Fall Veggies to Plant: Tips from an Expert Gardener

Guest post by Niki Jabbour,Horticulture's edibles columnist, with ideas for fall veggies to plant. Niki plants all year near Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is the author ofThe Year-Round Vegetable Gardener andGroundbreaking Food Gardens. Learn more atsavvygardening.com.

Fall Veggies to Plant

Summer may be winding down, but my planting schedule hasn't slowed one bit. Every week I'm tucking fresh seeds and seedlings into my raised beds and cold frames, making sure I'll have a steady supply of cool- and cold-season vegetables to harvest from October straight through March. My top picks? Kale, spinach, arugula, mizuna, mache, and scallions—they're all reliable performers when the temperature drops.

Snip

Want your pumpkins to turn orange in time for Halloween? Snip off any leaves that are shading the fruits so the sun can do its work. Not sure when to harvest? Wait until they're fully ripe—the rind should feel firm and the fruit should sound hollow when you give it a tap. Always cut the stem cleanly; never twist or yank it off the vine. Let the harvested pumpkins cure in the sun for a few days before moving them to the front porch or wherever you plan to display them.

Dig

Dig up and pot any tender or perennial herbs you want to keep handy for winter cooking. I always bring in a few containers of my must-have culinary herbs: mint, parsley, Syrian oregano, lemongrass, chives, and at least one 'Spicy Globe' basil plant. There's nothing like snipping fresh herbs in January when the garden outside is buried in snow.

Prep

Whenever I get a chance in late September or early October, I prep my garlic bed. I plant somewhere between 400 and 500 cloves in late October, and trust me, the whole process goes a lot smoother when the bed is already prepped. To get the site ready, just loosen the soil, work in compost or well-rotted manure, and set a bag of chopped leaves nearby so you can mulch the bed as soon as the cloves are in the ground.

Protect

Stretch the harvest of warm-season favorites like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, zucchini, and cucumbers for as long as you can by throwing some row cover or clear plastic over them on chilly nights. You can build a mini hoop tunnel and drape the protective fabric across the hoops, or keep it simple and just float the cover directly over the crops whenever frost threatens. Every extra week of vine-ripened tomatoes is worth the effort.