Fall Planting Tips & Tricks

As fall approaches, it often seems that many crops have been harvested and gardens are appearing more bare by the day, but the growing season is not over yet! Here are tips for fall planting that will ensure your garden is active well into the fall. 

Step 1: Choose the right crops

When preparing for fall planting make sure to choose crops that are cold hardy and fast maturing. This will assure that your crops will be both tolerant to less sunlight, our cold Canadian autumn season, and will be ready to harvest before the first frost. 

Examples of such crops include:

• Brassicas: 
• Broccoli: Waltham 29
• Kale: Vates, Winterbar
• Collard greens: Blue max
• Hardy root vegetables: 
• Carrots: Bolero and Scarlet nantes
• Beats: Avalanche and Lutz winter keeper
• Radishes: Cherry belle

Step 2: Prepare your soil

Make sure to plant in well-amended soil to aid in moisture retention, drainage, and nutrient availability. This ensures your crops mature as quickly as possible, which is important during the shorter fall growing season. 

General Tip: Always give your soil a much needed refresh using a handful of Jocelyn’s Soil Booster Worm Manure before planting. 

Step 3: Plan for Protection 

Choose a sunny, warm location for growing, ideally along a south-facing wall, to extend the season of your fall garden. This can also be accomplished by planting in a container or MyGroBox that can periodically be moved to sunnier, warmer locations throughout the season. 

TIP: Look for and keep track of microclimates in your yard throughout the year so that you can anticipate where the warmest soil will be throughout the fall season.

Be sure to cover your soil with a mulch to prevent weed growth. Jocelyn’s Soil Booster Wood Chips Mulch inhibits weed growth while insulating the soil to hold in warmth for faster growth. 

Follow these steps to prolong your garden's glory well into late fall, whatever temperatures Mother Nature throws at you!