Planning for veggie garden in fall

13 years ago

Hi all you veggie garden gurus. I want to be on time with planting my seedlings for fall. I need to order seeds and am hoping you'll be kind enough to recommend some of your favorite varieties and timing for planting. I want to make sure there is plenty of time for a harvest before cold.

Any recommendations for beets? Timing?

Favorite fall tomatoes? When to start seeds?

What types of seeds do you start in June/July? In my area is late June too early to start tomato seeds? In the past I've planted my transplants in late August and still had a hard time getting good harvests before cold. Silvia, your fall tomatoes always have a great yield, when do you start your seeds?

What other types of seeds do you start in June/July to be able to transplant into the garden in August/Sept?

I am learning little by little, but I still need lots of help! Please share your fall favorites and planting schedules, please! Thank-you!

Anna

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Comments (17)

msmarion
13 years ago
I'm also looking for the same info. Anna here is a link to UF planting guide. I printed it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting Guide
whgille
13 years ago
Hi Anna

It is very good that you are getting ready, I am going to show you some pictures with the dates and varieties if possible of veggies and tomatoes planted for the fall. However take into consideration that my zone is colder than yours, since I never been to Sarasota I really don't know, I am just taking Tom's word for it. It will be nice to have his input also since he probably is closer in warmth to your zone.

July harvest: Yard long beans green and red, hot peppers, winter squash papaya golden, cucumbers Tien Long, eggplants, ignore the gourds, lol

{{gwi:22332}}

August garden tomatoes are in the place, you must have transplants of 6-8 weeks old by this time

September, bush beans, pole and cucumbers growing

October, Halloween harvest

{{gwi:60429}}

November greens and lettuce

{{gwi:19920}}

Now, when you are going to get varieties look for early varieties, look how long they take from sowing to harvest since a lot of vegetables take a long time to mature, especially in the beginning till you find your own favorites. I have about 20 kinds of pole beans growing and one that I like it a lot is Emerite, is long and slender. Beets also have a number of varieties that I grew, the earliest was Kestral Baby.

I hope that I did not confuse you with my answers, feel free to ask me any questions and I will try to come with the pictures and varieties of veggies planted. I don't have anything written down everything I take out of the seed box or the pictures taken.

Silvia
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annafl
Original Author
13 years ago
Marion, thanks for the link. I will pore over it in the next couple of days to get more details.

Silvia, so when do you start YOUR tomato seeds? When do you start your snap bean Emerite seeds? What about your beets? Do you plant cucumbers for fall? If so, when do you start the seeds? What about squash? Is it a fall crop? Thanks!

Anna
imagardener2
13 years ago
Tomatos
The UF planting guide says for South Florida (my that's a big area) to start them Aug-Mar.
My experience is that August is too soon to start tomato seeds for my area, mid-September is better for the fall/winter crop. Then I start more tomato seeds after Christmas for the spring crop.

Fall varieties will be Margo, Black Cherry, Dr. Carolyn (cherry) and some black heirlooms plus Brandywine which I haven't grown in a few years. The black and purple tomatoes really like cool weather so they'll go until frost.

I don't grow other veggies except herbs and greens (collards, cabbage, lettuces) and they go in with cooler weather maybe November-December.

Denise
whgille
13 years ago
Anna - I go according to the space available in the raised beds, when something is empty another crop goes in. Lettuce, greens, carrots, beets get started when the weather gets cool.

My tomatoes get started early July to have transplants for August.

Beans pole and bush were started around August to have them growing already in September, the ones in the picture are the musica beans. I grew emerite this spring along with other varieties.

When planting cucumbers in the fall you have to deal with the pickleworm, mine were covered with panty hose, lol

Winter squash has a long planting season, they do take 100 days or more to mature like sweet potatoes. Papaya golden squash was planted in May.

I have kabocha type of squash that I planted for this season that I am already eating.

The only squash that had a very long season was the table dainty and I am also growing them now.

I am still waiting for my beds to clear to plant yard long beans, lima beans and cowpeas...

Hi Denise

Your margo tomatoes will be very good if you slow roasted in the oven, I will give you the recipe when your season starts. I made some today, they are so good made that way. Try to get insect barrier cloth to cover them up from the whitefly, maybe that works.

Silvia
tomncath
13 years ago
Anna, you can't use Silvia's schedule, our climate is totally different, 10-12 degrees warmer night and day.... I start pepper seeds INDOORS under grow lights mid July, move them outside in the shade after two weeks and pot up, and set them in the garden at EIGHT weeks, mid-September. I start tomato seeds INDOORS under grow lights August 1st, move them outside in the shade after two weeks and pot up, and set them in the garden at SIX weeks, mid-September. WARNING, moving things outside in August is a crap shoot; it's still warm enough in Zone 10 that bugs, fungus, hurricanes and rain may destroy them.... ;-)

Tom
annafl
Original Author
13 years ago
Wow, we're not that far from each other, yet we all have such different planting schedules. Denise, if you don't plant the seeds till September, you still get tomatoes before the cold hits? Last fall I set my transplants out early September and I still had a very short tomato season. I was thinking I'd start early July or even late June to be able to set transplants out in August. Maybe even inside like you, Tom, although I don't have growing lights. I do have windows, or I can just give them morning sun. I know it's so hot then, but they've got to have time to grow before setting fruit. Maybe the best thing to do is to try to stagger to see what works best for my area. It's just such a long learning curve!

Silvia, I will start beans in August this fall. Last fall I didn't start till September and my beans did really well, but the cold got them in the prime of harvest season. Sounds like cucumbers and squash in fall is not a good idea.
Silvia, what beets have done well for you? I want to try them when it gets cool. I am going to place a seed order soon, so I want to try to make a list.

I hope I do better this fall. I've got to at least try to start earlier. I can always plant every couple of weeks later if it doesn't work, maybe. We'll see!

Thanks for all your responses.

Anna
tomncath
13 years ago
I set and sow everything mid-September where I'm at, sooner and it's too hot and buggy, later and it's not warm enough with day-length sufficient for good initial growth....Mid-September and Mid-January, but remember, I never had frost until this past year. Many folks where it's cooler start their fall crops earlier, and their spring crops later than I do because of the heat and frost differences...and I do grow cucurbits in the fall.

If you're getting frost regularly you may very well be able to follow Silvia's planting schedule...you're just going to have to experiment with it for your area.

Regarding the grow lights, I don't have a big setup, just a two foot table top but it meets my needs....
imagardener2
13 years ago
Anna
I tried starting tomato seeds in August 2008 and it was just too early. Plants didn't prosper due to heat and whitefly. 2009 I pushed back to September and things were better although it was a really abnormally cold winter.

If I had to actually feed our family I'd start seeds several times to make sure something survived to fruit but as a hobby gardener I am middle of the road. Living near the Gulf our temps run pretty warm which is why I grow almost nothing in the summer.

Sylvia's location gives her a much longer season although I am just amazed at her talent growing so many different crops in months that mine are doing nothing.

Denise
tomncath
13 years ago
Living near the Gulf our temps run pretty warm which is why I grow almost nothing in the summer.

Sylvia's location gives her a much longer season although I am just amazed at her talent growing so many different crops in months that mine are doing nothing.

I agree Denise, I'm in the exact same situation. I've got some sweet peppers plants that are in their prime right now but are so totally infested with whitefly nymphs that I'm thinking of getting rid of them now to allow a least two month whitefly-free interval :-(

Tom
whgille
13 years ago
Hi Anna, Denise and Tom - Sorry I am late for the round table, lol.

Anna - Last season I grew a beet mix from Sand Hill, Crapaudine from Bakers,Bull's Blood from Bakers, Specialty golden from Johnny's,Chiogga fro Peaceful Valley, Betabel golden from Burpee and Kestral Baby from Kitchen garden.
The earliest one was Kestral, very good, the more versatile and beet like was Bull's Blood, I made pickled beets from them and for salads the Chioga and golden are very nice, the one that I did not care for was the crapaudine because of the shape, it looked that did not developed right but it did.

Here are some beets

And this is the entrance to the house, those caladiums are real pretty! Thank you Anna.

Silvia
annafl
Original Author
13 years ago
Silvia, I neglected to tell you that your harvests and garden look amazing as always. Thanks for all the pictures and thanks for the beet suggestions, I will look them up. the ones in the pictures look soo good. I would be happy if mine turned out half that good. Hey, the caladiums do look pretty. My new ones are just starting to appear and I think they got it right this time. Time will tell. By the way, is that a fuschia behing the caladiums?

Tom, that's quite the setup. I don't have a good place for lights, but I am going to experiment this late summer/fall and we'll see what happens. Denise, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to try to start seeds two or three times and see what the best results are. I hope I have time and am really able to follow through with it. If I have any success I will report back.

Anna
whgille
13 years ago
Anna, thank you. The flowers on the back are fuschia, we had them in all varieties in my childhood home, we call them ballerinas and Cheryl loves them!

And you can not go wrong staggering any seeds, the more you plant the more chances of success.

Yesterday I made slow roasted tomatoes for today's dish. also made brandy zucchini bread. This morning I made a fritatta with scallions, marjoram, parsley from the garden. I also put some garlic and thin sliced feta cheese. When serving I added roasted tomatoes.

Later I made 2 Caprese salads, 1 for us has a sun dried tomato dressing

And the other one is for friends get together, will put the dressing at serving time

{{gwi:50015}}

Silvia
tomncath
13 years ago
WOW Silvia! I'm HUNGRY!!!
whgille
13 years ago
Hi Tom, thank you

The Caprese dish was a big success last night even though there was competition from chefs, but they did not have fresh veggies, lol. Guess whose dish was finish first?

Today is going to be tomato sauce day...

And today's squash harvest, in the front is the Suyo cucumber

Silvia
annafl
Original Author
13 years ago
Oh my goodness, Silvia, your caprese salads look amazing. Your squash is incredible too. Mine are tiny and few. Don't know why.

I can't believe you can grow fuschia in our climate! Unbelievable. I've only tried twice and they fried as soon as the first heat wave rolled around. Looks absolutely beautiful. I may have to try again if you can give me some pointers. Thanks again for sharing your garden with us.

Anna
whgille
13 years ago
Anna, thank you.

I really don't do anything special with the fuschia. I have it in mostly shade area gets light and maybe 1-2 hours sun in the morning. It is in a small pot so I watered every day and add a very diluted fertilizer. After the summer maybe I will put it in a bigger pot.

Silvia