Believe it or not, fall is actually a better time of the year to plant a garden than in the springtime.  Why?  Because the weather, climate and time available is perfect for gardening.  The pleasant early fall weather is so much better than the wet, cold springtime which is probably the worst time of the year to start a garden.   But traditionally that's when farmers get out their plows and single row gardeners get out their rototillers.

NOT ENOUGH TIME

Let's first consider the time available.  In the springtime there is so much to do after a winter season.  The yard needs cleaning up, the lawn needs attention, all of the summer things put in storage need cleaning and setting up - and if you are still an old fashioned, single row gardener - the rototiller, that dreaded machine, needs uncovering and checking out, even a tune up and hopefully you remembered to empty the fuel tank before winter and maybe if all goes well, it might even start up and the tires won't be flat.  That's also when you realize you didn't put things away very well.  The garden tools are all rusty, some broken and many scattered all over the garage and tool shed - even some left in the garden.  Maybe the hose froze and split and you won't find that out until you try to use it the first time.

KIDS AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

The kids are busy with outdoor sports and activities after being cooped up inside all winter.  Parents find out quickly that those activities take a lot more back and forth time, watching from the sidelines in the cold chilly spring, increased laundry time, etc., etc.

SLOWER PACE AT THE END OF SUMMER

Compare that with the end of summer.  Activities are winding down, your schedule has slowed somewhat and even the weather has had an effect on the pace and intensity of your activities.  You find yourself with more leisure time and a sense of not being as rushed in all of your activities.

TOO MUCH ENTHUSIASM IN SPRING

Tie all that in with your attitude about gardening.  In the spring, you have been pouring over the seed catalogs so long you can't wait to get outside and start planting.  That enthusiasm will lead you down the path of planting too much.  It happens every year.  Next year is going to be different you swear - but it never is.  With traditional gardening, that mistake of planting too much, as well as all at once, repeats itself every year on an unbroken cycle.

CALM, COOL AND COLLECTED GARDENER

But let's consider your situation in late summer.  You've had a garden all spring and summer and regardless of how it turned out, you're much more reserved, calm, cool and collected about the garden.  You don't have that fire in the belly desire to plant seeds and "till the soil."  You already have a garden and despite how it turned out, it has more or less satisfied your desire to cultivate Mother Earth.  In addition, you sort of feel you've come to the end, there's not much more to do.  You've either given up your single row garden again because of all the weeds - or you've settled back just harvesting what's left.  If you are a SFG, you'll be thinking how easy and neat that was and wish you could just plant a little more and continue the garden a little longer.

SUMMER GREEN

In either case there is green all around you from the summer growth so there is not that feeling or necessity to change things as there is in the spring and there is also not that traditional practice of having to plant a garden as soon as winter closes and spring arrives.

FALL WEATHER IS PERFECT

With that casual attitude, removal of the "have to do something syndrome", along with more time available, you'll find yourself actually enjoying the planning and preparation of a fall garden.  But what about the weather you ask?  Actually it's perfect for both the gardener AND the plants.  Think of the plants.  In the spring, it's  cold, rainy, windy, dark, all of the elements that keep a gardener indoors looking out the window and the seeds shivering in the still frozen soil. 

TIME TO SPROUT

 How long does it take for those seeds to sprout ?  Check the table of temperature versus seed sprouting time in the SFG Book on page 157.  At 40 degrees F, carrots take 50 days to sprout.  50 DAYS !  Wow that is almost 2 MONTHS, of course the soil warms gradually so they finally do sprout sooner but think of all the bad things that can happen to those seeds in that time period.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE

Now look at the time to sprout in the late summer when the soil temperature might be around 70 degrees.  Carrots take 6 days !  What a difference - the same is true of every other type of seed.  Beets - 40 days versus 6 days.  Onions: 30 days versus 4 days.  Peas: 40 days versus 7 days.  Spinach: 25 days versus 5 days.

A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE

Did you know all that?  Most gardeners don't.  That's why I put those two germination charts in the book.  It makes a huge difference in the success of a gardener if they know just a few facts.  So we can now see why late summer is so much better to plant seeds than spring.  The same will apply for transplants, both from a standpoint of sprouting and growing your own transplants like cabbage, parsley and lettuce as well as buying and planting nursery stock. 

STRONGER STARTS IN THE FALL

 Everything will start off faster, stronger and better in late summer than in the spring.  Fall gives us warmer temperatures, less wind, more light, while spring brings us a constant threat of frost, sleet or snow.  In the south we call those conditions unseasonable weather, sort of like in Southern California we always said, "it's not rain, it's liquid sunshine."  No one likes to admit to bad weather in his or her part of the country.

TROUBLES IN LATE SPRINGTIME

Then the weather gets hotter and the plants start maturing rapidly, most of the spring crop goes either to seed or gets wasted as they mature almost instantly in the hot early summer months.  You can't keep up with the harvest, especially if you over planted in an old-fashioned single row garden.

PLEASANT FALL WEATHER

A fall garden is exactly the opposite.  You prepare and plant your garden in the comfort of the warm weather, the seeds sprout quickly and as the weather cools down they mature slowly from very strong plants.  Fall is a more leisurely time with better weather and it is much more pleasant to be outside tending your fall garden.  Many of the crops can be carried right into the cold winter with just a little protection. Check out page 95 of the SFG book to see what to plant in the fall and when in your part of the country.

DO A TRIAL IN THE FALL

Even if you are expanding your SFG or perhaps just want to try out SFG on a small scale before you switch from your big single row garden, fall is also the absolutely best time to do it.  Build just a few 4' x 4' boxes and see how it goes.  It's much easier to start small, not many materials to buy, build or mix.  With the success you'll have with your fall garden, see chapter 16 of the SFG book on page 235 for end of the season activities, it'll be very easy to start up in the spring. And then gradually expand even more until you get just the right size.  Not so big you don't enjoy taking care of it, yet big enough to grow all the things you want in the quantities you will actually use.  Remember SFG is so different from single row gardening; we plant the amount we want to actually harvest - not the length of the row or amount of seeds in a packet. 

A NEW IDEA TO MANY

Controlled planting is what we call it.  Compare it to going to the auto-mat restaurant in New York City where you put in your coin and get one serving of something versus standing before a huge buffet table holding a gigantic plate and told to take all you want. Do you think you will take too much and there will be waste in the end ?  Either theirs or yours. With the auto-mat, you can always go get another portion of that same dish if you want it and with SFG you can always plant another square foot of the same crop either now or later to give a staggered harvest or even a different variety to give a varied choice of harvest.

TIRED OF WEEDS ?

Now I know by fall, single row gardeners are tired of gardening because it has all been Weeds, Weeds, Weeds.  But the Square Foot Gardener is thinking, this was so easy and so much fun I wish it would never end.

FALL IS BEST

So in summary, we have better conditions of all factors for both the gardener and the plants.  Both will be happier because they will be much more successful in the fall.  Now the scene gets even better as fall progresses and the weather cools down.  The plants had a vigorous healthy start and are of sturdy stock - yet as the light shortens and the temperatures cool - they are not in a rush to mature and go to seed.  This stretches out the harvest into a very usable compatible event.  There is no demanding pick it now or it will all go bad.  The harvest seems to patiently sit quietly and wait with no pressure on the gardener.  Even further down the road, since the fall crop is made up of cold hardy varieties, they will last long into the cold weather. 

HARVEST WHEN THE SNOW FLIES

Pull back the clear plastic cover, open the
deer netting and the harvest is ready just for you.

In addition, if you plant a SFG, you know it takes only 20% of the space and your 4' x 4' boxes are very easy to protect from adverse weather.  Even to the point of carrying the harvest well into winter.  You will be able to dig carrots and pick parsley even after the snow flies. If you are in a "not so cold" part of the country - you'll be able to harvest all winter long.

TRULY THE BEST

So from all stand points, a fall garden is truly best.  Best for the plant and harvest and certainly best for the gardener.  It makes gardening so much fun and rewarding.  Try it and see for yourself !

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