#15: Fall Gardening: Your 2nd Chance for Success!
Are you feeling defeated by your summer garden? Whether it was pest problems that took over your plants, the extreme heat we experienced, or maybe your plants produced well, but you just couldn’t keep up with the harvest, summer gardening can be overwhelming.
By the end of the season, it’s exhausting, and if you’re feeling worn out, I’m right there with you. But I want to encourage you to plant a fall garden because it is your second chance at a more productive and enjoyable garden.
Audrey's Little Farm may earn a commission after clicking links on this page at no additional cost to you. Learn more.
Fall Gardening: Your Second Chance For Success!
Hey there, welcome to another episode of The Audrey Subtle Farm Show. If this is our first time meeting, my name is Audrey Crawford, and I am a Central Valley California gardener in zone 9. I’m super excited for today’s show because we’re diving deep into fall gardening, which is my favorite season of the year.
I’ll also be sharing some truths that many gardeners don’t often talk about.
But first, if you’re listening to this in real time, I’m getting ready to host the Fall Vegetable Gardening Summit, a free four-day online event dedicated to helping you grow your best fall garden yet.
You can sign up for your free ticket using this link to the Fall Gardening Summit.
Why Summer Gardening Can Be Exhausting
By this point in the season, I am exhausted from my summer garden. We’ve had a really hot summer, and being out in the garden has become more of a chore than a joy. The constant 100-degree days make it hard to enjoy the process.
Many of my plants are still producing, but the work of harvesting, weeding, and general upkeep has me feeling drained. My garden currently looks like a bit of a jungle, and while I’m thrilled with the success of certain crops, like my tomatoes, keeping up with the daily harvest has been exhausting.
One of the big struggles with summer gardens is how fast the crops grow. If you don’t get out there to harvest every day, you might find that your produce has become too large to enjoy. For instance, my okra and zucchinis have grown too big because I missed a few days of harvesting.
You wait all season for these harvests, and then, if you’re not on top of it, they quickly pass their prime. It’s easy to feel like giving up and waiting until next spring, but I want to encourage you to consider planting a fall garden instead.
Benefits of the Fall Gardening Season
The fall garden season is truly the most enjoyable time of the year, and it’s so much easier. There are fewer pest and disease issues, and there are actually more crops that you can grow during this time.
It may seem like there’s a lot you can grow in the summer, but in the cooler months, you can practically multiply that by three or four times. If you live in a hot climate, fall and winter are often the most productive seasons of the year.
Growing Cool-Weather Crops in a Mild Winter Climate
If you’re a gardener in a mild winter climate—meaning you’re not covered in snow all winter and don’t experience hard frost for multiple days in a row—you can grow just about every cool-season vegetable throughout the fall and winter with great success.
However, if you live in an area with heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures most of the winter, your cool-season crops might be better suited for late winter and early spring. But for those of us in gardening zone 9, fall is the best time to plant these crops.
Fall Vegetable Varieties to Grow
There are so many cool-season vegetables to choose from for your fall garden. Leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, arugula, and collards thrive in cooler weather.
Root vegetables like onions, garlic, potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, carrots, radishes, and parsnips are also perfect for fall planting.
Additionally, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are all great choices. In the cooler months, you’ll have a much wider variety of crops to grow compared to the summer.
Herbs like cilantro and parsley also do well in the cooler months. These herbs often struggle in the heat of summer but will thrive as temperatures drop. The variety of crops available for fall gardening is truly endless compared to the limited options for warm-season vegetables.
The Struggle with Harvesting Summer Crops
One of the challenges with summer gardening is how time-consuming it is to harvest certain crops. Green beans, for example, take a lot of time to pick, and it’s easy to fall behind, which can reduce the plant’s productivity.
In contrast, harvesting cool-weather crops is much simpler. For example, with broccoli, you just go out with a knife and cut the head off.
The same goes for cabbage—you pick the entire plant in one go. Root crops are just as easy; you simply pull them out of the ground when they’re mature.
Benefits of Cool-Weather Crops
Cool-weather crops are also easier to manage in terms of storage. They often have a longer shelf life and can be left in the garden for a while without over-ripening.
In contrast, summer crops like tomatoes and cucumbers need to be used quickly after harvesting, or they lose their freshness. With cool-season crops, your garden can almost act as a storage space, as the vegetables maintain their ripeness without requiring immediate harvesting.
When to Plant Your Fall Garden
The best time to plant your fall garden depends on your location. Once daytime temperatures start to cool and nighttime temperatures drop into the 50s and 60s, it’s usually safe to plant.
For those of us in the Central Valley, the ideal planting window is from the end of August through October. The earlier you plant, the sooner you’ll get a harvest, but be careful not to plant too early when it’s still too hot, as this can cause crops to bolt prematurely.
If you plant a little late, don’t worry—mild winter crops will often overwinter, surviving through the cold and picking back up in early spring. The sooner you can get your crops in the ground, the better.
Check out my favorite software for planning out planting dates called Seedtime! It takes of all of the stress & guesswork out of planning your garden!
Best Planting Methods
When it comes to planting, some vegetables do best when directly sown by seed, while others are better off as transplants.
Root crops like carrots, radishes, and turnips should be sown directly by seed. Leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, and arugula are also easy to grow from seed.
On the other hand, crops that grow above ground, like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts, tend to do better as transplants. You can start your own seeds indoors and transplant them when they’re about four to six inches tall, or you can purchase transplants from your local nursery.
Free Gardening Success Guide
If you’d like to have all this information in one place, I’ve created a free Gardening Success Guide that you can download.
It includes details on various crops, the best planting methods, and whether to transplant or direct sow. I also have a fall vegetable seed list of my favorite crops to grow, which you can grab as well. Both of these resources will help you plan your fall garden effectively.
Remember, fall gardening is your second chance at a more productive and enjoyable garden. As the weather cools, you’ll find yourself enjoying your time in the garden again.
There’s less watering to do, fewer pests to battle, and overall, it’s a much more manageable and rewarding experience.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to grow a fall garden this season!
And if you haven’t grabbed your ticket to the Fall Vegetable Gardening Summit yet, make sure to do so. I look forward to seeing you there!
Summary
- Invite to Fall Vegetable Gardening Summit
- Why Summer Gardening Can Be Exhausting
- Benefits of the Fall Gardening Season
- Growing Cool-Weather Crops in a Mild Winter Climate
- Fall Vegetable Varieties to Grow
- The Struggle with Harvesting Summer Crops
- Benefits of Cool-Weather Crops
- When to Plant Your Fall Garden
- Best Planting Methods
Join the Zone 9 Garden Club
Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is reach out to other gardeners for help. I would love for you to join the Zone 9 Garden Club!
As a member you get,
Podcast Feedback
Did you enjoy listening to this episode? Please drop a comment below or even better, leave a review or rating on Apple or Spotify!
I really appreciate the feedback and it really helps the show get found by other gardeners.
Podcast Episode Resources and Links Mentioned
- Fall Vegetable Favorites – Get your free list!
- Fall Vegetable Gardening Summit – Sign up for your free ticket!
- Zone 9 Garden Club – Start your 14-day free trial!
- Gardening Success Guide – Sign up for your free guide!
