Get Those Fall Plants In! - It's Time for Your Late Season Garden

Being on the road kept me from getting any seeds sprouted in the spring so I’ve been itching to start seeds now that we’re putting down our own roots again. It just happens to be a good time to get some late season seeds started too! So I did it and want to share what I’ve been up to and what kind of things you can get started right now for your own garden.
I always overdo it. But I felt like I was pretty good this time at getting some variety with not too many plants. I started pulling out my seeds that the rats in the garage did not get to! Thank goodness I was smart enough to put them in a tightly sealed plastic box.
Here are my seeds:

Oh wait … these too …

I’ve collected a lot of seeds over the years. I tried to start a farm 2 springs ago now and ran into landlord issues so the few thousand herb starts became compost in my own garden. Of course I planted as many as I could in my own yard too!

To get back to this fall planting, you can start lots of greens and some brassicas and carrots, beets, and radishes. In October I’ll be starting some other plants to overwinter so keep a look out for that. Maybe this will all be a reminder for when to start your own. I’m a bit late in my area, the Colorado Front Range. My USDA zone is 5b or something like that so we’ll see when the first frost comes and how long I can keep these new plants going.

Here’s a diagram of what I planted:

Okay yeah I know. I overdid it again. But there were so many good ones to choose from!

For veggies I started cabbage, Basque lettuce*, arugula, pac choi, mixed lettuce, broccoli, beans, chives, kale, more lettuce?, rainbow chard, and spinach. When I look at this after the fact it makes me laugh because I rarely eat lettuce. I’m more of a stir fry than a salad kind of girl. Either way it’s pretty in the garden. All of these are great things to get started for a late season grow. Radish, beets, and carrots? I don’t bother to plant them indoors. I’ve never had one make it through a transplant. Well maybe radish … radish grow like weeds, they’re always springing up in odd places in my yard. Maybe I have a gnome.

*(My husband is Basque and we inherited a bunch of plants strains from the Basque Country.)

2 days after this planting I already had my first sprouts. If you’ve never started seedlings the fall is a good time to test it out. It’s getting a little cooler and so they don’t dry up as quickly. But number one rule is to keep them wet. I don’t put heat under them but they are in my greenhouse with plastic covers over them. Keeping them moist is what matters most. I use a spray bottle on seedlings which sometimes takes forever if you can get a light mister. Mine’s still deep in the garage.

4 days after this planting the pac choi and the kale have begun to wake up too!

Here’s me planting:

Are you getting antsy now for the craziness on the bottom of that diagram page? This is where I really go crazy, medicinal herbs. When it comes to medicinal herbs I try to use them, and I sometimes make tinctures but I’m ashamed to say that I rarely feel the need to use them. When it comes to herbs, I just want to grow every different one I possibly can. I love to meet and learn the personality of each and every plant. So I keep collecting more seeds and starting new plants. I’ve found that starting them in the fall and growing them in the greenhouse over winter means that I get some really strong transplants for spring. And then they can go into my garden that still has plenty of holes.

So I planted…
Nasturtium, Foxglove, Dill, Yellow Nasturtium,
True Hyssop, Lovage, Lunaria, Lobelia,
Sage, Chinese Lantern, Salvia, Hibiscus,
Yarrow, Tobacco, Foxtail Barley, Motherwort,
Mugwort, Boneset, Bugleweed, Chamomile,
Lavender, Rue, Yucca, Aloe Tree,
Black Eyed Susan, Arnica, Stevia, Lemon Grass,
St. John’s Wort, Globemallow, Purple Echinacea, Sensitive plant

A lot of stinking plants. No actually a lot of them smell really good ( :

After 4 days the chamomile and yarrow have already begun to sprout!

Here’s some cool Yucca seeds:

After all that I had to get to one of my favorite plants that got a bit destroyed by my year long absence. He survived and I’m hoping will THRIVE. I’d like to introduce you to my San Pedro cactus.

He looks awful ):

My 6 foot tall beauty got over watered and as you can see came tumbling down. When I saw just a stump I tried not to freak. Instead I ran to the compost pile where the tenants told me they threw the remains and I found as much as I could. And this lovely strong willed thing had already callused and begun to sprout new growth! I brought some parts inside and am hoping their new roots take hold. With another piece I started this new pot which I’m pretty excited to watch become whatever it decides.

I hope you can make the time (or already have) to bring some new life into your life just as summer is ending. Starting seeds in fall reminds me that even though summer is ending, There is still life, vitality, and amazing newness to come with the coming months. We still have time to get things done. Start whatever it is you’ve been meaning to do. For me it was to get back to gardening and my conversations with these lovely little lives.

Until next time …
Jay Jay