There are plenty of good reasons for having a fall vegetable garden: Temperatures tend to be more tolerable, which makes time spent in the garden more enjoyable, and there are usually fewer pests preying on plants. And fall veggies usually taste better. A fall garden will grow nearly everything planted in a spring garden, as well as a few summer crops.
When fall gardening begins depends on the region. To determine when to plant your fall garden, find out when the first hard frost typically arrives in your area. To find the ideal planting date, count back eight to 12 weeks, or roughly 60 to 90 days, the time it takes for most crops to grow to maturity from seed. If you want to cut the time a little more, start with transplants.
Most spring and fall vegetables prefer to grow in cool weather, which is why they're called cool-season crops. If you plant them early enough in the spring and a late freeze doesn't zap them, they may have a chance to develop to maturity before the summer heat arrives. Unfortunately, the combination of increasing temperatures and increasing day length causes many spring-planted crops to turn bitter or bolt prematurely.
But in fall the situation is just the opposite. Fall vegetables have the opportunity to grow and reach maturity at a time when temperatures are ideal. As a result the chemicals responsible for flavor, including sugars, tend to develop better.
Getting a fall vegetable garden up and growing can be a bit challenging, however, because seeds must be sown and transplants set out in mid- to late summer when temperatures can still be brutal.
Topping the list are greens of all kinds, from the familiar, such as lettuce and spinach, to the not-so-familiar, such as arugula and radicchio. It's a good idea to sow seeds of various greens twice as deep as usual, so if the seed packet recommends a planting depth of 1/4 inch, plant them 1/2-inch deep. That way the soil will insulate the seeds somewhat, and the germination rate will be closer to normal. It's also essential to keep the seed bed evenly moist at all times, which may mean watering as often as twice a day until the seeds germinate. To further insulate the soil from hot temperatures and maintain even soil moisture, apply a light layer of mulch, ideally in the form of grass clippings.
Within a week or so greens should germinate, at which time they should be thinned to avoid overcrowding, which can lead to stunted growth, pest and disease problems and a disappointing harvest.
Root crops such as turnips, radishes, carrots and beets grow especially well during fall, and the same rules regarding planting twice as deep, watering often and mulching apply to them as well. These vegetables can survive temperatures several degrees below freezing. In fact, carrots can be left in the ground during winter if adequately protected. Once they've reached harvest size and just before the first hard freeze, cover carrots with shredded leaves. Then simply reach into the leaves and harvest.
Cold-weather crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower often grow better in the fall, especially Brussels sprouts. But because they take a while to reach maturity, it's better to find transplants than grow them from seed. Mulch them heavily with hay, straw or compost, and in windy regions of the country place a cedar shingle on the windward side of each transplant to prevent them from drying out too quickly.
In many regions of the country it is possible to get in a fall crop of potatoes, although the harvest may not be quite as bountiful as from spring-planted potatoes. Still, it's worth planting a few hills or rows.
Fall is also a great time to plant trees, shrubs and a number of perennials.
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