The heat of Autumn is different than the heat of summer. One ripens apples, the other turns them into cider.

Jane Hirshfield

The fall Garden… oh the fall garden. If one was to wander through my garden right now thinking they would see beauty and whimsy, they would be sadly disappointed. It is chaos and feral out there. I mean it too. A few days ago I was walking to the gate with an arm full of tomatoes and tripped over the biggest butternut squash that was completely hidden in the weeds. I almost went all the way down, tomatoes and all. The best part? I had not a single clue that squash was even there! I had given up on my squash plants because the wildlife around here kept eating the flowers off of them. It was a happy little discovery, and even happier that me and my load of tomatoes stayed on our feet!

I did decide earlier this spring that as my spring and summer crops started coming to an end I would try my hand at some fall crops for the first time. I have tried to plant garlic and failed twice now, but other than that I usually just let my summer garden run it’s course and call it good for the year. With my sights set on maximizing all that I could from our garden this year, I laid out my attack on fall seeds. I did want to start small because I am not sure how successful I will be and I don’t want to put all of my eggs in one basket… or seeds in one garden! I decided on a fall run of broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, and peas. I planted only a few of each, and so far we have germination on some of it! I did direct sow, and I think next year I will try to start the seedlings inside, then move them out, but overall I am happy to report that we have peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and lettuce all coming up. the spinach did nothing, but I didn’t have good luck with my spring spinach this year either.

Why Plant a Fall Garden?

There are several reasons I decided to plant a fall garden this year. First, some of my spring and summer crops suffered from our heat. I live in the Pacific Northwest and we usually have pretty mild weather. This past summer we had week long stretches of days that got up into the 90’s…. that’s HOT for us! My broccoli suffered along with my lettuce and peas. I actually only got a few pea pods from my first planting because the heat just shut them down.

There are also fewer pest and disease pressures on your plants with a late summer or fall planting. The cooler weather and lower humidity keeps those yucky sides of gardening to a minimum, and I will always be thankful for that! The cooler weather will also help certain crops, such as carrots and cabbage last longer out in the garden once they reach maturity. Your carrots will also be sweeter with some cool weather on them.

I think the biggest perk of a fall garden for me and my family is the prolonged season of fresh veggies. Vegetables just taste better if they go from harvested to prepared in the same day. It’s a flavor like no other and I, for one, am not ready to give it up yet.

What Are the Cons of a Fall Garden?

I feel like I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t mention that yes, of course there are some draw backs to planting for a fall garden. The first being the availability of seeds. In the spring there are seeds everywhere. We even have a seed stand in our local grocery store here! However when late summer rolls around the majority of people have moved past the excitement of gardening, so finding seeds to plant gets a little tricky. I have had good luck with one of our local greenhouses and ordering online.

The fall garden also falls prey to unpredictable weather. Here in the Pacific Northwest we do have mild weather most of the time, but we can get frost in September on occasion. Gardening is all at the mercy of Mother Nature anyway, however getting your fall garden planted is kind of like a big gamble and rolling of the dice. It’s a gamble I’m willing to take though. The best way to make sure the odds are in your favor is to look up and KNOW your first frost date. You can find this info on the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

One last thing to think about when planning your fall garden is the shorter days we get later in the year. Shorter days equal less sun which equals slower growing plants. We can’t expect our cool weather crops we plant in late summer to take off with the same wild and reckless growth that our spring garden does. Keep this in mind when you are planning when to start your seeds. The back of the packet will tell you how long it takes to germinate the seed and how long it typically takes that seeds to mature to a producing plant.

So now I want to know… are you planting a fall garden?

~Tara