Fall veggies, help please!

[Royiah]

Ok so I want to do some fall veggies but I'm not sure what grows in the fall and when to start seeds and plant the plants. So I was hopeing ya'll could tell me what plants would be good?
Is it too late to plant them? I'm not sure but weve still got at least a month before it starts to get cool here.

[gumbo2176]

Ok so I want to do some fall veggies but I'm not sure what grows in the fall and when to start seeds and plant the plants. So I was hopeing ya'll could tell me what plants would be good?
Is it too late to plant them? I'm not sure but weve still got at least a month before it starts to get cool here.

I live in La. and this is what I generally plant from now till mid fall.

For an early harvest before any frost I plan on putting in more of the following next week.

Soybeans for Edamame
Pole beans
Cucumbers
Tomatoes

From September to early spring I put in the following.

Collard Greens
Leaf Lettuce (many varieties)
Swiss Chard
Broccoli
Onions
Garlic
Brussels Sprouts
Beets

If you have the room, you can grow cabbage, cauliflower, more greens like mustard and turnips. I love cabbage and cauliflower, but they take up a lot of space for a "one and done" plant so I don't plant them.

For a more detailed list, search for crops that can be grown in Zone 9 and you should get a large list of things that can be planted and when is the best months to plant them.

Also my pepper plants and artichoke over-wintered last year and I was picking Jalapeno, banana, and Hungarian Wax peppers through the winter.

[Royiah]

Thanks! This is really helpful! So Should IU start my seeds now? Or in a few weeks?

[gumbo2176]

Thanks! This is really helpful! So Should IU start my seeds now? Or in a few weeks?

Start them now because it will be weeks before they can be transplanted into the garden if you are using starter cells.

For things like broccoli, Brussels sprouts and my second crop of tomatoes, I get them from a local nursery in those 6 packs. I'll get a couple 6 packs of each and plant them in my garden.

For things like soybeans, cucumbers, lettuces, beets, swiss chard, etc. I start by seeding directly in the garden. It may be a bit too early for lettuces since we have at least another month+ of heat coming our way. I generally put lettuces, chard, spinach, beets directly in the soil in mid to late September. They all over winter very nicely in our mild winters and a bit of frost actually adds to the flavor of many of these plants.

Onions and garlic go in the ground sometime in October and I'll plant them between my tomato plants to fill in the empty spaces in the row.

[gumbo2176]

Thanks! This is really helpful! So Should IU start my seeds now? Or in a few weeks?

Start them now because it will be weeks before they can be transplanted into the garden if you are using starter cells.

For things like broccoli, Brussels sprouts and my second crop of tomatoes, I get them from a local nursery in those 6 packs. I'll get a couple 6 packs of each and plant them in my garden.

For things like soybeans, cucumbers, lettuces, beets, swiss chard, etc. I start by seeding directly in the garden. It may be a bit too early for lettuces since we have at least another month+ of heat coming our way. I generally put lettuces, chard, spinach, beets directly in the soil in mid to late September. They all over winter very nicely in our mild winters and a bit of frost actually adds to the flavor of many of these plants.

Onions and garlic go in the ground sometime in October and I'll plant them between my tomato plants to fill in the empty spaces in the row.

[Royiah]

Ok! thanks for the info! I'll probally end up doing brussel sprouts,lettuces and broccoli!
I'm also gonna replant my cukes!

[bell7283]

Is there anyone in New England that has similar advice on what they grow in the fall and when they plant?

[gumbo2176]

Is there anyone in New England that has similar advice on what they grow in the fall and when they plant?

Bell, google "Planting Guide for Zone 6-A" and you should get a list of warm and cool weather vegetables along with optimum planting times.

[TheWaterbug]

I love cabbage and cauliflower, but they take up a lot of space for a "one and done" plant so I don't plant them.

I'd like to try broccoli and cauliflower again this year, after 2 years of failure .

How long do cruciforms like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts "keep" on the plant once they're edible? Is it an "OMG-eat-it-before-it-goes-bad" like sweet corn? Or is it an "eat it sometime this year" like potatoes?

[gumbo2176]

I love cabbage and cauliflower, but they take up a lot of space for a "one and done" plant so I don't plant them.

I'd like to try broccoli and cauliflower again this year, after 2 years of failure .

How long do cruciforms like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts "keep" on the plant once they're edible? Is it an "OMG-eat-it-before-it-goes-bad" like sweet corn? Or is it an "eat it sometime this year" like potatoes?

Broccoli plants form a main head in the center of the plant and that is the largest one you will get. You don't leave broccoli on the plants for a long time. You know what they look like in the store and that is when you want to pick them. If you let them stay for a bit longer the whole head will turn into thousands of little flowers. After you pick the main head let the plant produce side shoots. Mine usually produce side shoots for a couple months after the main head is taken. They do get smaller as time passes. You can eat the leaves like any green.

Brussels Sprouts are the ones that can stay until you pick the whole plant if you want. What I generally do is pick some of the ones off the bottom of the stem since they form first and are generally the largest of the lot. If you leave them on and harvest the whole plant at one time, there is a good chance they will not be worth eating. I eat the larger ones by steaming and hit them with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. The upper ones are the smallest and I pickle them in a Bread & Butter type brine. They are excellent fixed that way.

[Ohio Tiller]

I never pick my brussels sprouts untill they have been hit by a frost or 2 they are 100 times better to eat this way.

[TheWaterbug]

Broccoli plants form a main head in the center of the plant and that is the largest one you will get. You don't leave broccoli on the plants for a long time. You know what they look like in the store and that is when you want to pick them. If you let them stay for a bit longer the whole head will turn into thousands of little flowers.

Yes, but is that interval a day or two? Or is it a week?

[gumbo2176]

Broccoli plants form a main head in the center of the plant and that is the largest one you will get. You don't leave broccoli on the plants for a long time. You know what they look like in the store and that is when you want to pick them. If you let them stay for a bit longer the whole head will turn into thousands of little flowers.

Yes, but is that interval a day or two? Or is it a week?

Hard to say exactly. The main head forms and matures on the plant over a couple week period. The head is made up of lots of little ball like material that forms flowers when it has been on the plant too long. You can see them start to get a bit bigger the closer it gets to them opening up. It's not like they all open at once. If you leave it on to the point of the head making flowers, it will take days for the whole head to bloom. If you see a few yellow flowers appearing, pick it and eat it since they won't hurt you to do so. Next time, pick it sooner for optimum freshness.

[klevelyn]

I pick the broccoli before the flowers open. It seems to say in the fridge for quite a while.

I am planting Brussels sprouts this fall. I planted two plants this summer and they have very little sprouts right now. They take so long to grow I don't seem to have the right weather pattern for them.

I love them and I am determined to keep trying.

I love to grow spinach, kale and carrots in the winter. They seem to taste so much better when grown in the cold weather.

I protect them with a hoop house when the winter hits.