Fall Gardening, here, there and everywhere.

As a Realtor, I am much more familiar with the Arizona Real Estate market than I am with gardening here. I’ve always had gardens and I’ve actually had a couple successful ones here but I’m a Northeast guy and as an Arizona transplant, learning gardening in Arizona is like living in an alternate world. We hibernate all Summer and start seedlings in the Fall. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately cause I feel like a gardening newbie all over again and I’m starting to find out, that no matter where you live in the U.S. Fall can be a fantastic time to plant… something. For all you transplanted gardeners throughout the country, here’s what I found out.

Here in Arizona we’re thinking veggies. We can harvest corn, beans, leafy greens and broccoli, all winter or at the very least until a killing frost, which may or may not ever happen. If you’ve started seedlings indoors you’re relatively safe transferring them to the garden right about now until around the first of October. Blooming annuals are also everywhere, this is the time of year that flowering things thrive! Most of the stifling heat is over with so new bushes can be planted as well. Just be sure to cover newly planted bushes if there is any danger of frost.

This apple picking season in the Northeast, and harvest season for collard greens, kale and swiss chard, carrots and beets. Chinese cabbage is a hearty fall produce, winter squash and pumpkins are in season now too. Northeasterners will want to anticipate spring perennial gardens by planting flowering bulbs during October, but did you know that garlic and shallots should go in now as well? Also think about managing your bulb beds by separating, turning-in compost, and protecting with a covering of mulch. Don’t forget to save dropped leaves and pine needles for your compost bin.

Maybe the heartiest and most varied in color and shape of all the flowering plants, and my personal favorite, is Chrysanthemums, and they’re all over the Midwest right now! Technically in the ‘wild’ Chrysanthemums are considered a shrub, and the Chinese first cultivated them as herbs. Who knew? But there’s so much more going on garden-wise. Ornamental Kale is an amazing flower-garden filler this time of year, sedum and asters make fall gardens glow (not my word, found that in a seed catalog). The Midwest is THE producer of soy beans and corn and tis the season, though Mother Nature has not been kind to Midwest farmers this year. Similar to gardens in the Northeast, you’ll want to get perennial beds prepared and plant new bulbs before the first frost.

In the South you’ll be looking for basil, melons and peanuts, squash and sweet potatoes, and you can usually count on harvesting these until sometime in December. And three cheers for the South, I’d love to try a garden there sometime… you even still have time to plant! Consider turnips, beets, dill, spinach, arugula and radishes for fall planting but hurry, time is running short!

The Pacific Northwest is famous for their apple orchards but did you know they also have a surprising fall/winter veggie production? Broccoli, carrots and onions can be planted late Fall for Spring harvesting. Parsnips, kale, collards, Brussels sprouts will grow right now, as well as cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, leaf lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, parsnips, turnip and radishes. Good drainage is essential as this is the rainy season (I was surprised to find out there is actually a season for that in the Pacific Northwest). Compost helps a lot with drainage.

This all brings us around to California and their remarkable vineyards. I mean seriously, what else do you picture when you think about California? Grape harvests were earlier than average this year and it is predicted that production will be down considerably. Hopefully Northern California’s fall rains won’t disappoint. With the relatively temperate climate in the North, peas, carrots, beets, spinach, and lettuce should all thrive from fall to spring.

Southern CA on the other hand is annoyingly the ideal place for everything. I’ve found out a lot about SoCal Real Estate sales recently from some colleagues of mine and like their amazing year-round Real Estate market, veggie crops thrive in any season. Think beets, cabbage, broccoli, celery, cauliflower, turnips, garlic, peas, spinach, brussels sprouts, lettuce and greens of any kind, peppers, green onions, beans and radishes for fall and winter. I understand good drainage this time of year is key though.

So there you have it. I’m off to play in the dirt now. Enjoy your fall garden where ever you are and let me know how it goes!

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