My garden is booming and bustling!  Flower bouquets to be picked, so much weeding to do and the corn is finally reaching my knee. A sign that August is going to be very delicious. While in the midst of enjoying all the effort of spring, planning a fall garden before my first tomato ripens feels a little funny. But if you plan well your garden will continue to bring you food and joy for most of the year. Late June to mid - July is an opportune time for planting crops that take longer but there are lots of great vegetables you can plant throughout the summer for a fall harvest.

Quick Tips For Fall Gardens

Slow Growing

The Summer Solstice is past us now which means the day length is getting shorter. This will cause anything you plant now to take longer to grow. It is the opposite of spring where the sun keeps staying longer and longer. Prepare to add some extra days to the predicted maturity date on the seed packet.

Know Your Garden

When considering when and what to plant, make sure to know when your first fall frost is predicted. I like to err on the side of caution for this one. In Southern Oregon we usually have a first frost around the beginning of November. But each year is a little different and there are micro-climates on your land and in the region you live. Places where cold or warm air pools. Some areas of my garden will get frost where others will not. If you have never grown fall plants you can do an experiment and make some observations about where things grow best for fall. For tender greens and frost sensitive plantings make sure they will be finished growing and harvested before your frost date.

Consider Crop Rotation

Some plants do not thrive if planted after another crop. Each plant requires different  amounts of nutrients to grow and some plants attract different pests and diseases. Crop rotation can even reduce weeds in your garden. One of the simplest ways is to follow the Root-Fruit-Leaf system. For example, spring carrots followed by tomatoes and then a fall arugula planting. If you have a small garden, amend your beds with compost in between plantings.

Choose Cold Hardy Vegetables

The best way to have success for the fall is to choose plants that do well in the cold. Leafy greens, brassicas, onions, leeks, fava beans and peas all do really well in the cold. Some varieties are specifically bred to be frost tolerant and can survive snow. This will usually be included in the plant description. Purple Sprouting Broccoli is a great example of this and is such a fun plant to grow. It sends out delightfully sweet deep purple broccoli in February! Fava beans which are a good cover crop can be planted in the fall and  then you can harvest them to eat the next spring.

I hope you will consider planting for fall. It is so rewarding to keep having food to eat and plants to tend once summer passes. If you want to start with a really easy crop, buy some seed garlic and plant it in October. We have this straight forward blog post about what to plant and when if you want a little more guidance.

Happy Planting!