The end of summer does not have to mean the end of the gardening season! I’m sharing my five secrets to extending my gardening season and growing a bountiful fall veggie garden that will feed my family through the beginning of winter.
Why Grow a Fall Garden?
It’s a second spring. A chance for a do-over and a garden reset.
Whatever you enjoyed growing in the spring can likely be grown again in the fall.
Additionally, gardening in the fall is great because of: cooler weather, fewer bugs and pest pressure, hardly any weed pressure, lots of rain for some areas.
Planting a fall garden can keep you harvesting well after all your warm-season crops have turned brown and died.
It’s an incredibly great strategy for homesteaders and serious food growers to plant more vegetables in late summer to harvest in the fall and winter months.
Secret 1: Plant at the right time
Google your first frost date for the place you live.
Count the number of days you have left from today to your first frost date. (I ask Google to do this for me!)
Add 10 to that number. Plants grow slower going into fall compared to going from spring to winter. It will take a bit longer for them to mature in the fall.
Look through your leftover seed packets. Anything with this number of days to maturity (or days to harvest) that’s cold hardy can be planted in your fall garden.
For example, if I have 50 days until my first frost date, I add 10 to get 60. I can grow anything with a “days to maturity” date of 60 days, like this Early White Vienna Kohlrabi.
If you don’t have seeds, you may still be able to purchase some at the nursery or other stores. You can also ask your local Buy Nothing groups, check your local library, and ask gardening friends if they have seeds to spare.
Many vegetables have cultivars that mature quicker. It’s worth searching these out online if you can’t find any in your seed stash or locally.
Secret 2: Choose the right plants for a fall garden
Typically anything that you grew in early spring will grow beautifully for your fall garden.
These are cool-weather loving plants. They love growing in cooler temperatures.
Here’s a list of options.
- broccoli
- cabbage
- bok choy
- kohlrabi
- kale
- radish
- turnips
- sugar snap peas
- snow peas
- carrots
- spinach
- collards
- arugula
- calendula
- marigold
- mache or corn salad
- green onion
- garlic
- beets
- chives (any perennial herb like this can be planted for fall)
- parsley
- cilantro
- thyme
The one thing you’ll have to keep an eye on is how much heat and sun your newly planted veggies are getting. It’s very likely you will be planting in late summer when it is still hot and the sun is still strong.
Make sure you keep your plants well-watered, especially when it is hot.
You can also put a shade cloth or a thin sheet over them to lightly shade the plants from the hot summer afternoon sun.
Here’s my post on my favorite vegetables to grow in the fall.
Secret 3: Out with the old
You may think you have no space to add plants to your veggie garden. Look again!
Is there anything in your garden currently that is struggling?
Maybe a zucchini plant that is overrun by squash bugs. A zinnia that succumbed to powdery mildew. Bean plants that are done producing beans.
Is there anything in your garden that you are tired of harvesting from or looking at?
Stop feeling guilty about your garden!
You have full permission to pull out anything you are no longer happy with to make room for newer, healthier plants.
So go ahead, cut the plants down at soil level. Leave the roots intact.
It’s actually quite fun to remove old plants!
Secret 4: Refresh your soil
After spending all spring and summer growing hungry, demanding plants, your soil is likely depleted and ready to give up.
Do not let your soil starve! Give it a good refresh by adding a thick layer of compost, up to 2 inches deep, preferably homemade, but store-bought will do, too!
Water your soil well, even if it is devoid of plants. There are still plenty of microorganisms and things living in your soil that will appreciate the moisture, and in turn, help your fall garden thrive.
If you have any fertilizer left over, save it for when you plant your fall garden plants. You can put it in the hole with your plants, or rake it in before seeding.
Secret 5: Use season-extension
Frost fabric, cold frames, low tunnels, and even old clear plastic bins work great to give your fall-planted veggies a little extra warmth to keep them going and growing when the temps start dropping.
We planted up a cold frame for the first time last year and harvested salad greens and bok choy up until mid-January.
There are lots of options for every space and budget.
Starting Plants for Your Fall Veggie Garden
If you have the space in your garden, you can direct sow your fall veggie garden plants.
If you need a little more time, using plant starts will give you some flexibility to get your space prepared.
A good, well-stocked nursery will likely have veggie plant starts in your area.
However, if you cannot locate any plant starts, try growing your own indoors. Starting fall veggie seeds indoors with cool soil, away from the hot sun will help the seeds germinate more readily.
Put potting mix in a small container, like an old plastic berry basket, a takeout container with holes poked into the bottom, or a recycled foil pan with holes in the bottom.
Sow your seeds thinly in the container, water them and wait for them to grow.
Once the seeds have sprouted, harden them off and continue to grow them outside until they have at least one set of true leaves.
Carefully prick them out using a pencil and plant the small seedlings directly in your prepared garden soil, or pot them up into bigger pots.
The only plant you shouldn’t start this way are carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, or other root vegetables.
Get Growing Your Own Bountiful Fall Veggie Garden
Use these tips to get your fall veggie garden started today.
Push through those feelings of being “done” with the season and get something planted in the ground, be it seeds or purchased plant starts.
Your fall and winter self will thank you for putting in a little bit of extra work.
Happy Gardening!
For more inspiration on gardening in the fall, check these posts below.