Fall is coming! I know that doesn’t feel possible here in Florida (Zone9b) but we tend to use seasonal terms as just a direct correlation with what month is coming. So fall is October-November. No leaves really change and the summer heat lessens for like 2 hours out of the day if we are lucky – but we will just roll with it being “Fall” so that we can buy apple scents and drink pumpkin spice everything.
Either way- it’s time to get serious about getting your Fall plants in the ground. Before you know it, it will be too late and you will be watching your broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower for 7 months wondering why they never actually produced anything. Yep that was 2019 me. Not 2020 me – I am here with plans, and ready to get started.
I am not lying either- here are all of my beautiful 2019 broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage- I swear I didn’t eat a bit of them because they never actually produced. All that work, all that space taken up.. ugh. The frustrations of being a gardener.
Resources I use when planning:
#1 – Find your zone! This reference helps you determine the times of year you should be growing what for your specific zone. (click on “View our planting calendar for your area” to get to the next resource)
#2 – What is growing – From the National Gardening Association’s calendar from your area you can determine what you should be growing and when you should be starting it!
Here is where I landed:
This year I decided to not buy any seeds- we have WAY too many, so I planned my entire fall garden around what we already had laying around and of course what is safe to plant in September. Note: Today is the first day of September, but no pressure y’all!
The areas in grey are spots that do not change, but all the white I can move around. One of the experiments I am doing is with Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts and Broccoli. I have them in the raised flower beds (back left) and then also have them in the main sun area down in the bottom middle. The lower portion of the garden on this map receives a lot of sun- like EXTRA EXTRA sun.
The green beans being planted right below the key plants in the upper left will actually shield them from a small portion of the morning sun. We are hoping this helps them grow as they are still full sun but getting a tiny break. Last year none of these key plants produced any food for us. They grew but then bolted which I suspect due to the heat. So That is why I am trying both ways. Maybe last year was a fluke- so I am going to try it again the same section, but then my 2nd section to see if I get a different result.
Isn’t that the best part about gardening? Its basically a yearly science experiment with a little bit of “Random stuff can happen and you will never know why” sprinkled in!
So there you have it- my focus for the Fall. Are you growing anything new this year?
