and it will be easier to keep our plants watered since the temps won’t be so high.

We have such warm winters in the south, we’ll probably have crops most of the year minus maybe January and February. Because of that, it opens up a plethora of plants to grow in the fall. There are so many possibilities for planting a fall garden.

Planning your fall garden

While planning our fall garden, the first thing I took into consideration was our first frost date which is the beginning of November in zone 8b. That gives us plenty of time to plant a second summer harvest as well. The first frost date will determine the amount of time you have to grow, but many fall crops are frost hardy. This can give you a little wiggle room when planning. For instance, kale can grow well past a frost date and even tastes better after a frost! My mother grew collard greens well into January this last year. On top of that, if you live in a cool enough climate, you can even keep many of your root vegetables in the ground until you’re ready to store them.

What can I plant in my fall garden?

The food that you can grow in the fall is so delicious! We have plans to plant loads of greens such as kale, mustard and turnip greens and of course, lettuce. Peas are also great to grow during the fall months and can be so filling. What I’m most excited to grow are the root vegetables. We will be planting a large raised bed of nothing but carrots. We will also have several types of radishes and beets too. Here’s a list of some of the many crops you can plant during the fall months.

• Carrots
• Beets
• Radishes
• Mustard Greens
• Collard Greens
• Turnip Greens & Roots
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• And many more!

There are many types of flowers that can be planted in the fall.

So many beautiful varieties of flowers can be planted in the fall that can’t withstand the summer heat. Although they will die with the frost, they make a beautiful autumn display. I adore sunflowers in the fall garden and they can also be used as food for you (the seeds) and snacks for your chickens. Here is a list of a few types of flowers you can plant in your garden.

• Mums
• Goldenrods
• Amaranthus
• Cornflower
• Pansies
• Sunflowers
• Calendula

Herbs can make an excellent fall crop.

Many herbs can still be planted for the fall garden and may even do better in the cooler weather. Perennial herbs can be planted in August so that they can get established before the winter months. If you already have perennial herbs established, try propagating some to expand your garden and save a few seeds. If you’re interested in herbs for medicinal purposes, now might be the time to get them started. These are a few of the herbs I will be planting in my fall garden.

• Cilantro
• Sage
• Chives
• Lavender
• Lemon Balm
• Rosemary
• Chamomile
• Comfrey

Tips for planting your fall garden

Fall may be the most exciting, yet underrated time to plant your garden. Here are a few tips to make your garden successful.  

1. Check your first frost date and count back how many days you have left in your season. Look at your seed packets for the days to maturity and try and give your plants a few more days than that. You don’t want to get one day’s worth of a harvest before the plant dies. And don’t worry if your seed packets say that something should be planted in spring. If the temperatures are right and you have enough days, you can plant it in the fall too. I will be planting most of my fall garden around mid-August in our zone.
2. Fall gardening is a chance to clean up your garden space. Start by pulling up spent plants and weeding. After you clean up, you should feed your soil, whether that be with fertilizer, compost, etc. These tasks can revive the excitement and anticipation of planting that you probably lost around August when everything was struggling from the heat.
3. Make sure you have enough space for what you’re planting. You can plant lots of carrot seeds in a small space, but if you don’t thin them out, the roots won’t grow very large. Cabbage and Brussel sprout plants can grow to be very wide and tall according to the variety you pick. The fall produce you find in the grocery stores has been cut down when harvested, so don’t assume what you’re planting will be small and compact. The pumpkins I planted this summer have completely taken over a raised bed and spilled ten feet out into our yard.
4. Harvest your greens regularly. By doing this, many varieties will grow back after you have harvested leaves. This means you can get a huge harvest from just a handful of plants  
5. Continue to watch for pests despite the cool weather. Every changing of the season brings in new creepy crawlies (although many of them can be good for your garden).
6. Water regularly even when the heat of summer is gone. Although the heat isn’t zapping moisture from your soil like it does in the summer, you still need to keep a check on the soil’s moisture. I always stick my finger about 2-3 inches down to check.
7. Have fun with the fall garden!

There is such a variety of vegetables and flowers that you can plant during the fall that you just can’t grow in the summer. We miss fresh greens so much during the summer, that by the end of it, we can’t wait to get them growing again. Fall planting might actually be easier for some. In the heat of the summer in the deep south, even my tomato plants can struggle. The pest pressure is heavier, and it’s hard to keep our raised beds watered enough. In the fall, many of our plants do better with the cooler temperatures. When the summer garden is over and you’re missing the thrill of seeing seedlings pop up, give the fall garden a chance. You may come to find that you like fall gardening best of all.

Let me know of anything you grow in your fall garden that I don’t have listed here! Happy planting to you and yours!