Key Points
Check your local freeze date to choose vegetables for October planting.Fast-maturing cool-season crops are ideal for late fall harvests.Hardy plants like garlic and kale go dormant in winter and regrow in spring.
Success growing crops started 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 increases in areas with warmer winters.
Find out where and what you can plant in October for late autumn and winter harvests.
Is October Too Late to Plant Vegetables?
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 on the USDA hardiness zone website.
But many cool-season vegetables thrive until the ground freezes, which varies greatly in zones 3 through 8. Freezing occurs with sustained periods of five or more days and nights below 32°F. Walk through or use a shovel to dig a spot in your garden area. If the ground feels solid and doesn’t give, it’s likely frozen.
To harvest vegetables planted in October, you’ll need at least an estimate of when the ground freezes. The later freezing occurs, the more types of vegetables you can still plant. For overwintering crops like garlic, October is often an ideal time for planting.
If you live in the far north, or in areas where the ground freezes early 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 once the ground freezes. Some, like kale and spinach, go dormant and start growing again in spring. Root vegetables, like carrots and turnips, can overwinter in the garden under mulch once they’ve reached a mature size.
Choose vegetables that mature quickly, like radishes and peas, or start with purchased or greenhouse-grown seedlings for cole crops like cabbage and broccoli.
Planting alliums (garlic, onions, and shallots) in October gives a head start on spring growth and promotes strong root systems before plants go dormant during winter. A layer of mulch protects against frost heaving and damage. Where winter weather is severe, add a thick layer (3 to 4 inches) of loose, organic mulch. Remove it once 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, lettuces, and cresses. Grow them in zones 4 to 8 where freezing holds off until early winter.
Some types of kale sustain temperatures as low as 10°F for continued harvests into winter. Early varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli can also be planted as late as October. Mulch and keep frost coverings ready to go in case of early, unexpected heavy frost and freezing.
Greens, including mustard and collards, withstand freezing temperatures, and lettuces, including Romaine and escarole, are frost hardy. For best protection, mulch or consider planting in a cold frame or provide frost coverings.
8 Ways to Prep the Garden for Next Year
Sowing autumn crops offers plenty of advantages. But when the harvest is complete, there is still work to do to prepare the garden for next season. Here are eight tasks to consider.
Make a garden layout for next year with crop rotation as a goal.
Remove stakes and supports like trellising and fencing. Store any that can be reused in a garden shed or garage.
Remove inorganic mulches like landscape fabrics and weed mat.
Take out vining plants like beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squashes, including roots, and add them to the compost pile. Leaving them in the garden overwinter encourages soil-borne diseases and serves as cover for overwintering pests.
Turn over garden soil by rototilling or hand digging.
Test soil for pH levels and available nutrients. Balance pH if necessary.
Add compost, autumn leaves, grass clippings, or manure to improve soil and replenish depleted nutrients. Leave it to decompose for working intothe soil in early spring.
Consider planting a cover crop to replace soil nutrients and discourage weedy growth.
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