I feel like I have been waiting on this fall garden forever!!!! I am so excited to garden in cooler temperatures and with less bugs to contend with! That bug part is seriously like the most important! No but really, I am super excited to get this garden started and to finally have a solid plan to share with you. I also realized that most of my favorite things to grow are grown in the spring and fall! Not to mention, pests and diseases are lower and easier to manage in the fall! I am so happy that I am extending my growing season this year and that this hot weather is finally starting to cool off!

First, I want to share the plants I am growing this fall and give a brief explanation of why:

Broccoli

Broccoli loves the fall! The cooler temperatures will really allow the broccoli to do it’s thing! I have tried to grow broccoli in the spring two years in a row and have not been successful. The first year the temperatures heated up rather quickly, I mean it was a really hot summer, and the broccoli bolted before I knew what was going on! This past spring, I had some garden pests get to them and they ate all of the plants overnight! This will be my first year growing broccoli and cauliflower in the fall, so I am excited to see what happens! 

Cabbage

I grew cabbage this spring/early summer and it did really well! When the temperatures got really hot they struggled and I had to pull them out before they formed a solid head on them. Because cabbage is frost resistant, I am hoping that they will have the time they need in cooler temperatures to really fill out. 

Kale

We love kale and eat it at least once a week if not more. I love how versatile kale is and I have heard that kale grown in the fall and harvested when the temperatures are low actually taste better. I have decided that now is the time to test that theory myself! 

Collard Greens

Similar to kale, collard greens are supposed to taste better after they have been touched by a little frost. I am not sure if they will get any action like that down here in Georgia, but I am still interested in seeing if they really do taste differently. 

Lettuce

I absolutely LOVE growing lettuce! It is definitely in my top 5 favorites things to grow. It is so easy to grow and it grows quickly! Fall is the ideal time to grow lettuce because of the cooler temperatures. I am growing two raised garden beds full of lettuce and I plan to do more in the greenhouse.

Things I Might Plant

The following plants are on my maybe/if I get time list:

Zucchini 

They have a short maturation time, just 60-65 days, they don’t like hot temperatures and actually shut down production over 85 degrees and will develop powdery mildew… which is exactly what happened to my zucchini plants this summer!

Cucumber

They also mature in just about 60-65 days, don’t like hot temperatures… I have read that it may be best to stick to the pickling type during this time of the year. 

Peas 

They don’t do well in hot temperatures, but sprout well in warm soil… which we still have here in zone 7B currently (if you don’t know your plant hardiness zone look it up here. 

So that’s it! That is my fall planting list! What do you think? Are you growing anything this fall? I really need to get busy sowing seeds for my maybe list, but I am just not sure if that will happen until early spring.

P.S. If you weren’t around for the big garden expansion project check out this post!