This year was a bit of a wash for gardening, as I had a baby on April, which is usually when I'm getting ready to plant everything for summer. So instead, this year I decided to focus on a Fall garden, which I haven't actually done before. We are in Zone 8b, and have fairly mild winters, so I think the cold hardy crops should do quite well here.
Because I am still quite busy caring for a baby and toddler, I decided to keep this garden minimal, rather than overwhelming myself with weeding and harvesting! Our main garden is 25 ft x 30 ft, but for this garden I am doing three 3ft x 6 ft beds, and the rest is covered with tarp for the time being.
For the beds I decided to do the double-dig method. In the past I have done no-till, but decided to try a new method, and I'm already thinking this is what I'll do for the rest of the garden for next year. It's a great way to aerate the soil and remove large rocks, which helps the plants establish a healthy root system and improve drainage.
The plants I am growing for fall are:
• green beans
• radishes
• cabbage
• lettuce
• spinach
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• carrots
• beets
• kale
• chard
It's a lot! I wanted to try growing a variety of crops to see which ones do best over winter.
I have considered adding an additional plot for growing more cabbage for sauerkraut - we'll see if I get around to it!
The only other crop I plan to plant this fall is the garlic, which I plant every year in October. Stay tuned for another post about that!