As summer comes to a close and the crisp cool air of fall advances, many crops can be successfully grown in many garden zones 5 through 8 using fall vegetable transplants. Whether you like onions, cabbage, cauliflower, beets or broccoli; autumn is a perfect time to grow additional crops for your dinner plates.
But what about approaching winter? No need to fear! Many of the crops that thrive during the fall gardening season can even brave cold snowy weather and often improve in flavor! Broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts taste sweeter as the weather gets colder.
Completely new to fall vegetable gardening? Check out our free printable garden plan for your first season.
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Before Starting Transplants
To begin, you need to establish when your anticipated first frost date is to get a good idea of when to start your transplants or direct sow. Many crops will grow much better if using a hardened transplant, especially in zones where the heat of summer can linger a bit longer. This will enable you to get a solid fall vegetable garden established before it gets too cold and dark outside. The importance of this is to give your vegetables time to grow while the sun still shines warmly and plentifully.
You planted your kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage seeds {LINK}, they’ve sprouted and grown into beautiful seedlings indoors on your sunny window sill…now what? When do you plant fall transplants? How do you prepare your garden for fall vegetables? Farmer Nathan is joining me today to answer your fall vegetable garden prep and planting questions.
How do I prepare my garden to plant a fall vegetable garden?
You’ll need to prepare the soil just like you would do during the spring. Amend with compost and any nutrients your soil may be lacking after a successful summer season. For example, if you grew corn in a certain location, add nitrogen like alfalfa pellets. If you have access to local composted manure, this is a perfect time to add a layer to your fall garden beds to richen the soil and feed the microorganisms that keeps your garden thriving.
If the soil compacted or baked solid over the summer, loosen with a broadfork. Make sure to pull any weeds that may compete with your vegetables and collect leaves from your trees as they fall to use as a weed suppressing mulch. (As an added bonus, the leaves will help regulate moisture levels too!)
How do I harden off vegetable transplants?
Transplants that were grown indoors are sensitive as they have not been exposed to direct sunshine, the wind, or other elements that batter against our tender plants. To help with this, harden off your transplants to make your fall vegetable garden a success.
Simply place your beautiful transplants outside where it gets partial shade and is protected from any harsh winds. Bring the plants indoors for the first three nights to prevent any shock from cooler night time temperatures.
Next, move the plants where they are exposed to a little more sunlight (no more than 3-4 hours of direct sunshine) and a little more exposure to the wind. Leave the plants outside overnight unless there is a chance of a frost. This will help your transplants become acclimated to the weather outside while making the plant stockier and hardier.
After three days of controlled exposure, your plants are ready to transplant to their new home and ready to grow into a beautiful fall garden.
How to plant my transplants?
Planting your fall vegetable garden transplants is quite similar to your summer transplants. If the plant seems to be root bound (the roots form a tight netting around the inside of the pot), take a garden trowel and loosen it lightly to give the plant the opportunity to spread their roots wide.
For most transplants, start by watering them well to prevent damage to the plants as you plant them. Next, simply dig a hole the width and depth of the transplant’s roots and place it into hole. Make sure to pat the soil down to eliminate air pockets and help the soil around the plants to wick moisture more efficiently.
Lastly, water the transplants well to give them the best chance of success. Try to prevent the soil from drying out for the first 2 weeks of your little seedlings new life outside.
How to establish fall vegetable transplants for success?
While fall gardens have less issues with pests and less weed pressure, there are still a few garden chores to ensure your fall vegetable garden thrives. Until established, water transplants well for the first week. Keep on top of the weeds (at least check twice a week) to make sure the weeds don’t outcompete your young plants.
To provide an extra nutritional boost, try a fish emulsion foliar spray . Made from fish castings, it provides nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as well as a beautiful assortment of micronutrient. This encourages growth and strong root systems for the cool weather ahead.
Wrap up
Now you are well on your fall vegetable garden journey, it is a matter of patience. Be vigilant against weeds and pests to reap the bounty of your fall vegetable garden. And a secret of the trade, keeping the ground filled with living plants all year round will make spring garden preparation much easier. The soil will tend to have less compaction. Weeds won’t have the space or time to get established. Plus another crop rotation helps break some garden pest cycles.
