Summers are short and intense in Minnesota, with cool August nights and the first
frost arriving by mid-September, but fall gardens fill in where spring plantings fail. OG
test gardener Jackie Smith says that 35 years of growing in Minnesota has taught her
what and how to plant for a productive fall garden.
Smith calculates her plants’ average germination time and adds a few additional
weeks so plants have time to mature and produce before the hard freeze. This means
Smith seeds cool-season crops in July when temperatures are typically too hot for decent
germination. Before sowing, she places a heavy layer of straw directly over the soil for a
week. “The mulched soil is 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the soil exposed to the sun,” she
says. When she’s ready to plant, she removes the straw, sows the seeds, and covers the
area with a shade cloth or light layer of mulch. For extra insurance, Smith divides her
seed packets in half and plants successive crops a week apart.
As the cold blows in, she’s still harvesting Chinese cabbage, radishes, broccoli, and
salad greens. And spinach!
TIP: Determine when to plant by working backwards: Estimate how long a variety needs
to mature; then add a few weeks to be certain it has plenty of growing time.
BOB AND DONNA BAKER
Wadsworth, Ohio—Zone 5
What’s best: Weeds are finally on the wane.
Bob and Donna Baker cultivate 5 acres at their northeast Ohio farm, growing fruits
and vegetables for their CSA program and farmers’ markets. They keep up with demand
well into fall by planting several successions of summer crops a;er harvesting earlier
vegetables. “A lot of people don’t even think of planting more than once,” says Bob Baker.
The Bakers set out a round of summer squash transplants a;er they pull the onions
in the middle of July, usually planting through the same holes in the plastic. When the
potatoes are dug in July and August, green beans take their place.
To maintain the same amount of vegetables, it’s important to plant more for the late
season. “Many fall crops don’t produce as much,” says Baker. For instance, zucchini
grows like gangbusters in the summer, averaging two fruits a day per plant; yet in the
fall, it usually produces one per day for every two or three plants.
Also, “In the fall, the weeds aren’t as bad,” says Baker, and there are fewer insect and
disease problems, making it easy for the Bakers to harvest crops until Thanksgiving.
TIP: Map out your summer succession plan as you design your garden in spring.
PAM RUCH
Emmaus, Pennsylvania—Zone 6
What’s best: Fewer pests in late summer mean fewer problems for fall vegetables.
A;er the peas, lettuce, and cabbage are harvested, Master Gardener Pam Ruch plans
her fall lineup for a harvest lasting until snowfall.
Ruch opts for lettuce, arugula, spinach, escarole, kale, mâche, and other crops that
thrive in cool weather. “I look for carrots, beets, and turnips with short maturity times,”
she says. “Cilantro loves the cool weather, so an August planting lasts well into fall.”
Ruch notes that “fall vegetables o;en have fewer pest problems. Here, flea beetles are
less problematic beginning in late August, so late-planted arugula is a lot cleaner.”
Because some plants, particularly salad greens, go in during the heat of summer,
Ruch starts them inside several weeks earlier. “That way, they get a head start over the
THIS PAGE: TARA REYNOLDS. OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JIM GEHRZ & JOEY MCLEISTER, TARA REYNOLDS, ROB CARDILLO, LIZ COCKRUM
It’s sweater
weather, but the
Baker family, below,
is still enjoying
fresh, homegrown
food. Opposite
page, clockwise
from top left: Jackie
Smith, Bob Baker,
Pam Ruch, and
Linda Chisari.
