How to Grow a Fall Garden

This is Day 265  of the Green in 365 series!

By Hilary of  Accidentally Green, Contributing Writer 

Until last year, I only thought of gardening as a spring and summer possibility. Since I had never heard of fall gardens, I had never tried them before.

Boy, had I missed out on a unique growing season.

Grow a Fall Garden

Fall gardens can be started near the end of summer. Depending on your climate, this may be mid- to late-August, or mid- to late-September. Typically you should plan to have your fall garden seeds in the ground at least a month before the usual frost date.

If you’ve had a garden all spring and summer, clear a plot of spent vegetation and sow your seeds. Or, start a container garden with the seeds – but keep in mind that container gardens tend to be affected by frost more easily.

Some plants are naturally tolerant of frost – and that’s exactly what you want to plant.

Plants that thrive in cooler weather include:

• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Lettuce
• Peas
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard

My fall harvest

Last year my husband and I planted our fall garden of carrots, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, and Swiss chard over Labor Day weekend. Our cabbage never grew, but we enjoyed fresh carrots in October and November. Our lettuce, spinach, and Swiss Chard was ready to harvest in October, November, and even December. Two weeks before Christmas we had our final salad of the growing season filled with fresh lettuce from our garden. I loved every bite!

Have you planted a fall garden before? What cold-hardy plants would you love to eat during the winter?

 

Hilary Kimes Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and writer who blogs about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. She’s recently released her first eBook, First Bites: How To Instill Healthy Eating Habits During Your Baby’s First Year.

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