This morning I started the process of planning out my fall vegetable garden. Normally I wouldn’t be so gung- ho about fall planting, but since I’m trying to grow 2,000 pounds of vegetables this year, I figured I needed to get my act together pretty quick. Even if it is only mid-July.
In addition to carrots and various greens, I am planning on growing the following vegetables –
- Gourmet Beets
- Broccoli Romanesco {this looks so cool!}
- Broccoli Raab Rapini {Chickpeas with Broccoli Raab and Bacon recipe}
- Artichoke Green & Purple
- Cauliflower Chef’s Choice Blend
- Bok Choy White Stem
- Kale Italian Lacinato Nero Toscana
- Lettuce Mesclun Gourmet Baby Greens
I know not everyone has the luxury of being able to grow vegetables in the fall, but up here in the Seattle area the climate is perfect for fall crops. We typically don’t see a frost until around late October or November, and so it’s kind of nice to be able to squueze as much as possible out of those 16 raised garden beds of mine as I can.
How do I plant my seeds?
Luckily a couple of my neighbors save their plant and vegetable containers for me so I don’t have to buy any {but if you do, HERE is a great idea of where to get them}.
I simply rinse out the containers with hot, soapy water and then fill them with moistened Miracle Grow Seed Starting Soil {I should buy stock in this stuff}.
Then I plant the seeds according to the directions on the packet and place them under grow lights in the rec room.
Of course if I had it my way, I’d probably fill my entire kitchen with seed trays. But something tells me it might send my rather tolerant Husband over the edge.
So that’s what I am planning on growing this fall… What about YOU?
Will be be planting a fall garden this year? If so, what will you be planting?
Do you think I am leaving anything out? Is there something else I should try to grow?
Stay Green,
♥ Mavis
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I picked 2 of these grow lights earlier this year and have been very pleased with them. Amazon also sells a smaller version {large enough for 1 seedling tray as well}.
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Misty Hill says
Cabbage and mustard greens are great fall crops 🙂
Misty Hill says
Also spinach and other salad greens..
Jenn says
Yumm! This week, I’m planting more cucumber seedlings that are doing great, broccoli, Lettuce from seed (arugula, spinach and a mix blend) boc choi and you just made me start artichokes 🙂 We are in zone 8 and I think I’ll be able to grow these for years to come from the same plant. Yay!
Mavis says
Try growing artichokes Jenn. The chickens ate my last ones so I’m planting again. Plus they look cool. I think I’ll plant another round of cucumbers too.
Celia Husmann says
Did you grow the from seed?? I’m interested in growing them but they look tricky!
Leanna Thompson says
How long do you leave them under the grow lights? Maybe I can start some inside near a window and the plant them outside when it gets below 100 degrees in late September.
Mavis says
About 4 weeks. The lettuce not so long. It helps to give them a good start before moving them outside.
Chela says
Are you starting them inside because you dont have room outside now? I have only ever done my main garden in the spring. I may need to start some more things but I am usually more than ready to be done canning and preserving by October.
Mavis says
Yes and no. I have learned that starting things like cabbage, broccoli, kale and a few other things inside under the grow lights helps. When I plant them outside {in about a month or so} 1. I’ll actually have room to plant them somewhere 2. They’ll be the same sized plants as I would find in a nursery, so there chances of survival are better. I’m telling ya, I’m totally diggin the grow lights. But if you don’t have them, you could also do the same thing in a sunny window.
Try planting a fall garden! 🙂
Sarah says
Planning is looking good, Mavis! My plans look similar to yours except I’m going to try Swiss Chard again, Violet of Sicily Cauliflower (purple cauliflower just seems cool to me), pumpkin (just planting now), more squashes, Brussels Sprouts (have you tried these? I can’t remember off the top of my head if you did them in the spring or not. If so, any advice?), and I’m toying with the idea of quinoa (just don’t know if I’ll have room to grow enough to make it worth the effort).
I’m with Leanna, too…might have to start inside later to wait out the heat. I’m in KS, and the frost date is usually all over the place. Could be Oct.1; could be Dec.1. If we have a winter like last year, I could grow all year long!
Mavis says
Sarah what state do you live in? I started some pumpkin seeds a few weeks ago and I am going to plant them in the garden this weekend. I hope it’s not too late. Only time will tell of course. 🙂
Paula Perez says
Mavis, you don’t need to plant your seedlings according to the seed packet. It will tell you to plant close and then “thin out” to so many per inch. Many seedlings are wasted that way. Seeds for lettuce, kale, green onions, leeks, and many more that are too small to space easily can be grown until a few inches tall, and then replanted farther apart later. Onions and leeks especially can be handled pretty roughly and still transplant and grow fine. I always start my lettuce in a pie plate with some soil over a layer of vermiculite, then transplant with a spoon. I honestly have been using the SAME packet of Territorial Seeds Gourmet lettuce mix for five years now, with only slightly poorer germination rates. I just keep my seeds in an old Costco peanut butter jar with a lid on for storage! If I buy something with a dessicant pack in it (like vitamins or shoes), I throw it in my seed jar to keep it drier.
Paula Perez says
P.S. The lettuce packet says there are 4 grams of seeds, and approximately 800 seeds per gram. No wonder I still have half a packet left after 5 years – that’s 3200 heads of lettuce!
Jan says
Leeks, spinach, green onions, etc are great for fall. Leeks, artichokes, and spinach will winter over if cut them about 2 inches above ground, then cover them with leaves, pine needles, straw, etc. Lettuce, cilantro, and Parsley will sprout early if you seed it in late fall. Toss a bunch of leaves on it for the winter, you will get lots of sprouts come March. Even with several feet of snow, once the snow is gone, they start sprouting. Sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, chives, lemon grass, etc will winter over and take off year after year. Be mindful of the mint and lemon grass, they take over and crown out everything around them.
I hope your keeping a garden journal detailing when the plants are started in the house, transplanted, harvest, amount of harvest, location of planting, etc. This will help you rotate the plants to different beds year after year. Are you saving seed? Saving your own seed saves tons of money when you have a large garden, plus you can trade seeds with friends.
Mavis says
Thanks Jan. I am going to try the overwintering thing this year. 🙂 Great idea.
Celia Husmann says
Overwintering is awesome. Whatever you do, don’t even bother with Fava beans. I’ve tried for years… 🙁
Kay Snyder says
I went to the nursery yesterday to get fall garden seeds and found their shelves empty. They had already pulled this seasons seeds to donate to Harvesters. Thankfully they still had them (exact same packaging as your pictured) and they said I could take what I wanted. My fall garden will be huge this year 🙂 just need to find Dino kale still.
Mavis says
Wow! What luck. Way to go!
Ellee says
Maybe turnips or rutabagas? I’m looking forward to those again this fall. We’re also in the Puget Sound & have a community garden plot, which has produced a lot of peas (though that’s coming to a close now) that we’ve been eating & I’ve even been able to freeze some. Also found out that the leaves and tender stems of pea plants (NOT the “sweet pea” nice smelling flowers) are edible and am saving the leaves that are still nice for pea shoot pesto. Yum!
Also, as an aside regarding seed saving – as long as you’re growing non-hybrid varieties, they should be fine (& most, but not all heirloom varieties are fine for seed saving) – otherwise you’ll probably end up with slightly different varieties than you started out with.
Chelsea says
When do you officially start planting outside for a fall harvest? Is it to late to plant radishes and snow peas? Are they just a spring crop or will they grow all summer in wa?
Thanks!
Mavis says
Chelsea, where do you live? Radishes only take 30 days to grow so you can pretty much plant them anytime. Up here in the Seattle/Tacoma area I will be planting them thru the first week of October. As for peas, I will plant those outside Around the 3rd week in August as they are a little fussy and don’t like the hot weather. I only started some seeds indoors yesterday. I won’t actually be planting them out side for about a another month.
Celia Husmann says
I am totally shocked you don’t make your own seed starting mix!!!! You should!