key points
- Check your local freeze date to choose vegetables for October planting.
- Fast-maturing cool-season crops are ideal for late fall harvest.
- Hardy plants like garlic and kale go dormant in winter and regrow in spring.
Success growing crops starting in October depends on several factors, including your USDA hardiness zone, climate and vegetable type. Gardeners in zones 3 through 9 can grow a good variety that grows in areas with warm winters.
Find out where and what you can do in October to harvest the late autumn and winter harvest.
Is October too late?
The first frost date is a standard cut-off for warm-season crops like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. You can find this information according to your zip code USDA Hardiness Zone Website.
But many cool-season vegetables don’t survive until the ground freezes, which varies greatly in zones 3 through 8. Cold is accompanied by a sustained period of five or more days and nights below 32 °F. Dig or use a shovel to dig a spot in your garden area. If the ground feels solid and doesn’t give, it’s probably frozen.
To harvest vegetables planted in October, you will need at least an estimate of when the ground will freeze. The later it gets cold, the more types of vegetables you can still plant. For crops like garlicOctober is often an ideal time for planting.
If you live in the far north, or in areas where the ground freezes quickly for extended periods, reserve October planting for a heated greenhouse or hoop house.
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Autumn crops you can start in October
Most vegetables stop growing after the ground freezes. something, like Kale and spinach, get lazy And start growing again in spring. Root vegetables, such as carrots and turnips, can overwinter in the garden under mulch once they reach a mature size.
choose vegetables that mature quicklyStart with purchased or greenhouse-grown seedlings for radishes and peas, or for cole crops like cabbage and broccoli.
planting allium (garlic, onions, and shallots) gets a head start on spring growth in October and promotes strong root systems before plants go dormant during the winter. A layer of mulch protects from frost and damage. Where winter weather is severe, add a thick layer (3 to 4 inches) of loose, organic mulch. Remove it after the sprouts break through in spring.
Some cool-season vegetables grow rapidly, maturing in 30 to 50 days, including radishes, beets, turnips, kale, chard, spinach, peas, lettuce and cress. Grow them in zones 4 through 8 where freezing stops until the beginning of winter.
Some types of kale tolerate temperatures as low as 10°F for continued harvest through the winter. Early varieties of cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli can also be planted in late October. Mulch and have frost coverings ready to go in case of early, unexpected heavy frost and cold.
Greens, including mustard and collards, withstand freezing temperatures, and lettuces, including romaine and escarole, are frost hardy. For best protection, use mulch or Consider planting in a cold frame or providing frost covering.
8 ways to prepare your garden for next year
Sowing autumn crops has a lot of advantages. But when the harvest is complete, there is still work to do to prepare the garden for the next season. Here are eight tasks to consider.
- Create a garden layout for next year with crop rotation as a goal.
- Remove stakes and supports like trellis and fencing. Store any that can be reused in a garden shed or garage.
- Remove inorganic mulches such as landscape clothing and weed mats.
- Pull out plants like beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash, including the roots, and add them to the compost pile. Leaving them to overwinter in the garden encourages soil-borne diseases and serves as cover for overwintering pests.
- Turn the garden soil by rototating or hand digging.
- Test the soil for pH level and available nutrients. Balance pH if necessary.
- Add compost, autumn leaves, grass clippings or compost to improve the soil and replenish nutrients. Leave it to decompose for further soil work in early spring.
- Consider planting a cover crop To replace soil nutrients and discourage weedy growth.
