The date to plant depends on the date of the first fall freeze in your area and how long it takes the individual plant to mature. As a general guide, USU Extension suggests if your first fall freeze is in October or November you can plant as late as August. If your first freeze occurs in September, plant in July.
Some fast growing fall crops like lettuce and radishes can be planted into late September, but many desirable fall crops like broccoli and carrots need several months of prime-growing conditions to mature before frost and low light levels set in.
In areas with cold winters, such as USDA Hardiness zones 5 and 6, you'll generally want to wrap up fall planting by late October, and by mid-October in zones 3 and 4. But better late than never!
Although September marks the beginning of fall, there are still a few fast growing vegetables that can be planted this month and be harvested before the first frost in most gardening zones. Remember to keep your soil warm by removing all mulch and maybe try using a plastic sheet to trap heat into the soil.
The latest time to plant for most vegetables would be the second week in June with a short harvest time. If planting crops that mature within 50 days, you could plant those as late as the last week in June, but keep in mind the weather will be turning cooler, especially at night. Cool crops are best for late plantings.
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.
Late summer planting
Choose quick-maturing crops. Spinach, lettuce and greens, beets, carrots, peas, and beans can be sown now. Most seeds will readily germinate in the garden now because the soil holds heat well into autumn; warm soil (in the 70°s) is ideal for seed starting, as long as the weather is not too hot.
Vegetables that can be planted in August include leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, collards, kale and mustard. Radishes, turnips, beets and carrots can all be started from seeds in August.
Even hardier vegetables that can survive temperatures as low as 20˚F include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, leeks, rutabagas and turnips. Upon thawing out, these hardy vegetables will continue to grow between freezes!
Plant your fall vegetables so that the crops you choose have time to reach maturity before the first frost in your area. Find your first frost date, then count backward based on days to maturity for each type of veggie you want to grow. That's your ideal planting date.
Later sowings are also possible – up until late May with varieties like 'Veranda Red' – to yield a good crop in October. Larger fruited varieties are best sown in mid to late April to ensure a good crop of ripe fruit by mid-September.
Depending on your local climate, June or July is the latest possible date you can plant cucumbers in order for them to be able to yield any fruit. When planted in warmer weather, the plants will establish much more quickly than when planted in the spring.
' Waiting until fall can be an issue too. 'If you plant a garden late into the fall, the biggest risk is that the plant won't root into the surrounding soil before winter and will be subject to frost-heaving,' Lindsay explains, 'when the rootball slowly works its way out of the ground due to freeze-thaw cycles.
In order to preserve the most amount of food from your garden to carry into the winter months, you need to start planning a Fall garden now. That's right, In order to have a productive Fall garden (depending on your region), your vegetables need to be sowed or planted by late July into the first week in August.
Q: When is the best time to cut back in the fall? A: “When they start to look too ratty for you and before the fresh new growth begins,” says Sarah. For plants that are frost-sensitive, wait until after the plants have gone through several hard frosts to ensure they're dormant before cutting back.
Planting in September
Plant now beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, celery, fava beans, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, both head and leaf lettuce, mustard greens, onions, parsley, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips.
Root vegetables: Plant beets, radishes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and rutabaga from seed this month. For a colorful harvest, try Golden, Bull's Blood, and Chioggia beets and white, red, purple, and pink radish varieties. Carrots also come in a variety of colors, including yellow, maroon, and several shades of orange.
Popular fall-planted cover crops include oats, winter rye, winter wheat, crimson clover, and hairy vetch. The latter two crops are legumes- plants that can add a lot of nitrogen to your soil after they decompose. These crops are typically planted as early as August 15, but no later than October 10th.
Yes, if you read the title you know I'm talking about cucumbers (Cucumis sativus)! Many growers start their first crop in May, but also make a second planting in mid- to late summer. This helps avoid insect pressures by planting between pest life cycles, all while ensuring a late summer harvest.
Remove Summer Edibles, Diseased Plants and Weeds
Strip plants of any remaining fruits and seeds and remove them from garden beds. You can add the plants to a compost pile, if you have one, or toss them in the green wastebin. (Fall is a great time to start composting.)
These cold-weather champs are kale, spinach and collards. Other hardy vegetables include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, English peas, kohlrabi and leeks. Hardy root crops are radishes and turnip, which also yields some greens from the tops. Other hardy greens include kale, mustard greens and collards.