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.
In order to ensure your fall garden matures before the first frost, get it started in mid-summer (typically late July to early August, depending on your hardiness zone).
From early fall through most of November is one of the best times of year to plant spring-blooming bulbs, cool-season annuals and vegetables, as well as many trees, shrubs, and perennials.
You need to be planting seeds and seedlings for your fall and winter garden between 6 to 8 weeks before your average first frost date. Some even as early as 10 weeks.
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.
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.
Whether you're new to gardening, or a seasoned pro, building better soil is the single most important thing you can do to improve your gardening success. And fall is the best time to do it! To learn more, read Building Healthy Soil.
Fall is a good time for developing tomatoes because the cooler temperatures allow for better fruit set and insect problems diminish. Mid-July to the end of August is the ideal time to plant. When choosing your fall tomatoes, make sure you know if you're selecting a Determinate or Indeterminate type.
Fall is a great time to plant perennial herbs, which come back year after year and thrive in either pots or planting beds. Plant herbs such as thyme, oregano, mint, and sage any time from summer to mid fall, and you'll be able to harvest now and up until a hard freeze.
Dig In, Dig Deep, and Till Your Soil
Start by tilling the soil down 8 to12 inches. You can do this the old-fashioned way with shovel, and a little sweat or cut down on the time and sore muscles by using a garden tiller. Also remember to pull out any rocks, weeds, dirty clumps and debris.
Start From Seed
You'll probably grow most fall garden vegetables from seed. Use the extra seeds you didn't plant in the spring or purchase new ones. If you start your seeds outdoors, plant them a little deeper than you would in spring; the soil is typically moister and cooler an extra inch or two down.
Spading or tilling the soil in the fall allows for the winter conditions of freezing and thawing to naturally break the soil into its particles. This results in crumbly state desirable for spring planting. Soil is often damp or wet in the spring which makes deep spading more difficult.
No, you do not have to change the soil in raised garden beds. You should, however, amend the soil with compost and other nutrients before the beginning of each new season. And also when you have identified any plants that need more nutrients.
Fall is the best time to add compost to perennial gardens. Apply a top dressing of about an inch or 2 of compost. You can work it into the top few inches of soil or just leave it on top as mulch. Applying compost in autumn will give perennials a healthy boost for the coming spring.
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.
If you're planting grasses, legumes, or clover as a cover crop, or "green manure" to replenish nutrients, suppress weeds, or stabilize your soil, we recommend planting in early to mid-fall. Let the plants grow until frost. Come spring, mow your cover crop before it goes to seed.
Watering Thoroughly, but Not Too Much
Once the seeds have been properly sown and lightly incorporated into the existing soil, water the area thoroughly and leave until next spring. By this time of year, our cool to cold temperatures and short days will help keep the areas moist far longer than in summer.