Q&A: Did I miss my chance to plant a fall garden?
Short answer: nope. Not even close.
If you planted a fall garden in August and watched it crisp up during that brutal heat wave, you're in very good company. Tiny seedlings and 95-degree afternoons do not get along, and plenty of experienced gardeners lost plants this year too. And if you never got around to planting at all because life got busy, it was miserable outside, or you just couldn't face the garden, that's completely understandable.
But fall in Middle Tennessee is long. Our first frost usually doesn't arrive until late October, and most cool-season crops handle light frosts and keep going well past that date. So let’s all do a little Fall Take 2m shall we?
The one thing to know going in is that growth slows as the days get shorter. Plants you start now will grow more slowly than they would have in August. So we think small and fast: baby greens, quick roots, and a few sturdy transplants.
Quick wins from seed
These go from seed to salad bowl in about a month:
Radishes: the fastest reward in the garden.
Arugula and baby lettuce mixes: harvest as baby leaves and they'll keep coming back.
Spinach: loves cool weather and can even overwinter.
Asian greens like tatsoi, mizuna, and baby bok choy.
Turnips: grown for their tender greens, with a small root as a bonus.
Cilantro: finally happy now that the heat is breaking.
Buy yourself a head start
Transplants from a local nursery skip the fragile seed germination stage entirely and get you 4 weeks of growth. Look for:
Kale and collards: incredibly cold-hardy, and they get sweeter after a frost.
Swiss chard: colorful and productive through late fall.
Head lettuce: for full heads in a few weeks instead of baby leaves.
Plant it and forget it
Garlic goes in around mid-October through November. Order it now so it's ready when the time comes. It's one of the most satisfying crops for beginners, because you plant it this fall and harvest next summer with barely any fuss in between.
Or let the bed rest
If you're truly not feeling it this year, that's okay too. Mulch your beds with shredded leaves to protect and feed the soil all winter. Come back feeling energized next spring.
A few tips for Take 2
Water consistently for the first couple of weeks. It's still warm, and new seeds and transplants dry out fast.
Keep frost cloth handy for surprise cold nights later in the season.
Don't overthink it. A handful of radishes and a few kale plants still count as a fall garden.
Don’t count yourself out yet. Whether this is your second planting or your first, there's still plenty of season left to enjoy. Just go put some seeds in the soil!
