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 Grow
Cool Weather Crops
Think spring when thinking about an autumn garden because many of
our spring favorites can be grown in the cooler weather of fall, as
well! Carrots, lettuce, spinach, beets, radishes, kale, chard,
garlic, cabbage, turnips, bok choy, arugula, mustard greens… the
list is vast! Any vegetable you notice showing up at the farmer’s
market in the springtime, disappearing during the heat of summer,
and reappearing in early fall is probably a cool season crop and one
that you could try growing in your own fall garden.
Some vegetables not only do not mind the cooler weather, they taste
better because of it! Brussels sprouts, for example, have a long
growing season, but the frosts in the fall are what sweeten the
flavor. Many additional vegetables in the brassica family also taste
better after a frost, such as kale and broccoli. The cooler weather
causes plants to use sugars to avoid freezing, which gives us that
sweeter flavor!
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens can be directly sown into the soil for a fall harvest.
Plant the seed twice as deep as recommended on the packaging to aid
germination in the cooler weather. For lettuce and spinach, grow
different varieties of each in both spring and fall to encourage
more successful germination. Add kale and chard to the fall (and
spring) garden repertoire as both are extremely nutritious and very
easy to grow. It is a matter of sowing the seeds into soil and
keeping them evenly moist. Herbs like parsley and cilantro are also
ideal for cooler weather as they tend to flower and form seeds in
the warmer months.
Root Vegetables
Root vegetables such as carrots, beets, radishes, and turnips are
perfect for an autumn garden as they have a relatively short growing
season and will not mind a little frost. Plant these in late August
or early September for a fall harvest. Cabbage, broccoli, and
cauliflower can be planted as transplants from a garden center or
started at home. Vegetables in the brassica family are often
compromised by the cabbage moth caterpillars, which will be less of
a problem in the cool weather. Well-established kale and chard from
summer may even be able to overwinter with covering and be some of
the first vegetables to renew and produce in the spring.
Garlic
When planting flower bulbs for spring, why not add some garlic bulbs
as well? Healthy to eat and simple to grow, garlic comes in soft
neck, hard neck, and elephant varieties. Soft neck has the longest
storage life of up to a full year when stored properly, and the soft
necks allow for it to be braided together and hung up for storage.
Soft neck garlic has a milder flavor than the spicier hard neck
variety. Hard neck garlic survives better in colder climates such as
central Illinois and grows delicious scapes in the spring. Garlic
scapes are a tasty delicacy and should be trimmed off in the spring
so that the growing energy is directed toward bulb formation.
Elephant garlic is actually more closely related to leeks but grows
as a large bulb. Elephant garlic has a mild flavor and prefers
warmer climates. Plant individual garlic cloves in fall after the
soil has cooled, but before the ground has frozen– mid-September to
mid-October in central Illinois– and provide a layer of mulch. There
is no need to water over the winter months. Water and fertilize in
the spring when the green shoots appear.
Extend Warm Weather Crops
All the options available for getting a jump start on gardening in
the spring when the temperatures are still cool are options again as
fall approaches to extend the season. Using cold frames, cloches,
low tunnels, row covers, and greenhouses are all possibilities for
extending the growing season for vegetables that prefer the warmer
temperatures.
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A cold frame can be relatively easy and inexpensive
to construct as it is basically a box without a bottom with a
transparent covering on top. Made of one to two-inch thick wood, or
other available materials such as brick or straw bales, the box
structure can be covered with plastic such as greenhouse film or
clear panels such as old windows. Angle the transparent cover toward
the southern sky and vent by propping the cover open on warm, sunny
days.
A cloche is a bottle or jug with the bottom removed that can be
placed over individual plants. It can protect against frost but is
unlikely to protect against a hard freeze. Remove the bottle’s cap
to provide ventilation on warmer days. Low
tunnels (as opposed to high tunnels, which are large enough to walk
through and not as likely of an option for a home garden) can be
constructed of PVC, wire, or metal that can be bent into a half
circle. This half circle, called a hoop, will be covered with fabric
row cover or greenhouse polyethylene (note that polyethylene
degrades in contact with PVC). These not only prevent frost damage,
but may be used throughout the growing season to prevent insect
damage for plants that do not need pollination and prior to
flowering for plants that do need pollination.
Sometimes even the simplest solution can be
effective. Warm season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant
can be covered with plastic sheeting, floating row cover, and even
old sheets when the temperatures get frosty at night. The idea is to
create a barrier that keeps the frost off the leaves of the plant,
but nothing so heavy that the barrier crushes the plant. The warm
weather vegetable plants may not grow new fruits with the shorter
days, but existing fruits will have longer to ripen on the vine or
plant when protected from frosty temperatures. Uncover during the
day if temperatures are warm enough and recover if nighttime low
temperatures hover around freezing to buy yourself several more
weeks of the season.
Autumn can be both a time to enjoy the harvest and a time to
continue growing. With the right plants and a little extra care,
home gardeners can enjoy fresh produce from their gardens in almost
every season!
[Stephanie Hall] Sources
https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/
good-growing/2020-04-07-starting-
garden-season-extension
https://www.rareseeds.com/blog/post/
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