Health

How to Plant a Fall Garden

There is something really refreshing about getting your hands dirty in the garden. It has become a part of my (almost) daily routine and the kids love helping too. Not only does it help reduce stress and improve your immune system, but you also get delicious, healthy vegetables. But gardening doesn’t have to be limited to summer crops. Here’s how to extend your growing season with fall gardening!

Growing summer crops

When you think of vegetable gardens, you probably think of watering pumpkins and cucumbers in the summer heat. The seeds are planted in late spring, depending on the climate and growing conditions. And when the summer squash turns into pumpkin bread in the fall, it's time to stop.

But you don’t have to wait until next year to grow more plants! Certain vegetables and herbs will grow even during the cooler months of fall and winter.

Benefits of a Fall Vegetable Garden

My family tries to eat seasonally as much as possible. That means cold watermelon slices in the summer heat and pumpkin pie in October. Some plants grow well (or better) in cool weather. Spinach, for example, grows well in early spring and fall. But in the summer, it can sprout and become virtually inedible.

There are definite advantages to fall gardening. In the summer, I try to plant my vegetable garden early in the morning to avoid the heat. Fall crops grown in cooler temperatures do not have that problem. They also have fewer pests and weeds than summer vegetables. Some plants not only grow better in cooler weather, they also taste better.

Vegetables like Brussels sprouts and kale produce more sugars after a frost, which results in sweeter vegetables. Dandelions are another plant that become sweeter in the fall, making them an ideal time to harvest for dandelion root tea.

List of plants to grow in your fall garden

If you want to start a fall garden, the first step is to decide what you want to grow (and can grow). It is a good idea to choose plants that have a short growing season or plants specifically listed as fall vegetables. The best vegetables are frost-hardy and can withstand cold weather. Certain plants, such as spinach, grow well when planted in the fall and survive the winter well.

Plants that grow well in the fall garden include:

beat
radish
Brussels sprouts
Collard
Swiss Chard (protected from frost)
Kale
turnip
Arugula
spinach
Bush beans (need to be protected from frost or grown before they start to grow)
Mustard green
Lettuce
carrot
Parsnip
broccoli
Colabi
Asia Green
pea

Herbs and Flowers for the Fall Garden

Herbs are not only delicious to cook with, but they also go well with vegetables. Basil is placed between tomato plants, and nasturtiums are placed around squash plants. Some herbs and flowers have a short growing season, but some last even in cool weather.

Another tip is to plant your herb garden in pots so that it can be grown indoors even during the coldest months. In some climates, annual herbs can be grown as perennials with a little care. Many pollinators rely on these plants to provide them with the nutrients they need before winter migration or hibernation.

Herbs that grow well in the fall garden include:

parsley
chervil
Rosemary
sage
Spice
thyme
Mint
lavender
master
Marjoram

Flowers:

nasturtium
calendula
marigold
Jophiweed (good for pollinators)
riding
New England Aster

When to start seeds for your fall garden

The date of sowing and planting seeds will vary depending on your USDA hardiness zone and your first frost date. You can find your frost date here. Also, add two weeks to your planting time, as plants mature more slowly in cooler weather. For example, if the seed package says the plants are ready for harvest in 60 days, expect them to take closer to 74 days.

Some seeds can be sown indoors and then transplanted. Examples include bush beans and lettuce. Other seeds can be planted directly in the ground (like root vegetables). If you start your plants indoors, you can plant your summer vegetables in the ground while you plant your fall vegetables first. Transplants should be planted in the ground in late summer or early fall for a fall harvest.

This chart will tell you exactly when to plant different vegetables for a fall garden harvest.

Crop Rotation for Healthier Plants

It is also a good idea to rotate your plants so that you do not plant the same thing in the same soil every year. This will deplete the soil of nutrients and the plants will not grow well. Here is why: If you planted tomatoes in a particular garden bed (Solanaceae) during the summer, you can plant bush beans (legumes) during the fall.

Grow longer

There are ways to extend the growing season even further (especially if you live in an area with short summers). Cold frames and row covers can protect plants from cold weather or light frosts. And if you’re lucky enough to have a greenhouse, these are even more effective at extending your harvest well into winter.

Cold frames are an economical way to insulate plants and serve as mini greenhouses. Great for smaller plants. For larger spaces, row covers may be a better option. Those made of heavier fabrics can increase temperatures by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.