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Cornell University : Cornell Cooperative Extension
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| Yates Association |
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Plant A Fall Garden |
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Many gardeners like to plant what is known as a "fall garden". The term refers to when the expected harvest period is instead of when to plant the crops. Gardeners who plan to plant a fall garden should find out when the approximate date of the first frost in the fall will occur and plan to plant early enough in the summer to allow the crops to mature enough for harvest. Most seed companies label each variety with the expected days to maturity. Count backwards from the expected fall frost date to get the recommended planting time for each vegetable to be planted in the fall garden. Many people who plant fall gardens like to plant cool season vegetables such as cole crops, including cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and kohlrabi; spinach; and onions. Planting cole crops for fall harvest makes sense, as they are cold and frost tolerant. For many vegetables, an early frost means curtains for further harvest. Cold tolerant crops will yield even after an early frost. Fall harvest of cole crops will also extend the harvest season versus spring planting, as the plants develop a bit more slowly, and the quality of the produce has been shown to be better than cole crops planted in the spring. Soil fertility and pH should be at optimum levels for the fall garden, as they should be for the spring garden. Weed control may be more of a problem while the plants are becoming established, as the weeds have been trying to grow since spring, and the fall garden seeds have to establish good seed to soil contact, germinate, and establish a good root system to be able to compete. Judicial use of weed control methods will help the process, like tilling prior to planting and hoeing weeds regularly during the growing season. Cornell
Cooperative Extension Yates Association |
