Quick-maturing vegetables include beets, bush beans, carrots, cucumbers, kohlrabi, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, and zucchini. And if some of those quick-maturing crops don't mature fast enough to elude the first frost, you can easily use row cover or garden fabric to protect them from too-cool temperatures.
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.
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.
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.
Early fall is the best time to plant cool-season grasses, such as Fescue, Rye and Bluegrass. These grasses grow best when the temperature is between 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit, and benefit from the shorter days and cooler nights. There is also less competition from crabgrass and foxtails.
That assumption wouldn't be wrong, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret: you can also plant a lot of seeds in the fall and they'll come up even earlier in the spring. Tons of annuals drop their seed in the fall anyway, and the seeds are naturally cold-stratified over the winter.
September is a great time to plant those fall flowers. There are many varieties that can be planted this fall to start blooming early spring.
When to Plant Coneflower Seeds. Plant in the late Fall, after the frost, or you can start indoors 6-8 weeks before your final frost date, after a period of 8-12 weeks of cold moist stratification.
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. But don't wait too late to plant, or you'll have a very short window to enjoy your flowers. Check the growing requirements for each plant.
In heavy winter areas, that means from late September or October up until the ground freezes. (If you don't have much frost in your area, you should plant just before your rainiest season begins.
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.
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.
October is the season to plant spring-blooming bulbs, wildflowers, and many standard gardening favorites. The flowers that don't blossom this winter can spend the cold season in the ground, strengthening their root systems in preparation for a springtime bloom.
That's right, even when the temperatures fall below freezing and a thick blanket of snow covers the ground, some flowers can grow tall. Many perennials, annuals, and shrubs actually bloom during the coldest months of the year.
The autumn season comes with a mix of warm soil and cool air, perfect for planting grass seed and allowing time for new grass roots to develop before winter sets in. It is also a good time to fertilize to build stronger, deeper roots for winter, resulting in a thicker, greener lawn next spring.
For cool-season turf, start the overseeding process by thoroughly aerating the lawn. Apply the new seed with a fertilizer spreader, following the product's recommended coverage rate. It's ideal when the seeds fall into the aeration holes because they won't dry out as quickly and will germinate faster.
Fall Overseeding
Many homeowners find that overseeding in the fall works very well. Cool-season grasses germinate best when daily temperatures are gradually moving downward as they do in fall, so it can be a great time to overseed without the pressure of summer's dry, hot conditions.
In warm-winter areas, sow the seeds just before the rainy season begins, or from late fall into winter. Often, seedlings won't appear until the spring, but if you do see them and you're in a cold area, mulch over them once the ground has frozen completely.
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.