A Quick Fall Planting Guide

The second most wonderful time of the year.

Tied with spring planting time ;)

 

 If you live in a southern state you have a longer fall/winter growing season, if you are in the north or mid-west you have a shorter growing season. Now is the time to start your seeds, if you haven't already. You're almost out of time, especially in the cooler states.

The best crops to plant now are leafy greens, lettuces, hardy root vegetables, brassicas (cabbages, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower) and garlic. The best time for planting garlic is late September through mid-November. The last two years I planted my fall garden in a large garden on our family farm, this year because of limited sunlight at my new home, I'm planting them in containers. All of these, including garlic, are super easy to grow in pots, deep window boxes, or standing planters. 

This year I'll be using a standing planter that a dear friend got me for my birthday.

The top row will house broccoli, the second and third lettuces, kale, and some smaller round carrots. The bottom is being saved for garlic!

Germination time for lettuce seeds is only 1-3 days! Get those babies planted and in 20-30 days (depending on how big you want them grow) you'll have fresh lettuce all ready to eat. My organic non-gmo lettuce mix seeds sprouted after only one day. Fall planting really is great, most things grow themselves, especially the non-gmo heirloom varieties - some have been around for centuries and are wonders to grow.

What are you planting this fall?

Planning for a Fall Heirloom Garden

It's time to start planning for the fall garden! I've got a large variety of organic heirloom seeds to pick through and I'm wondering what are your favorite fall and winter vegetables? What do you like to eat when there's a chill in the air? I'm longing for something new and different that can grow in 40-70*F temperatures. So far I have Alaska Shelling Peas, Late Flat Dutch Cabbage (these things are monsters, 10-15 lbs each!),  Leeks, Cream of the Crop Winter Squash, Waltham 29 Broccoli, Preococe D'Argenteuil Asparagus, Red Onions, Yellow Onions, Pie Pumpkins (already planted) and various Greens. 

I live in Zone 8a and have fairly mild winters so I'm able to easily overwinter a lot of different hardy plants. However, for those that can't, I set up a little guide of starting/transplanting dates for the most popular fall crops.

:Plant Name:                      :Start Seeds:                              :Transplant:                      :Spacing:    

Broccoli                     8-12 weeks before 1st frost          4-6 weeks before 1st frost         8-10 in apart

Cabbage                    8-12 weeks before 1st frost          4-6 weeks before 1st frost         20-24 in apart

Carrots                      Direct Sow 8-10 weeks before 1st frost                                        3-4 in apart

Winter Squash           Direct Sow mid July - early August                                              2-3 feet apart

Peas                         Direct Sow 8-10 weeks before 1st frost                                         2-3 in apart  

You can find your specific frost dates here.




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Help me in my journey to having my own Organic CSA