When To Start Fall Garden?

[Royiah]

I want to do a fall garden this year with garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, potatos and anything else that might be good.
I have 4 4x16 beds 2 are 8inch deep and 2 are half that; And 1 4x8 (doesn't count since it has next to no soil in it.)
I mainly want to know when I should start the garden?
What Fall crops can I grow in it?
Any suggestions on veggies would be nice too!

 

[Northernfox]

Where are you from? my fall crops are in my basement under grow lights lol

I dont have much experience but check out www.growingyourgreens.com he is in the south and does winter crops

 

[Royiah]

Louisiana!

 

[w_r_ranch]

Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, Brussels Sprouts, onions, radishes, carrots, greens (lettuce, spinach, mustard, kale, chard) & potatoes are all good in the fall garden.

Just remember to plant your fall garden late Sept/early Oct. and your fall harvest will be 'in' before the hard winter frosts hit. Good luck!

 

[Royiah]

Oooh... yay! that's a lot of things to grow!
But is my garden deep enough for root crops? (I really want to do them.)

 

[w_r_ranch]

Put the onions, radishes, potatoes & carrots (get a 'short' variety) in the box with the deepest soil and you should be fine.

You may want to work on getting more soil into you beds in the near future & don't forget the compost... I did mine over a period of time too. I always make a circuit of the feed/garden centers around here at the end of the season & cut a deal to buy all their busted bags.

 

[Royiah]

What do you mean by short? Short season or short plant?
Oh I'm working on that now. (Compost pile. ) I want them to be 12inch deep when I'm done.
I did the same thing this past spring! Though it was only one garden center. I go there a lot and know the owners really well. So he gave me 50 bags of manure/compost for $1 each (They usually run $4) since I was expanding my garden and fertilizing everything! They were from last year and like you said busted open and old. (He didn't want to keep last years bags.) It worked out really well for both of us. Too bad he's having a hard time keep stock at the moment though. lol
As for my compost pile its it very sadly small. I started it during the winter but it hasn't been until recently that I've started eating a ton of veggies. (Supermarket veggies taste nasty.)

 

[w_r_ranch]

What do you mean by short? Short season or short plant?

Short 'N Sweet

Little Finger

Caracas Hybrid

Red Cored Chantenay

 

[Royiah]

Oooh thanks!

 

[Royiah]

When should I be starting my seeds indoors for cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli?
Do I need to start root crops indoors too?

 

[w_r_ranch]

Here you go Royiah:

Louisiana Vegetable Planting Guide

 

[Royiah]

Oooh Something to read! yay!

 

[Royiah]

I made my 4x8 taller! 12inch should be good for all my root crops right? (I'm not counting it but my soil is actually really good for an extra 2-3 inch's down and then its all clay.) I'm gonna use the rest of my beds for all my other kinds of plants. (cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce etc...)

 

[w_r_ranch]

You should be good now Royiah.

 

[Royiah]

Yay! Thanks tons for your help!

 

[w_r_ranch]

Fugetaboutit... always willing to help a neighbor!!!

 

[Royiah]

I'm glad your such a good neighbor!

 

[the1honeycomb]

HI royiah! I know that I do my potatoes and carrots in containers, it makes them very easy to harvest and you don't need to worry about how deep the garden soil is I start my potatoes all throught the growing season and have fresh and new potatoes whenever I want them. I even grow them in the basement in the winter time and they do wonderfully. the great thing about containers for these is that if you have unseasonable weather you can move them to a safe area and put them back when the weather changes. We all know how fickle the weather is! Good luck with your winter garden!

 

[Royiah]

I might try that. Thanks!

 

[finkikin]

HI royiah! I know that I do my potatoes and carrots in containers, it makes them very easy to harvest and you don't need to worry about how deep the garden soil is I start my potatoes all throught the growing season and have fresh and new potatoes whenever I want them. I even grow them in the basement in the winter time and they do wonderfully. the great thing about containers for these is that if you have unseasonable weather you can move them to a safe area and put them back when the weather changes. We all know how fickle the weather is! Good luck with your winter garden!

Honeycomb, What is your planting zone? Here in the south we do not have basements. I like your idea about the containers!! I use them for my pineapple plants just incase, (like you said) how a the weather is. We will have 95-100 degree temps and then a storm rolls in and we will drop to 65-80 degree temps...here is one of my small pineapple plants that's in the 2 year process that I keep in pot

 

[45 ACP]

Is it too late to plant my fall garden? I got so wrapped up in bow hunting season that I completely forgot about preparing my garden for the fall.

Uuhhggg...

Located in Houston, Tx. What say you WR Ranch? Was mainly just wanting Onions, Mustard Greens, Lettuce, Spinach, carrots.

 

[w_r_ranch]

You are still good for onions, they don't normally appear here until the first week of November anyways. You should also be good for the others you listed as they only thrive under cooler temps. I would get them in soon though to get everything established, the consensus among the older guys at the local bakery is that this 'winter' will be colder & set in earlier than normal. I tend to listen to these guys...

Too late for potatoes if you were thinking about them though... frost will whack them at this point.

 

[45 ACP]

Thanks for the tips Wr Ranch. You've been a huge help. I will try to get my fall garden in this weekend.