Happy Fall, all!
I know most of us have wrapped up our summer gardens, and perhaps put away our gardening tools for the winter hibernation… But I’m here to tell you that you can still plant and enjoy a fall garden! Some plants really love the cool weather and actually taste sweeter because of it.
Since the sun isn’t out as much during the fall and the temps are cool, a fall garden is actually less work than a summer garden.
I was a little late with the summer garden this year and I’m a little late with the fall garden again! Most people start planting their fall garden in August! I’m thinking, ‘Hey, I’m just getting into it and everything is just doing so well. Why would I want to pull anything out?’. I still have tomatoes out there right now! That’s why with these fast-growing vegetables you can start your fall garden a little later and still get great results. You can even plant them in a polytunnel greenhouse!
What to plant in your fall garden
Lettuce
There are so many varieties of lettuce that love the cold weather! Since lettuce tends to bolt in the heat, growing it in your fall garden is super easy. I planted ‘Marvel of Four Season’ by Baker Creek. I planted this all summer too and loved it. The lettuce was so tender, like tissue paper, crisp, and delicious so it’s no wonder that I want more of it! My husband loved it too. We had a short stint where there was no lettuce at all, and this was the lettuce he kept asking for – it’s that good.!
Arugula/Endive
The spicy lettuce as we call it. This is another one of our favourites. We mix it with the above lettuce, use it a lot for pizza’s, and also for topping dishes. A little spicy element never hurts anyone!
Speciality Greens
These include mizuna, mache, minutina, claytonia. This was my first year growing all of these things. I grew them all in my summer garden. Eventually, though, the heat took a toll and they became too bitter to eat, so I took them out (and put them right back in). They were apart of my fall garden, hands down! Their unique flavours really amped up our salads! And they all love the cooler weather.
Spinach
Obviously a classic! Spinach is a very popular choice for the fall garden. Super easy and super versatile. Whether for hot dishes, salads, or smoothies, spinach has got you covered.
Carrots
They are also a classic and super easy to grow. They get sweeter with the cooler weather. I froze so many from the summer harvest and planted more the fall/winter that we will be good for carrots until next summer! I left our summer carrots longer and they got large! But I would recommend planting baby carrot varieties, so you get them quicker too.
Radish
This super quick and cool loving root veggie is perfect for your fall garden. Some varieties are ready within 18 days, like ‘radish de 18 jours’ by Baker Creek. Love it!! There’s nothing like planting a fall garden or any garden for that matter and then having to wait so long to harvest something. It’s exciting harvesting these little gems.
Other Slow Grow Veggies
Other vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, beets, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and kohlrabi, leeks, kale are great additions to your fall garden but they do take longer in the ground until harvest. Don’t let that discourage you though because they are just as tasty and worthy.
That’s all I have! Looks like I won’t have to water for a few days.. rain is in the forecast! Let me know in the comments what else you plant in your fall garden, or what’s your favourite!
-Abbagail
[…] cold tolerant. You can plant these in April way before you plant all of your heat loving crops, or in the fall when all your tomatoes are finishing up.. You can plant their seeds directly into the […]