Gardening in the Fall

Many gardeners do not even consider fall gardening because of the winter frosts that might make an early appearance.  On the contrary, fall gardening will result in excellent vegetables and will extend crops long after spring planted plants are finished. Vegetables produced from fall gardening are sometimes sweeter and milder than those grow in the summer and offer a brand new taste to the same old veggies.


These plants were all done late Fall (November).

Green Peppers

Our tomato plants had dozens of flowers in November. Texas is so hot most of our veggies started to take off in September.

What you choose to grow during you fall gardening will depend on your available space and what you like to eat, just like spring plants.  Even the crops that enjoy the heat, such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, and peppers, will produce until frosts hit, which can be pretty late in the year in southern areas.

However, there are some plants that will quit towards the end of summer like snap-beans, summer squash, and cucumbers.  If these vegetables are planted around the middle of the summer they can be harvested until the first frosts as well.  Hardy, tough vegetables will grow until the temperature is as low as 20 degrees, but those that aren’t as strong will only be able to grow through light frosts.

Update Your Garden This Fall

Traditionally people never think of Fall as a time for adding to the garden. Most people only think of clean up and preparing the garden for Winter, but I'm here to share with you some secrets to make use of Fall Weather.

• Freshen up your garden by cleaning out dead or dying plants. Turn over your soil, check the PH and make any necessary changes to the soil.
• Prune trees and shrubs. It's better done now when its cooler.
• Add mulch, mulch not only protects during winter but adding mulch also adds vital nutrients to your garden as it breaks down. Keep mulch 3 to 4 inches deep and keep it away from the plant leaves, stems, and base to prevent disease.
• Separate full and thick perennials and use this to fill in sparse areas of your garden.

Fall is the ideal time for garden work because of the cooler temperatures and is less stressful on transplanted plants and also not as much water is needed as opposed to the Summer months.

Small Space Solutions: Container Gardening

 If you live in an apartment you may to be able to have a full size garden, but you can still have a really nice garden substitute and one of the best solutions for this, is to grow plants in containers. You can create some really pretty arrangements with a little time and effort, never know you may even like growing your little beauties in containers. 

Fall Gardening Tips

Mums by Pen3ya

Fall is the best time to get your garden ready for next Spring. If you have a very small garden space you probably won't have a lot of room for shrubs that change into all the beautiful fall colors but, that doesn't have to stop you from enjoying the transition from Spring to Fall in your garden. Try a few of these plants below: