Think Ahead: What to Plant in Your Vegetable Garden this Fall

   

fall vegetables

In March you swore you’d finally plant a garden. Well, March turned into late May and you never opened your seed packets. Now’s the time to open those pristine vegetable seed packets and embrace the second gardening season! Get your gardening gloves on, hook up the hose, and get your organic plants ready for a fall harvest.

Benefits of second season planting

Warm soil germinates quicker: embrace that summer sun! Planting in the summer allows you to work with soil that’s frost-free.

Plants can go directly into the ground.

Produce will be ready for a fall harvest: when everyone else’s summer bounty is running low, your produce will be going strong.

Cool weather = less plant care: increased rainfall means less watering, and cool weather means less hungry insects!

Things to keep in mind with a fall harvest

Pick seed varieties that mature quickly: Treehugger suggests to “add two weeks to the maturity date of your crop to account for the waning light at the end of summer.”

Protect seedlings from the sun.

Grow veggies in the shade of plants that will be harvested or pulled out of your garden soon.

Research when the first frost typically occurs in your gardening region. If a frost is coming don’t sweat it – just cover plants with a blanket or move plant filled containers inside.

Vegetables that fair well in the second gardening season

    Cabbage

    Spinach

    Cauliflower

    Carrots

    Asian Greens

    Leeks

    Broccoli

    Swiss chard

    Kale

    Lettuces

    Bush peas

    Radishes

Second season herbs

    Basil

    Chives

    Dill

    Oregano

    Fennel

    Borage

    Sage

    Marjoram

If you still need to buy seeds or want to buy additional seeds, consider the following vegetable seed companies:

    Seed Savers Exchange

    Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

    Johnny’s Selected Seed  

Written by Abbie Stutzer