The Fall Garden is the Set-It-and-Forget-It of the homesteading life…
The garden season is DONE. Thank you, Cold Snap.
Or is it? The energetic, bubbly, always-wanting-to-go-do-something, fun cousin — summer — may be gone, and for a moment, you enjoy having an empty house.
But fall is setting in. The help-maid. The silent, strong presence in the background, fixing things around the house and raking the leaves — the fall garden.
You literally make a bed for him, give him access to food, and that’s it. You’ve got a helper.
The fall garden is that way — a set-it-and-forget-it. The fall garden grows in the wet parts of the year, the mild parts. You can mulch and wait on rain. It’s so good.
These are the crops you can plant now for either a continual harvest through fall and winter or a nearly forgotten harvest in June.
🧄 Garlic: The Real Set-It-and-Forget-It
Sink it deep into the ground (about 2 inches) now before the ground freezes hard, mulch it heavily with straw (lay about 4–6 inches on top), water it in, then walk away. Show back up in five months and revel in your harvest.
Don’t believe me? Check out my harvest at the farmstand where I have have ZERO access to water….
🥬 Kale: The Cold-Weather Workhorse
Plant it now for fresh, sweet, crisp, deep-green, nutrient-dense leaves all the way until spring — especially with just a bit of cover during the hard freezes.
Actually, I have a kale plant in my tunnel right now that is going on TWO years old! I kid you not. I planted a plant from a hydroponic system 2 years ago, and it has not survived not only the deep winters but also the heat of our Arkansas summers! Kale is incredible, and again, so is a tad bit of cover.
🌿 Cilantro: The Misunderstood Crop
Contrary to common misconception, cilantro is a winter crop. With a little bit of shelter, cilantro will grow for you all the way through winter and spring until the warm weather in early summer pushes it to bolt. Seeds will germinate, even in cold weather. I had seeds come up last winter in the tunnel, which was unheated, during our arctic blast of sub-zero temps. Plant the seeds.
🥔 Turnips: The Workhorse of the Fall Garden
These are the bulk of the fall garden — the potato, if you will. They make an excellent cover crop and store great once harvested. Plant them liberally, thin once they’re a few weeks old, then hit them with water from time to time. But don’t fret over them. They’re easy. Harvest the leaves for greens and the roots for a spicy, savory side.
🍃 Oregano and Mints: The Survivors
These will survive Armageddon. Plant them cautiously, but plant them. A peppermint tea in the winter hits just right, and nothing can replace the flavor of fresh oregano in a rich pasta sauce.
🧅 Green Onions: Always Ready
These will stay green for a long time in the winter, ready to be harvested any time you need that fresh garnish. Drop them in the ground, whether it be green onions, onion butts (what’s left after you use a big onion) or walking onions. Mulch is key.
🌷 Flower Bulbs: Beauty in Waiting
Many of those spring favorites go in the ground right now — tulips, hyacinths, lilies, irises, daffodils, crocus, alliums. Plant them now, let the rain hit them, and enjoy come spring.
❤️ Radishes: The Quick Win
These spicy little treats go from seed to full-grown in 30 days under the right conditions, which really aren’t hard to create. Soft soil, some water, and a little sunlight — and you’ve got the perfect complement to that fresh kale salad.
🍂 Final Thoughts
This garden season — the fall garden — isn’t about hustle or rush. It’s about enjoyment. It’s the delight, the surprises, the quiet hum, and the much-needed bursts of green in a bleak landscape. This is one for taking your time, breathing in that crisp air, letting things store in the ground, and harvesting only when you need something.
It’s a season of abundance. Enjoy it.
Much love,
Alex