Gardeners who have spent all summer planting food may be tempted to forget that fall planting can still produce results – but now is actually an ideal time for this!
Cool season crops such as spinach, kale, lettuce, and Swiss chard thrive in southern fall gardens thanks to cooler temperatures resulting in less water loss through evaporation.
1. The Weather Returns to a Manageable Level
Gardeners who live in warmer zones might think their gardening season ends after summer has come and gone. Still, with careful plant selection, sufficient water, pest control solutions, and timely soil adjustments, they can extend it long into autumn – providing fresh vegetables long after their peers in cooler zones have shut their gardens for the year.
Cooler air temperatures and reliable rainfall make fall planting conditions ideal. This allows new crops to recover from heat stress caused by peak summer sun while giving soil time to rest after months of continuous use.
These cool temperatures and abundant rainfalls also play a critical role in keeping new plants hydrated, as less moisture evaporates from the ground during cool conditions, and less of it is lost through evaporation compared to hot days of summer. A lower moisture demand makes for an excellent foundation for an autumn vegetable garden in southern areas.
When starting a new crop of vegetable seeds or seedlings in your garden bed, adding a layer of compost can help improve soil nutrient levels – something which is vital to their success as your plants get established.
Along with spreading a layer of compost, you may also apply a light application of liquid organic or complete fertilizer such as Sevin products to ensure your plants receive all of the essential nutrients for growth and blooming.
Before beginning planting this autumn, it’s advisable to conduct a soil test in order to ascertain its quality and plan how you will amend it to ensure successful results in your new plantings. This will give you insight into its current state and enable you to form an action plan for amending it accordingly – something which should help ensure future crops will flourish successfully.
2. The Insect Pressure Is Lower
Growing a southern fall vegetable garden will result in lower insect pressure than doing it during spring, due to cooler air temperatures and longer, sunny days that promote seed germination and lush vegetable plant growth. Furthermore, this may discourage most pests from coming near.
Fall temperatures can also provide the ideal conditions to extend the growing season for many vegetables, particularly watermelons. By planting them near a block wall with southern exposure, watermelons can use the daytime heat absorbed by its walls to heat their vines up more effectively while producing additional sugars to increase flavor retention over time.
Other vegetables may benefit from being grown under shade during the fall by being exposed to it, if possible. Leaf lettuce, for instance, could benefit from growing under the protection of trees or shrubs, which helps lower its temperature while slowing its respiration rate to retain more of its sugars and lengthen its growing season considerably.
Vegetables that require longer to mature can also be planted in the fall, such as squash, pumpkins, and gourds. However, long-maturity crops should be planted earlier in the year than short-season vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
Growing a fall vegetable garden also brings additional advantages: rain often coincides with cooler temperatures, creating optimal soil conditions that enable planting. This can prevent soggy conditions common during spring planting that can expose young plants to disease and stress them out prematurely.
If you plan to plant a fall vegetable garden, begin by clearing away any leftover crop debris or weeds before rototilling or digging to a depth of 6-8 inches. Alter the soil with well-rotted manure heated to 150 degrees before mixing thoroughly into your soil; fresh manure should be applied early enough that its biodegradation begins before planting season arrives.
3. You Can Plant a Whole New Crop of Harvestable Crops
Southern gardeners looking for relief from summer’s hot and humid temperatures can turn to autumn as an opportunity to start again with fresh produce from homegrown seedlings. By planting harvestable veggies now, Southern gardeners can access delicious homegrown goods all winter!
Timing is key when planting your fall vegetable garden, so try sowing as close to your area’s average first frost date. To do this, calculate each vegetable’s days-to-maturity before counting backward from this date when choosing when and where to sow its seeds – for instance if beet varieties require 60 days for maturity then sowing should take place around September 1.
Cool-weather vegetables such as leafy greens, peas, kale and cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and brussel sprouts make great fall planting options, growing best in our cooler temperatures and often tasting sweeter when harvested during this season. In mild-winter climates where frost protection such as row covers or cold frames are available, you could continue growing these crops into early winter if your crop survives the frost.
Successful fall vegetable gardens require both quality soil and consistent rainfall. In the South, fall rainstorms tend to be steady and reliable compared to soggy spring gardens or unpredictable summer rainfall that could stress out vegetable plants.
Fall’s cooler temperatures also help your garden’s soil remain workable, making it easier to tend to your plants when it comes time to weed, water or apply fertilizer.
Combining all these factors makes fall vegetable gardening an excellent option for southern gardeners. If you’re ready to try it, check out our tips and tricks on growing a fall garden! Don’t forget to pick up Sevin brand insecticide and fungicide from your local store to keep pests from ruining your fresh harvest.
4. You Can Extend the Growing Season
Fall is typically milder than summer weather, allowing your garden to flourish even as winter sets in. This makes fall an excellent time for planting crops with slower maturation times, like beets and carrots that require protecting from frost; you could harvest these cool season crops long after they would have finished growing in summer.
Simple methods of extending the growing season, such as mulching and covering plants with floating row covers or fabric-covered frames can extend harvests further. More elaborate setups, such as cold frames or greenhouses may extend growing seasons even further.
By August, many vegetable gardeners may feel they have done their best work in their gardens and may be ready to put their plots to bed for another year. Yet this period provides many unique opportunities if one takes advantage of it.
Vegetables that take an extended amount of time to mature, such as cole crops (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and kale), leafy greens, and cold season veggies like peas carrots, and beets provide prime examples of the benefits gained by making informed decisions on when and where to sow and harvest seeds.
Even beyond their production capabilities in late autumn, these crops are also much simpler to cultivate than warm-season varieties, requiring less sunlight and heat than their warm-season counterparts. Their shorter growing cycle also reduces stress from annual weed and insect pressures.
As temperatures cool off, watering becomes more effective. Lower temperatures and shorter daylight hours mean reduced evaporation rates, so more of your vegetable crop’s water stays put – an invaluable boon if summer was difficult for providing sufficient hydration to its plants.
As you transition your garden from warm to cooler fall temperatures, remove any leftover crop debris and lightly till or spade the soil. Also important for gardeners is proper fertilization — use one or two pounds of complete vegetable or compost fertilizer per 100 square feet of bed space.
Bert Swope
