Cool Season Veggies You Can Plant Now for a Bountiful Autumn Harvest

ARTICLE BY P. ALLEN SMITH | photo by Hortus, Ltd.

You would never guess my garden is winding down by looking at all the activity going on at the farm these days. We’ve started cleaning out the vegetable garden for our fall crops, which means lots of composting, weeding and bed preparation, activities you might more readily associate with spring. But our vegetable garden still has plenty of life left in her this season, and with a little advanced planning, your does too.

When preparing for your fall crop, it is important to know the first average frost date for your plant hardiness zone. Here in Little Rock, which is zone 8a, that date is around November 7. I count back the days from then to know when I should plant specific vegetables I’m growing from seed.

Other cool season vegetables that are perfect for starting by seed in late fall include broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, cabbage, green beans, lettuce and many others. Several vegetables fall in the “cut-and-come-again” category, providing multiple harvests. Lettuce, chard, and cabbage are vegetables that grow in rosette forms. By harvesting only the older, outer leaves, the inner leaves continue to grow and will provide you with a fresh harvest in a few weeks’ time.

If you’d rather not bother with seeds but would still like to grow vegetables, you can always go to your local nursery and get some organic plant starts which are usually sold in six-packs. I’ll admit, this is a tempting way to start because it offers immediate gratification. With a few flats of six-packs, you can have an entire vegetable garden planted and “showing” in an afternoon — how can you resist?

Before digging, I recommend amending your soil with compost or aged manure, especially if you’ve cleaned up an existing garden bed and removed the leftovers of your summer crop. That soil has worked hard for you all season and is probably nutritionally depleted, to some degree. So do yourself — and your vegetables — a favor by removing all weeds and adding some compost, first.

After planting, don’t forget to refresh your mulch, or use an additional layer of compost as a top dressing. Mulch still plays an important role this time of year by suppressing weeds and conserving water.

And speaking of water, pay attention to rainfall. Even though we’re entering the cooler autumn months, lack of rain can have a drastic impact on seedlings and plant starts. If you’re garden is not getting half an inch to an inch of rain a week, then do some supplemental sprinklering, or even better, set up a soaker hose. I always recommend watering deeply once a week versus a little bit of water every day or every few days. You want your vegetable roots to travel deeply to reach water, not stay near the soil surface.
Pests are still a very real issue this time of year. I know firsthand the frustration of getting a beautiful vegetable garden started only to find that cabbage worms and slugs have beaten me to the punch. You can try row covers when plants are young to keep them clean, and beer-baited traps to foil slugs and snails. There are also a variety of organic, safe insecticidal soaps and insect sprays that can save you in a pinch. And stay vigilant. It’s much easier to contain a new pest problem then to try to contain an infestation that already has a foothold.

Are you overwhelmed, yet? Don’t be! Your fall garden experience can be as labor intensive or low maintenance as you want. If all else fails, simply put a few large garden pots in a sunny spot by your back door and get busy. Many vegetables can be grown in containers and enjoyed for months. And maybe add at least one variety you’ve never tried before. I think it’s important for gardeners to strive to be as fresh and flexible as our vegetable gardens.

Fall Garden Planting Cheat Sheet

10-12 Weeks Before Your First Killing Frost 
• Set out broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and kohlrabi seedlings.
• Sow seed for bush beans, carrots, collards, leeks and scallion.

8-10 Weeks Before Your First Killing Frost 
• Sow seed for fresh cabbage, fresh bush beans, lettuce, beets, turnips, spinach, pac choi, chard and radish.

6-8 Weeks Before First Killing Frost 
• Sow seed for fresh spinach, fresh lettuce, kale and bunching onions.

3-6 Weeks Before First Killing Frost 
• Sow seed for mustard greens and arugula.
• Plant garlic now for next year’s harvest.

1 Week Before First Killing Frost 
• Dig up and pot any herbs you would like to move indoors.