If you are one of the tens of millions of people that lives in the southern regions of North America, or any continent with mild autumn weather, then you do not have to end your summer by packing up all your gardening supplies. You can continue to use your land to grow vegetables that you can enjoy well into the winter. Keep reading into the following paragraphs for more on finding seasonal success in harvesting autumn vegetables.
Cool season vegetables are what you really want to focus on in autumn. These are plants that do not need as much light as summer varieties and can even withstand a light frost or two. Beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach and carrots are all popular salad ingredients you can plant and harvest in autumn. You can also possibly grow foods like celery, chard, collards, garlic, kale, leeks, mustard greens, parsley, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas and turnips. If you want to torture your children with nightmares of upcoming dinners, make them help you plant Brussels sprouts and onions.
Slugs and snails are going to be far less of a problem, as they are preparing for or may already be hibernating. You are also going to deal less with insects. Bird populations may not actually be on the decline, as many species like to head south for the winter. Since you are likely south, you need to know that your bird population will actually shift in makeup, but could go up or down in size.
Your autumn growing window might not be long enough for a full plant growth and harvest cycle. Given the cooler weather and longer nights, it makes sense to plant your seeds in pots under shelter, indoors or in a greenhouse and then switching the plants to ground once they have grown a little. Depending on the length of your autumn, you might even be able to harvest two or three yields in your second season.
Watering your autumn garden is going to be different than during the summer. You might think that with the lower heat, you could get away with watering less. In certain areas, this might be true. However, in some regions, the ground is hardening and less able to retain moisture, and the air is drier too. Talk to other local gardeners to get a feel for you how you should adapt your summer watering to your local autumn conditions.
If you want to make the most of your autumn garden, then plan it out meticulously in late spring or early summer. Know when summer plants will be coming out of the ground so you can have small plants or seedlings to immediately put in.
Not every vegetable you love or want on your dinner plate will grow well or at all in the fall season. However, there are more than enough that do actually thrive in this season that you can have a second season harvest after the summer yield. This means you can enjoy a fresh crop of delicious and nutritious vegetables your supermarket does not have when the days are getting long.