In Southern California, fall is the best time to plant berries for spring harvest and to stock your freezer with delectable greens, brassicas, peas, and root crops for the entire winter. Here are 12 things to plant right now:
Beets As their roots mature, you can harvest their tart green tops (sparingly) to add flavor to soups, stews, and salads.
berries For a spring harvest that will get better every year, plant strawberries, raspberries, and other vining berries in loose, well-composted soil. Advice: Blueberries need large containers with acidic potting soil that is at least 24 inches deep. To maintain the acidity blueberries require, water is mixed with 2 gallons of white vinegar every two months.
Bok choy Because it doesn’t need to form a head, bok choy grows more quickly and easily than cabbage and is also sweeter. For the best harvest throughout the winter, trim the outer leaves when they reach 6 to 10 inches.
Broccoli
Celery from a garden is bushy, flavorful, and simple to harvest—just trim the outer stalks and leaves as needed. A six-pack of seedlings planted in composted soil should provide enough celery for wintertime juicing, snacking, and cooking.
Calendula, nasturtium, viola, and young chrysanthemum leaves make for delicious salad garnishes. Flowering cabbage adds gorgeous color to the fall garden. Plant sweet pea seeds now for an abundance of fragrant spring bouquets, even though they are not edible.
Onions and garlic k. a. When the green tops are 6-8 inches tall, you can trim the green onions and watch them regrow. Green onions are ready in 70 days. Advertisement.
Parsley, chives, and tarragon are three herbs that do best in cooler climates and are best planted as seedlings. Pro tip: Plant dill, fennel, and cilantro seeds directly in the ground as they grow readily from seed. Cilantro seeds should not be transplanted.
Kale To extend harvests, hose off aphids as soon as they appear and plant over a period of several weeks.
Romaine, butterhead, red leaf, radicchio, and frisée lettuce are the basis of good salads and, when combined with a good oil and vinegar, can be eaten on their own. To stagger harvests, pick several varieties and plant them from seeds or transplants.
Peas Peas are simple to grow and delicious right out of the garden, whether they are sugar snap peas with edible pods or require shelling. Pro tip: Plant seeds for multiple harvests over a period of weeks, and give them support so they can climb.
Potatoes Use a large fabric container, such as a GeoPot or Smart Pot, to plant seed potatoes. Roll the sides down to about 5 inches so that 3 inches of potting soil can be used to cover the potatoes. You’ll roll up the sides as the potatoes grow inside and add soil as leaves emerge, covering all but a few. Another choice is to plant organic, store-bought potato chunks with two or three eyes on each.
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Late Summer Planting of Brassica Vegetables
CabbageFor areas along the south coast, plant cabbage in August. In the interior valley areas, plant cabbage in July.
CeleriacCeleriac (or celery root) is one of the brassica vegetables. Whether you reside in a region along the south coast or a region within the interior valleys, plant it in July and August.
Areas along the southern coast of California should plant Chinese cabbage in August and September. Chinese cabbage should be planted in the valley’s interior communities in August.
Residents of southern California coastal regions should plant cauliflower in mid- to late-July, or in August or September.
Cauliflower can be planted in July or August by residents of the interior valley areas.
KalePlant kale in August and September in areas along the southern California coast. If you live in an area that is in the interior valleys, you should plant kale in August and September.
KohlrabiWhile we doubt many home gardeners regularly plant kohlrabi in their vegetable plots, if you do or if you’d like to, plant it in areas near the southern coast in August or September. If you live in the interior valley area, plant it in September.
Even though mustard greens are traditionally grown in the South, Californians can still grow them in their backyard vegetable gardens. It is as versatile a side dish as spinach, Swiss chard, or kale and is loaded with nutrients. If you have the space, we urge you to grow a variety of nutrient-rich vegetables in your garden. If you reside in a southern coastal area, plant it in August or September. If you reside in an interior valley, plant it in September.
RadishesGardeners can grow radishes year-round in certain regions of the southern California coastline. If you reside in a region that is located in the interior valleys, September is the best time to plant them. You can direct sow radish seeds. That means you can plant them in the ground. Don’t worry about evenly distributing the seeds; once the seedlings emerge, you will need to thin them.
TurnipsWe never considered turnips to be anything other than root vegetables, but they actually belong to the brassica, or cruciferous family. And they are more versatile than you think. Turnips can be mashed, cooked in rice, roasted, or added to soup.
Plant turnips in our southern coastal regions in August or September. For a fall harvest, turnips should be planted in the interior valleys in August.
Late Summer Annual and Biennial Herbs
Plant basil, cilantro, dill, and parsley in July and August if you want to continue getting fresh herbs into the fall. Dill can be planted at that time as well, but keep in mind that dill seeds disperse quickly in the wind. Consider cultivating the dill in a container or some other location far from other plants and herbs if you don’t want it to spread out of control.
September
A new crop of carrots can be started in September. Additionally, now is a good time to plant celery and to start indoor beet, bean, cauliflower, or cucumber seeds that you can transplant outdoors once the weather begins to cool down.