Many common vegetables fare better during cooler months, as there are typically fewer insect pests and more rain during the fall. Vegetable plants that prefer cooler weather include lettuces, root vegetables, broccoli, collard greens and other cabbages. Planting your cool-season vegetable crop isn't much different from planting a typical spring garden, although there are a few differences. Planting in late summer requires cool-season vegetables that mature within 50 days.
Remove anything left from your summer garden if you had one and throw it into the compost pile. Not only does this clear your garden for your winter crop, it also can help prevent any pests of your summer crops from overwintering in that location.
Pour 1 to 3 inches of compost and rich, organic material onto your garden well before planting season. Composted manures and store-bought organic material are also ideal amendments to use.
Till the materials into your planting beds to a depth of approximately 12 inches to aerate the soil, break up large chunks and work in the organic material.
Slope the garden bed north to south a few inches, with the north side higher than the south, as south-facing, sloped beds absorb the warm sun.
Plant seeds or transplants so that they'll have enough time to mature by the first frost date.
Plant taller crops at the north end of the garden and shorter crops on the south; this isn't as necessary in winter crops as it is in summer crops, as most winter crops are shorter to the ground and the sloped bed also helps the crops to get adequate sunlight.
Cover tender young plants with floating row covers to shield them from the late summer sun. Cover more mature plants with floating row covers in case of an early hard frost.
Your Planting Articles
Things You Will Need
- Rich, organic material
- Organic vegetable fertilizer
- Floating row covers
- You can sprinkle organic vegetable garden fertilizer over your beds for additional feedings, although it's not necessary with the added compost and organic materials. Apply the fertilizer at the rate recommended on the product label and mix it into the first 6 inches of soil. Leafy vegetables such as lettuces and cabbages thrive with a bit more nitrogen; blood meal or composted manure fertilizers are an ideal option.
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