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.
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.
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.
To ensure a successful fall and winter harvest, you need to start many of your late-season crops in the peak of summer. In most regions, this means planting in the heat of August to give your crops time to size up while growing conditions are still good.
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.
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.
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.
Preparing for a Fall Vegetable Garden
Although many vegetables grow and mature well into the fall, most need to be started before the nights turn cold. In climates with early frost dates, your fall garden will need to be started in mid-summer from late July through August.
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.
Watering grass seed
Although mulch helps prevent the sun from baking the seedbed, you still need to water. The key is to keep seeds (and later tender seedlings) moist but not soggy. A mulched bed needs daily watering in the morning. An unmulched bed needs two or three light waterings each day.
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.
It's never too late. It just matters what you put into that garden. It's too late to grow tomatoes in your Chicago garden in September because you'll be getting cold weather soon, but you could still grow carrots, radishes, and lettuce plants.
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.
Salad Greens
Most greens take about 30 days until the beginning of harvest. The best part about greens is that they are a “cut and come again” vegetable which allows you to harvest greens all season long. Arugula – Give this vegetable a month to grow, and you will have some peppery-tasting greens to add to any salad.
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.