It’s not too late to start planting for fall! With a little patience, and a lot of love, your garden can have a full assortment of these hardy vegetables that will delight all of your senses.
Lettuce
Plant Lettuce 4-8 weeks before the first frost. It grows best within a temperature range from 45 to approximately 75 degrees.
Kale
Kale leaves are actually sweeter when they can mature in cooler weather. If your fall season has a random hot spell, your kale might sulk a bit, however, when it gets cool again, those kale plants will revitalize quickly.
Collards
Make sure to give these a rich soil in the beginning and regular feedings throughout the season.
Mustard Greens
Like collards, mustard grows very fast and produces many leaves for harvest. You must give them a rich and continually moist soil for optimal growth.
Parsley
Parsley takes about 70-90 days to grow before you can begin harvesting. Parsley is fussy with germination. Soak the seeds 24 hours before planting for a higher success rate for germination.
Arugula
Consider planting arugula every 2 weeks for a continual harvest. Arugula hates heat, which makes it bolt, and it also gets heavy damage with hard frosts and snow.
Swiss Chard
It’s best to start these indoors and set the seedlings out when they are 4 weeks old. The young small leaves are the most flavorful.
Broccoli
They prefer full sun. It does not like temperatures over 70 degrees. Make sure to give plenty of constant water as they need steady moisture for optimal growth.
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts can survive freezing temperatures and even some snow.
Cauliflower
Make sure your cauliflower gets steady moisture, not too much or too little in order to get the best crop.
Bunching Onions
Plant your bunching onions 8 weeks before the first frost date. It is best to start them indoors and then transplant.
Leeks
Start your leek seeds indoors 8-12 weeks before your first frost date. Make sure you blanch your plants as they grow by covering up their stalks.
Cabbage
Cool temperatures and constant water will give you deliciously sweet cabbage. Uneven watering might result in stunted growth or cracked heads.
Garlic (for harvest next year)
You can plant next year’s garlic harvest anytime in late fall when your soil is around 50 degrees F. The trick is to plant it before your ground freezes over. Garlic takes almost 1 year to grow, but the long growing season needs very little work from you.
Turnips
Since turnips are a root vegetable, you need to harvest them before the ground becomes frozen. Of course, a thick mulch will help slow down the ground becoming too frozen.
Beets
You can eat the beet greens anytime while they are growing. They taste best when they are still small, around 4-5 inches long. Only pick a few leaves from each Beet plant so that you don’t stress the plants.
Radishes
Radishes are easy to grow and mature quickly, so be sure to check them frequently and don’t leave them in the ground too long.
Peas
Peas can be a challenge for fall gardens because you have to take a bit of a gamble on the weather. You might get an unexpected heat wave or an early hard frost, both of which can damage your fall Pea harvest. You can to plant your peas so that the first flowers appear before the first frost of the fall season.
Jill Winger
The Prairie Homestead
www.theprairiehomestead.com
