Summer produce is coming in daily to be put up. But, right now is the time that you need to start thinking about your Fall garden and what you are going to plant in it.
Fall is my favorite season! I just love the weather, the colors, and even the foods that go along with Fall. Bring on the pumpkin spice, soups, and fresh warm bread…. gluten free of course!
Our Summer garden produces a good amount of food for the year however, there are just some things I can’t grow in the summer that my family loves! Things like broccoli, onions, celery, brussel sprouts, cabbage, garlic, and lettuce are staples in our Fall garden.
This means that while we are harvesting and bringing in the Summer bounty, we are also turning beds over to get ready for Fall seeds or starts. It’s a busy time!
Now before you start thinking, “there is no way I have the energy to do another garden right away!” Let me assure you that my Fall garden is not super labor intensive and involved.
Even the foods I grow in my Fall garden are low maintenance and very easy to preserve. Which is a blessing after a busy Summer garden.
A Fall garden is a perfect beginner garden!
If you have never had a garden before, you may want to consider starting your first garden in the Fall!
For one, it’s not as labor intensive. A lot of the crops are things you put in the ground and don’t have to think about them again until harvest, like onions, garlic, broccoli, brussel sprouts and celery.
Another reason is, depending on your area you should be getting more consistent rains. This will take care of the watering for you! So if you are like me and forget to water (happens more then I care to admit) you don’t have to worry. Hopefully the rain is doing the work for you!
But I believe the most important reason I would start with a Fall garden is, there isn’t as many options that you can grow in the Fall. This will help a new gardener avoid taking on too much and getting overwhelmed and burnt out. Starting small and slowly growing each year is the best way to make gardening enjoyable!
What you need to be doing NOW for your Fall garden.
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If you are wanting to grow those good Fall crops, then you need to get a plan together now. Luckily I have come up with 5 tips to get you started so you can enjoy the Fall season ahead with some fresh produce.
Tip One:
Find out what your hardiness zone is. This is very important to know, so you know what will grow in your area, when your first frost date is, and when your last frost date is. Knowing this information will ensure you can get the plants in the ground at the right time.
Years ago when I first got started, I didn’t look this up. I wanted to put in a Fall garden so I headed to my local nursery for some starts. I was just so excited!
Relying completely on the nursery to teach me, I was completely unprepared. Don’t get me wrong, they did a wonderful job showing me what they had and explaining how to grow the things they carried, but I also missed some foods that we do like, because I hadn’t done my own research.
The Vegetable Garden Bible is a wonderful book to have on hand for all your garden questions…. including a hardiness zone map in the back!
Tip Two:
Make a list of all the things that will grow in your area AND that your family will eat!! This is where I messed up my first year. I got so excited that I just planted everything that would grow in my area in the Fall and Winter months that the nursery had. Some of the things I planted, we never even ate.
Make sure the items you are planting are things you and your family will actually eat, otherwise you are just wasting your time, money and food.
Also, a good thing to note is approximately how much of those vegetables do you eat. Learning what your family will eat and how much of it they will eat, is important to know before getting started.
Once you know what you are planting, find out if they should be transplants or directly sown into the ground. Then, you need to figure out what date, according to your hardiness zone, you need to get them into the ground and when they should be harvested.
Tip Three:
Now you know your hardiness zone and what grows in it. You’ve decided what you want to plant that your family will actually eat. Now is the fun part… map it out!
Fall gardens are a little trickier then Summer gardens when you are mapping it out. Since things like tomatoes and peppers are likely still in your garden, you won’t have as many beds available. So you will have to get creative!
This year I pulled out this Garden Planning Journal that I had bought years ago and never used. In the back it has sheets with little grid dots on them. This made it super helpful and simple to draw a map of my garden.
I was able to draw every bed in my garden, label what will still be in the ground, and then figure out how to get all my Fall starts to fit.
When you are mapping out how it will look, don’t forget about companion planting. For example, you don’t need a whole bed just for broccoli, you can plant some onions or carrots in between. The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible book is a great resource for how to maximize your space and companion plant all your vegetables.
You don’t need to make this map super fancy, just a general idea so you can maximize the space that you do have.
Tip Four:
Prep your soil! I practice the no till method in my garden, so I don’t till my beds. I will simply spray for any pests that are still lingering after pulling out plants and add more compost and mulch if needed.
Using dry cow manure is a great option to add to your beds as compost. I usually try and get my beds prepped a couple weeks before I am going to seed or plant starts. This gives me plenty of time to make sure I have gotten rid of any pests and my soil is ready.
Tip Five:
Start your seeds that need to be transplants and get your direct sown seeds in the ground. If you are unsure how to do this, check out my Seed Starting Video and How to Separate Seeds.
When I start seeds for the Fall I usually keep them outside and only bring them in if we are going to get a rough storm. This makes the whole seed starting business much easier! No grow lights and no plants all over your window sills and counters.
With the weather still hot, you will want to make sure to check on your seedlings often to make sure they are staying moist so they germinate.
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