Don’t pack away your gardening tools, just yet. There is still time to plant some vegetable seeds and transplants to harvest and enjoy this fall. Include a variety of your favorite cool weather tolerant and quick to mature vegetables.
Where to Plant:
- Vacant spaces in the vegetable garden left after harvesting your first or second plantings.
- Voids in flower beds and mixed borders.
- Spaces in existing container gardens and raised beds.
What to Plant:
- Cool weather vegetables that will grow, mature, and can be harvested before the first killing frost. (Check the tag or seed packet to find out how many days the plant needs to grow and produce. Count the number of days from planting to the average first fall frost around October 15 in the Chicago area. For example, if you plant September 1, you have about 45 days left in the growing season.)
- Vegetables that tolerate a light frost allow you to grow and harvest even after the first fall frost.
- Expand your options by providing some frost protection with floating row covers like Cold Snap Crop Cover and Light Weight Crop Cover or cold frames.
A Few Vegetables– Average Number of Days to Harvest– Minimum Cold/Frost Tolerance
- Beets – 50 to 60 days – 28 degree F
- Broccoli transplants – 50 to 65+ days – 26 degrees F
- Brussel Sprout transplants – 80+ days – 24 degrees F
- Cabbage transplants – 50 to 90 days – 24 degrees F
- Carrots – 50 to 70 days – 28 degrees F
- Cilantro – 60 to 70 days – 28 degrees F
- Collard Greens – 40 to 65 days – 24 degrees F
- Kale transplants – 40 to 65 days – 24 degrees F
- Kohlrabi – 50 to 60 days – 24 degrees F
- Leaf Lettuce – 40 to 60 days – 28 degrees F
- Mustard Greens – 30 to 40 days – 28 degrees F
- Onions, green, sets – 30 to 50 days – 28 degrees F
- Pak Choi transplants – 30 to 45 days – 30 degrees F
- Peas – 55 to 85 days – 28 degrees F
- Radishes – 30 -60 days- until ground freezes
- Spinach – 35 to 45 days – 28 degrees F
- Swiss Chard – 40 to 60 days – 28 degrees F
- Turnips – 50 to 60 days – 24 degrees F
Planting Tips
- Remove any plant debris left from the previous planting. (Add any that is free of insect pests and disease to your compost pile.)
- Prepare the soil before planting seeds and transplants. (Mix an inch of quality compost and low nitrogen slow-release fertilizer into the top six inches of soil.)
- Follow planting directions on plant tags and seed.
- Water at planting and beyond. (Keep the soil moist but not soggy wet for the first few weeks after planting. Gradually reduce watering frequency as seedlings sprout and grow and transplants become established. Water thoroughly whenever the top few inches of soil are crumbly and slightly moist.)
- Optional: Spread a thin layer of shredded leaves, evergreen needles or other organic mulch over the soil surface around transplants and between rows of seeds. (Mulch helps conserve moisture an suppress weeds.)
Extend the Harvest Season
- The first frosty days of fall are often followed by warm weather perfect for the vegetables and you. Give your plants a bit of protection and gain several weeks of beauty and pounds of harvest for your efforts.
- Set plants on a reflective surface to bounce light into bottom of plants.
- Temperature: Most herbs tolerate normal room temperatures.
- Soil Moisture: Most prefer moist, well-drained, not soggy soil. Adjust watering as needed for the specific herbs you are growing.
Here are a Few Methods to Consider:
- Cover plants in late afternoon whenever frost is in the forecast. Remove the frost covering in the morning once temperatures rise above freezing. (Use a sheet or lightweight blanket or milk jugs with the bottoms removed to cover individual plants.)
- Protect plantings with floating row cover fabrics like Cold Snap Crop Cover that is designed to let air, light, and water through while protecting plants from frost. (Loosely cover the plants with the fabric and anchor the edges with stones, boards, or landscape pins. Lift the fabric in place until the harvest is complete or temperatures drop below what the row cover and plants can handle.)
- Grow fall vegetables in containers that can be moved to a protected location when killing temperatures are in the forecast. Move them back outside when temperatures are safe.
Your efforts will be rewarded with ‘fresh-from-the-garden’ vegetables you can enjoy throughout the fall and winter.
Melinda Myers is a nationally recognized gardening expert with more than 30 years of horticulture experience. She is a wealth of knowledge and we are pleased to share Melinda’s Gardening How-To with you!
