Fall planting for spring gives you a head start on next year's garden. Garlic tops the list of what to grow. Plant it in October or November for a summer harvest. Cover crops come next. They build your soil while you wait for spring.
When you plant garlic fall harvest summer comes around faster. The cloves need winter's cold to form proper bulbs. This cold period triggers bulb division. Without it, you get single round cloves instead of full heads with many sections.
I tested spring versus fall garlic planting three years in a row. Fall-planted garlic made heads twice the size of spring-planted ones. The roots get going before soil freezes. They start growing the moment spring arrives. Spring-planted garlic plays catch-up all season and never wins.
When I first grew garlic, I planted in spring like most new gardeners do. My bulbs came out tiny. A neighbor told me the secret. Fall planting gives garlic what it needs. That advice changed how I garden every autumn now.
Plant your garlic cloves 2 inches deep with the pointed end up. Space them 4-6 inches apart in your rows. Cover with soil and add 4 inches of straw mulch. This protects them through winter's coldest nights and keeps weeds down too.
Garlic
- Planting time: October through November before your ground freezes. Aim for 4-6 weeks before hard frost.
- How to plant: Set cloves 2 inches deep with points up. Space 4-6 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.
- Winter care: Mulch with 4 inches of straw after ground freezes. Pull mulch back when spring warms up.
Cover Crops
- Best options: Winter rye grows fastest in cold. Crimson clover adds nitrogen. Field peas fix soil nutrition.
- Seeding rate: Toss 2-3 pounds per 100 square feet. Rake in light or tamp down your seeds after sowing.
- Spring prep: Till or cut down 2-3 weeks before you want to plant. This gives time to break down.
Onions and Bulb Sets
- Planting time: Set onion sets and small bulb onions in fall for earlier spring harvest than spring planting.
- Spacing needs: Plant 1 inch deep and 4 inches apart. They'll start growing as soon as soil warms up.
- Variety choice: Look for short-day or mid-day types that can handle cold winters in your zone.
Cover crops do more than just hold your soil in place. Winter rye sends roots 3 feet deep into the ground. These roots break up hard layers. They pull nutrients from below where your veggies can't reach. When you till them under, all that organic matter feeds your spring crops.
I started planting cover crops five years ago. My soil went from hard clay to loose loam that's easy to dig. Earthworm counts went up three times. You can see the change when you dig. The soil falls apart instead of clumping into bricks.
Some overwintering vegetables live through winter to give you early spring food. Spinach planted in September lives under mulch until March. Kale handles temps down to 10°F (-12°C) without cover. These plants go quiet when it gets cold. They wake up when days get longer.
Your fall planting gives next year's garden a running start. Garlic grows strong from roots it grew last fall. Cover crops make better soil structure. Overwintering greens give you the earliest spring salads. The work you do now pays off for months to come.
Read the full article: Fall Vegetable Garden: Best Crops to Plant
