Your fall garden still has plenty of growing to do!
Have you been thinking about planting a fall vegetable garden, but wonder if you've missed your window? Good news! Put down that gardening calendar and pick up your seeds. There is still time to get some wonderful things growing.
Fall is one of my favorite times to plant. The temperatures begin to ease, many vegetables are less stressed by the heat, and gardeners can spend a little more time tending their gardens without feeling as though they've entered a sauna.
Of course, when it comes to gardening, where you live makes a difference. What works in North Texas may be a little different from what works in Arizona. And since I've gardened in both places, I'm learning that while our planting schedules have a lot in common, our winters tell different stories.
What Can You Still Plant in North Texas?
If you're gardening in North Texas, don't give up on your fall garden just yet! There are still several vegetables and herbs you can sow directly into the ground from seed.
Consider planting: arugula, chives, dill, fennel, lettuce, swiss chard, parsley, and spinach. You can also transplant leafy vegetables and brassicas, including crops such as kale, cabbage, and broccoli, depending on the variety and your local planting window. And don't forget the garlic! Fall is the time to get garlic cloves into the ground so they can establish roots and develop over the coming months.
As always, check your local planting calendar and the expected weather. Your location, the variety you choose, and the time remaining before colder weather arrives all influence how successful your planting will be. The goal is to give your plants enough time to establish themselves before winter puts the brakes on their growth.
And What About Phoenix and the Sonoran Desert?
Here in Phoenix, I feel as though we're just getting started!
After enduring the summer heat, fall brings a welcome change. The temperatures begin to moderate, and our gardens can finally get back to doing what gardens are supposed to do: grow!
Many of the same crops planted in North Texas are also suitable for our fall and winter gardens. Arugula, lettuce, spinach, herbs, and brassicas are all worth considering, and garlic can go into the ground here, too.
Our planting schedules are not nearly as different as you might think. The big difference comes later in the season. In North Texas, January and February can bring a particularly chilly stretch when vegetable growth slows dramatically or seems to stop altogether. Gardeners may need to protect their plants from freezes and wait for conditions to improve. In the Phoenix area, our gardens can continue producing through much of the winter. We have a longer period of favorable growing conditions for many cool-season vegetables, which gives us more opportunities to plant, harvest, and plant again.
That extended growing season is one of the wonderful things about gardening in the desert. Of course, we have our own challenges — summer heat, low humidity, and the occasional surprise from Mother Nature. Gardening is never without a plot twist
Succession Planting: Don't Put All Your Seeds in One Basket
One of the advantages of a longer growing season is the opportunity for succession planting. What exactly is succession planting? Simply put, it's planting crops in stages rather than planting everything at once. For example, instead of sowing all your lettuce seeds on one weekend, plant a small batch now and another batch a week or two later. Depending on the crop, variety, weather, and time remaining in the season, you can repeat the process to spread out your harvest.
Why do this?
First, you won't have all your lettuce ready at the same time. Unless you're planning to open a salad restaurant, that's probably a good thing! Second, if one planting doesn't germinate well or gets damaged by weather or pests, you have another round coming along. And third, succession planting helps you make the most of your available garden space. As one crop finishes, you can replace it with another planting.
In Phoenix, our extended cool-season growing window gives us more opportunities to use this technique throughout fall and winter. In North Texas, gardeners can also succession-plant, but they need to pay closer attention to the time remaining before the coldest part of winter.
The key is to plan your plantings around your local climate, the crop's days to maturity, and the conditions your plants need to thrive.
A Few Tips Before You Plant
Whether you're gardening in North Texas or the Sonoran Desert, a few simple steps can help you get your fall garden off to a good start.
1. Check your planting calendar. The best planting dates depend on your location and the crop. A calendar for Dallas won't necessarily be right for Phoenix, even when you're planting the same vegetables. Here’s my favorite Dallas area planting guide. Here’s the Maricopa County planting guide.
2. Prepare your soil. Remove tired summer plants, clear away debris, and replenish your garden beds with compost or other appropriate soil amendments as needed.
3. Pay attention to moisture. Seeds need consistent moisture to germinate. Keep the seedbed from drying out, especially in our Arizona climate, where low humidity can make moisture management a challenge.
4. Give your plants room to grow. It's tempting to sow lots of seeds because they're so small. But those little seedlings need space, air circulation, and access to light. Thin them as needed. I know, I know — thinning is one of the hardest jobs for a gardener who wants every seedling to succeed!
Remember, gardening is a process of planting, tending, learning, and harvesting. Every season teaches us something new, and even experienced gardeners are still figuring things out.
Ready to Grow?
Need help deciding what to plant in your garden this fall? GardenWise Solutions can help you choose plants suited to your location, make the most of your growing season, and develop a planting plan that works for your space.
Let's get growing! Visit GardenWise Solutions to learn more about garden consultations and personalized planting plans.
GardenWise Thought
Gardening reminds us that it's never just about the calendar. It's about understanding where we are, working with what we have, and making the most of the growing season in front of us. There's always something worth planting — and always something new to learn.
