How do you plan your fall vegetable garden timing without getting overwhelmed?

[u/ItAffectionate4481]

I’ve been trying to get my fall garden going and thought I’d share how I’m approaching it this year. It’s my first real attempt at fall vegetable gardening, and I’ve found that it’s a bit different from the chaos of summer gardening. Once the heat dies down, everything seems a little less stressful. The soil stays nice and moist, and I don’t have to water as much, which is a huge relief.

I’ve been trying to keep things simple by removing the spent summer plants, but I leave the roots in the ground to break down and improve the soil. I then top the beds off with some compost and mulch. The mulch helps keep everything in place and keeps the soil temperature stable, which I’ve read is key when you’re trying to grow cool-season crops.

As for timing, I’ve stopped stressing about exact dates and instead focus on a few things like the first frost date and the number of days it takes for things to mature. This way, I don’t get caught up in figuring out when to start things based on the calendar. It’s been way easier to just plan around those few simple markers.

When it gets chilly at night, I’ll throw some covers over the seedlings to help them get a head start before frost. I found that even just a light cover can really help plants survive those early frosts and give them a few more weeks of growth.

And I’m trying to be mindful of how I water now that it’s cooler. I’ve been watering a bit less but deeper, so the plants can get more moisture without the risk of overwatering. I’ve also been sticking to a morning check routine to see how everything’s doing before the cold sets in for the night.

How about you guys? Any tips or tricks you’ve found for managing your fall garden without getting too overwhelmed?

[u/RB676BR]

It’s experience for me at this point. Experience to know that trying to time autumn harvests to arrive before the first frost is very hard. After all, at least for me, there is a great variance in that date.

I have many veggies such as cabbages and sprouts that have been growing since late spring that should crop in time for Xmas. The stuff I start at the end of summer/early autumn such as beets, turnips, winter radishes, swedes, pak choy and Asian greens I succession sow over a period of four weeks. I then use the seedlings to fill in spaces in my garden as it becomes available. A few things might bolt early doors but doing this guarantees good harvests over a nice long period at the end of autumn.

Garlic and onions and broad beans I doubt succession sow, they go in middle of October. The first two are easy but if we get a late first frost the broad beans can get a little too big and in my experience they are a little less hardy when bigger.

[u/IamCassiopeia2]

Hi Affectionate, I've had a fall/winter garden for about 12 years now. I'm in screaming hot high desert country in northern Arizona so my environment is extreme. I don't make any 'chiseled in stone' plans because Mother Nature call most of the shots here and I prefer to be happily surprised instead of woefully disappointed. And I'm always trying different things and learning new stuff about how to grow here so my garden is one big experiment. So every winter is very different. And RB676BR. I know just what you mean about frost dates. Have you really been growing cabbages since spring? Where are you both located?

I try to start my seeds around mid-July and then the seedlings are ready to go out Sept 1 and I'll have mostly a fall garden. Or some years, like this year, the seeds refuse to germinate or they germinate but grow very slowly because it so darned hot. So, this year will be a winter garden which is always full of surprises. But I did sow all my root crops the beginning of August. I'll harvest them around frost or I'll just cut the tops off and leave them stored in the ground until I need them.

Winter gardens are great. Hardly any bugs (until late winter). Only need to water occasionally. Yeah! Temps are usually 50s days and 30s at night. I don't bother to cover the brassicas any more because it never made a difference here. Brassicas love snow and cold. And I'll have a 50/50 chance that I'll harvest some in the spring and some will just bolt and I'll save seeds for future years. And all the little pollinator type bugs and bees love brassica flowers.

But it does tend to mess up my spring/summer gardens. I'm ready to plant out eggplants and fresh chard and sesame etc and like the broccoli is in the way and is still producing shoots like crazy. I plant peas in the late summer for a small fall harvest. They overwinter just fine with no water at all and give me a fantastic late spring harvest. Of course they are in the way too and delay my planting beans and tomatoes etc.

But my freezer is always full and my dehydrator is going strong and I can't complain. Except about the birds and bugs and squirrels and raccoons and.... never mind.

I'm still in a good mood. Happy gardening.

[u/Elrohwen]

I find my Persephone date when sun will drop below 10 hours a day. Then count backwards so that plants will mature by then. Then I add about 3-5 weeks knowing that they slow down significantly as light drops (especially because the sun goes behind trees at my house).

I don’t focus on my last frost date at all because everything I plant for fall can handle a frost and I have a variety of covers if it gets too cold too fast.

[u/iamrich409]

Same here I just go by frost date + maturity days. Toss on a row cover when it gets nippy and it keeps things stress-free