Leafy greens and Brassicas: Lettuces, spinach, and Swiss chard can be planted from seed or from transplant this month. Plant members of the Brassica family, including broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, and cauliflower, from transplant. Kale can also be planted from seed in October.
For April, May or June blooms, plant seed directly outdoors August-October. For June, July, August and/or September blooms, plant your seed outdoors March-June. Seedlings normally tolerate a light frost.
Pansies and Violas
Fall is the good time to plant pansies and their smaller cousins violas because the still-warm soil temperatures give their roots time to grow enough to survive the winter.
Late summer and early fall, such as September, is the best time to plant chrysanthemums which are hardy perennials that will grow back each and every year with the proper care. Peonies are also perennials, so after you plant them once in September, they'll come back year after year with the proper care.
Mid-August to mid-October is an ideal time of year to plant new trees, though, that time frame can be stretched into November and December. To be 100% sure, measure soil temperature early in the morning for a few, consecutive days. If your soil is consistently 50° F or higher, you're good to plant.
Tap Down. Wildflower seeds don't need to be planted in holes; however, they should be tapped down to encourage growth. After you've scattered them over the soil, use the back of a shovel, your hand, or your foot to gently press them into the ground.
Fall planting will be much easier, so you should aim for getting your seed down late in the season, but before the ground freezes entirely.
The seed lies dormant all winter and is ready to sprout the first chance it gets in the spring. Any gardener who has ever cursed an effusive self-seeding plant knows that some seeds do very well when left outside in the cold all winter.
Marigolds are a great fall-blooming plant. They produce bold colors and striking flowers and are great for fall landscape displays. Many marigold plantings in the late summer and fall will actually outperform a spring planting in terms of lasting in the landscape.
Although each plant's needs may vary and some will be more winter-hardy than others, in general about a month before the last fall frost is sufficient in giving the plant enough time to establish itself and take root.
When it's October, people often wonder if it is too late to plant new seed. The good news is if you hurry, seed can still be planted in October with the hope that it will survive the upcoming winter. Although September is the best time, often we can still plant grass seed up to October 15 with good results.
Some seeds will also take their time germinating. While most will be up in four to seven days, for some it's normal to take three to four weeks to get going.
By midsummer you should be knee-deep in tomatoes, beans, zucchini, and peppers, so it can be hard to remind yourself to shop for seeds for your next season of vegetable gardening. However, July and August are the best time to get a start on fall and winter food gardening.
Tip. Mid- to late-August is often an excellent time to plant fall flowers, as long as the weather isn't still so hot that the plants will suffer heat stress.
While we frequently urge patience on those who might plant too soon, there is a way to get quicker germination once your seeds are in the ground, a technique known to almost every gardener and practiced universally: Soak your seeds before planting.
As a general rule of thumb, your seeds will sprout even if you don't soak your seeds before planting, but with soaking, the germination time decreases, and the germination rate increases. Seeds that have a continual flow of moisture to uptake have much higher chances of success.
Spring-blooming perennials, especially in the bare root form, are best planted early in the fall. Planting in the fall while the soil is still warm will give the roots enough time establish properly. This allows the plants to emerge from well established roots, with a stronger start, the following spring.
The date that your ground actually freezes varies from year to year, of course, and some areas won't have frozen ground at all. If you're unsure, mid-November is a safe planting deadline for nearly everyone. - Get everything in the ground before the ground freezes.