Fall is a very beautiful season with a lot of plants that you can grow and harvest. Furthermore, a lot of the plants are low maintenance which is great if you want to slow down and enjoy your garden. Here are some of the things that you need to know if you want to start a garden in the fall season.
How to Start a Garden in the Fall Season with Easy Steps
- Choose the right time Like any other season, you should start your fall garden a few months before. Especially since fall plants tend to grow at a slower pace so you do not want to be too late to start. Usually, you need to start in the middle of summer. So, start planting around august so the plants will have more time to grow when the season changes. For fast growing plants such as radish and lettuce, you can't wait to plant it around late September. But for slower pace plants such as carrot and broccoli you need to start several months before.
- Clear up your garden space It is good to have a designated garden space for fall plants so you can start a garden in the fall right away. That way, you would not miss the timing while still having your summer plants in other space. Find plants that you can harvest in early summer then use it to grow filler crops while waiting for the right time to come. Once the time has come then you can harvest the filler crops and use the space to start your fall garden.
- Choose the right plants and seeds When you want to purchase your fall plants and seeds it is important to consider the amount of space you have in your garden. Then you should also consider the temperature and other plant requirements beforehand. Most popular vegetables that you can choose are chard, kale, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and many others. You can start planting them as seeds but if you start late and do not have time to wait for them to mature then you can try to get the seedling instead. However for vegetables such as spinach, radish, pea, carrot, and beet they need to be sown directly into your garden. You can try to draw your garden layout on a paper to make it easier for planning.
- Start planting Once you get all of the necessary seeds or seedlings then you can start planting. Make sure to water your garden regularly especially in fall to keep the area moist. September month is the time when the soil will dry faster. But once the weather has cooled down then you can reduce the frequency as necessary.
Best Crops to Have in Your Fall Garden
- Broccoli You need to use seedlings which you can transplant into your garden when the time has come. Give twelve to eighteen inches space between each crop. For the broccoli to grow well, you need to give the crop alfalfa meal or blood meal that has nitrogen in it.
- Onion If you have the right weather to plant onions then you can start a garden in the fall by planting 2 to 4 weeks before your first frost. Onions need to have 4 to 6 inches of space between each crop. You do not need to plant them too deep, just plant them deep enough so their pointed tips will still peek out from the surface.
- Carrots If you sow the seed directly into your garden then make sure that they have around six to 8 inches space between each crop. The seeds themselves are very small so it might be hard for you to precisely sow it with the right space. Thus, it is better to put 5 to 8 seeds for every inch of space.
- Beets Start planting the seed around 8 to ten weeks before your first frost so that way you can harvest them for holiday. When planting the seeds give 3-4 inches space between each crop. Plant the seeds around 1 inch in depth to make sure it grows well.
- Lettuce These vegetables can grow really fast and will mature in no time. So, you can plant them repeatedly from August to September. Then you will have them ready to harvest in fall.
To start a garden in the fall season is easy but remember to choose the right plants that suit the temperature of your area.