When most people think about planting, they imagine that first break of the soil in the springtime, but you can also plant flowers and vegetables in the fall. There are certain plants that even benefit from that time of planting. Best of all, you can even enjoy certain vegetables in the fall, too. Here are a few reasons why planting in the fall is a great idea for any gardener:
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We have a few favorite plants and vegetables in our cool-weather planting guide that will show you a bunch of different plants to add to your garden, but we’ll sprinkle a few here to help you get started:
Greens: Spinach, arugula, mustard greens and leaf lettuce are all great options to grow during the fall. They love the slightly cooler soil and, moreover, they grow fast so you can eat fresh salads throughout the fall and into early winter (depending on your zone).
Root veggies: Beets, turnips and even radishes grow pretty quickly and enjoy the fall soil. The cooler weather helps them thrive, and they’re easy to harvest when they’re popping from the garden. If you love root vegetables, you should also be sure to check out this root veggie roast—a delicious addition to your plate in the fall and winter.
Garlic and onions: Before you get too excited, these are both things you plant in order to harvest them in the spring of the following year. They benefit from being able to put down roots in the winter and will greet you with chutes when the thaw arrives.
Shrubs: If you love planting shrubs in your garden, fall is the perfect time for you. Deciduous shrubs love being planted in the fall and seem to thrive when they are. Things like azaleas, rhododendrons and other broadleaf evergreens enjoy putting their roots down in the fall, and it gives them a chance to strengthen over the winter months before they start to bloom in the spring and summer.
Flowers: Bearded irises, coreopsis and even some species of lavender like to be planted in the fall. You might not see much happening during the fall and winter, and you may even think you lost your planting, but that’s just how flowers focus on establishing their roots. Before long, you’ll have a stunning flower popping up in the springtime.
Just because fall is around the corner, it doesn’t mean you don’t still have time to put a few things in the ground–both to enjoy this year and to be surprised and delighted by in the coming year. There’s nothing quite as fun as seeing how your garden grows from year to year, and fall plantings ensure that’s exactly what happens.