Your garden is not finished providing you with another wonderful harvest of luscious vegetables, and delightful herbs that will make you a culinary star. When planted according to the guidelines below, these garden products will mature before Cincinnati’s first frost, which is around the 23rd of October (on average). It would be a good idea to check with the local TV station (or other local resources) regarding the frost date for your area since you may be in one of the microclimates created by large lakes, hills and other surrounding environmental conditions. It would be a good idea to amend the soil with some compost since many of the fall vegetables grow well in recently composted soil. Your work will be rewarded with fresh vegetables on your dinner table.
Vegetables and Planting Times For The Fall Season
Cabbage and Kale – Buy plants that have been started in a cell pack and put these into the ground 6 weeks before the frost date. Kale will actually taste sweeter after exposure to frost. Keep in mind however, that a heavy frost could kill the Kale.
Yukon Gold and Kennebec Red Potatoes can be planted 3 weeks before the frost.
Lettuce – Leaf, Bibb and Romaine can be planted as seeds 6 weeks before the frost.
Turnips, Carrots, Beets and Daikon Radishes and Turnips should be planted as seeds in early September. Since these are root vegetables, they need to be planted as seeds so that the roots can absorb the nutrients in the soil.
Arugula, spinach, Cilantro and Winter Peas can be planted as seeds in early September.
Flowers That Work Well For Fall Planting
You don’t have to stop enjoying your fall gardening with vegetables. There are flowers to think about as well!! Mums are ideal and pansies will add beauty to your garden. Cyclamen and Gladiolus are two beautiful flowers that flourish in the autumn. Of course these grow from bulbs, so they should be planted earlier in the summer.
Of course, you may need to add a different fertilizer to the soil for fall planting and growth, but we can help you with the best choice.
It is really amazing what can be done with your garden in the fall. You can enjoy so many tasty vegetables, and a variety of flowers, to brighten up your yard as other summer flowers begin to fade. Some of the fall vegetables and flowers will last well into the fall, and many vegetables will last past the first frost.
Happy planting!
