Texas Fall Garden Guide
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There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t start a garden right now. Texas kitchen gardens can be planted all year!
Warm-season plants that you buy as transplants (like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant) can continue to be planted and grow in late summer. But many of the cool-season plants you may want to grow should be started as seed (and yes, can be started as early as late summer!). In fact, you most likely will not find any cool-season crops available as plants in your local nurseries until October or so. And even so, plants such as lettuce (where you may only get a few harvests per plant) are much more strategically sown as seed (to get 100 plants over 6 months or so). Fall really is the season where seeds are king and understanding which plants grow better from seed and which month to plant them is key to a thriving kitchen garden.
Nevertheless, where you may be annoyed at the lack of variety of transplants at the nursery, you may also be overwhelmed by the thousands of choices in seed types online.
So as with all central Texas garden things, I want to make it simple for you.
Below is a list of some sure fire winners for your Texas kitchen garden this fall, so if you want to order in just a single click, I’ve provided some helpful direct links to get you there. And when it comes to quantity, purchasing 2 packages of each type of anything you know you will like is a good way to start and should get you through the fall and winter garden seasons, which last until March! Yahoo!!
The links below will direct you to BOTANICAL INTERESTS, a highly reputable supplier of certified organic, non-GMO seeds that I’ve personally been purchasing from for years!
The list is broken up into 3 sections: 1) Plant ONLY as seed, 2) Can plant as a transplant in cooler weather and also as seed for continual harvests, and 3) Plant as either transplants or seed. All of these plants are frost-tolerant and will germinate and produce for months! So while your neighbor’s tomatoes are a bust and many gardens are empty, you can continue to enjoy fresh, organic, homegrown all fall and winter long.
Plant these only as seed and every few weeks for continual harvests (late-August through February):
Beets
Detroit Dark Red beets are tender and delicious, 2½"–3" beautiful, deep crimson beets. Perfect for pickling, roasting, and even raw in salads! The greens rival chard and spinach for tenderness and flavor, and are very nutritious. Order these Beets here.
Carrots
The Danvers 126 are a great carrot! It stores well, has sweet flavor, great color and is resistant to cracks and splits. Order these Carrots here.
Celery
The Utah Celery is an organic heirloom variety that is super fun to grow. You have never tasted celery before until you’ve had grown your own. You can harvest a couple stalks off the sides when they are very small and leave the plant to grow more. Order these celery here.
Garlic (Cloves)
Look for “softneck” varieties at your local nursery. Bulbs are difficult to find right now online due to demand. Often the varieties you buy at the grocery store have been treated so they will not sprout. You can “try” to plant an organic variety from the store, but you may not have much luck. I recommend purchasing from a nursery.
Radish
Easter Egg Blend is a colorful mix of red, white, rose pink, purple, and bi-color (red top, white base) that is fun in the garden, especially if you are gardening with kids! Order these radishes here.
Turnips
The Purple Top White Globe Turnip is a classic root crop that has fed the world's people for thousands of years! It can be eaten fresh, roasted, or used like potatoes, even mashed! Order these turnips here.
Quicker-to-maturity plants for transplanting and seed-sowing every few weeks for continual fall/winter harvests (October-March):
Arugula
Rocket Arugula is an organic heirloom variety. No salad garden is complete without some arugula! Most often eaten raw in a salad, it can also be steamed or fresh on a pizza! Order this arugula here.
Cabbage, Green
Copenhagen Market cabbage is an heirloom that’s a solid, standard bet for a small (6”-8”), tightly wrapped head that does well in a home kitchen garden. Order this green cabbage here.
Cabbage, Purple
The Red Acre cabbage is a beautiful variety for many uses in the kitchen! From cole slaw to stir-fry and much more, homegrown cabbage is so much tastier than what you can buy at the store. As a compact plant, it does well in small gardens! Order this purple cabbage here.
Mustard Greens
I challenge you to add more baby greens in your diet with these Must Have Mustards! It’s a mix of 25% Red Giant mustard, 25% Tendergreen mustard, 25% Mizuna mustard, 15% Ruby Streaks mustard, and 15% Spicy Green mustard. These are colorful and meant for early harvesting (when 2-4 inches tall!) so you can spice up a soup or salad in no time. Great for indoor container growing, baby mustards are one of the most nutrient-dense foods. Order these baby mustards here.
Kale, Green (Mix)
Kale is such a Texas garden boss in the fall and winter I had to recommend a fun seed mix! While you can buy a specific variety at the store, this mix will keep your garden filled and fun (and delicious!) all season. Order this mixed kale here.
Kale, Purple
Redbor kale has beautiful, tasty ruffled leaves. This variety is extremely cold tolerant, even through hard freezes. And it’s color and sweetness improves with the cold! Order this purple kale here.
Lettuce, Green Leaf
Buttercrunch is an essential variety to let grow large for multiple harvests of big, round leaves that are perfect for wraps! It has a smooth texture and flavor. Order buttercrunch lettuce here.
Lettuce, Mix
Want a mix in your garden to keep things colorful and enjoy a variety of tastes and textures in your winter salads? If you only buy one package of lettuce, I recommend it be a mix like this one; the Farmer’s Market Blend is a perfect blend of six leaf lettuce varieties with a beautiful range of leaf shapes, textures, and colors with mild flavor. Begin harvesting leaves in just 3 weeks! Includes: 'Tango' 15%, 'Royal Oak Leaf' 15%, 'Red Salad Bowl' 32%, 'Black Seeded Simpson' 15%, 'Grand Rapids TBR' 15%, 'Red Sails' 8%. Order this lettuce mix here.
Lettuce, Red Leaf
Red Sails is ready to harvest after just 2 or 3 weeks and grows to a full head in just over 6 weeks. Very heat tolerant, the soft buttery leaves will grow well in warm weather without getting bitter. Contains more vitamins A and C than grocery-store lettuce! Order this red lettuce here.
Lettuce, Romaine
Parris Island Cos. Romaine grows about 10”-12” at maturity, but can also be harvested as a baby green. It’s illness resistant and when left to grow to mature size is ideal for lettuce wraps! Order this romaine lettuce here.
Spinach
Matador is a dark green, smooth-leafed spinach with sweet flavor. If you haven’t eaten homegrown spinach before you have no idea what you are missing! Eaten raw or cooked, this variety’s great germination and easy-to-clean leaves will have you hooked. Order this spinach here.
Slower-to-maturity plants for transplanting (October-February) or seed-sowing (August-November):
Broccoli
Harvest the Di Cicco main head when it is 3” in diameter and this variety will produce many side shoots! And remember, as a relative of collard greens, you can cook it’s leaves just like them for added use and nutrition. Order this broccoli here.
Brussels Sprouts
Long Island Improved brussels take awhile to mature and are hardy down to 10 degrees! And the cold improves flavor. Order this brussels sprout variety here.
Cauliflower
Snowball cauliflower provides 6" snow-white heads in just 70 to 80 days. Mature heads hold well in the garden, so they don't all have to be picked at once. Order this cauliflower here.
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