After a nice long summer, it’s time to prepare the garden for shorter days and cooler temperatures. Now gardeners can decide whether to put the garden to bed, or perhaps try growing some crops that perform well from the fall into the spring. You can choose  any number of combinations – from mulching and sowing cover crops to overwintering kale and planting garlic, there are a multitude of options for fall gardening in the Pacific Northwest.

Putting the Garden to Bed

The soil provides so much for us during the height of the growing season, let’s live in relations of reciprocity. We can give back to the garden by feeding the soil organisms in two ways during the fall season; mulching and sowing cover crops.

Mulches

Applying mulch to the garden beds helps protect the soil from the compacting and depleting effects of our rainy winters and feeds the soil organisms that are essential to the health of our plants. Which kinds of organic matter make good mulches?

• Leaves: perhaps the most accessible and nutritious mulch. Shredding them before applying them is optional. 
• Straw: be sure to buy straw that is labeled organic or has not been sprayed with chemical pesticides, otherwise it can harm your plants.
• Garden scraps: use hand pruners or loppers to chop up warm season crops and lay them over the garden beds. Avoid using any diseased plant material. Leave sunflower and corn stalks intact if you can for important pollinator habitat. 
• Burlap: is a great back up if you don’t have access to other materials, or it can be used to hold other mulches in place. Remove any plastic lining before use. 

Cover Crops

Sowing a cover crop protects the soil and adds life to it throughout the year. Cover crops are especially useful in the fall when veggie production tapers off. Which ones can PNW gardeners sow in September and October?

• Crimson clover: sow sooner than later for best results, makes a lovely flower that is some of the first bee food in spring. 
• Winter wheat: can be planted until mid October, should be harvested by May before the grass becomes fibrous and hard to handle.
• Field peas: a useful nitrogen fixer that works well mixed with other cover crop seed.
• Fava beans: a hearty legume that can be planted into late October, sow thickly as the fava’s single stalk doesn’t cover much bare ground. 

Wondering what you’ll do with the cover crops come spring? This article on cover crops in spring will give you a few ideas to consider.

Fall Planting for Spring Harvest

The growth patterns of most annual veggies slow down drastically, or stop completely, by the middle of October, so making sure that they will be mostly mature before then can help them make it through to early spring when the days lengthen again. So which crops can be planted or sown in September and October?

• Transplant starts of hardy brassicas like kale, collards, sprouting broccoli and cabbages, alliums such as onions or leeks, and leafy greens like spinach and chard. Mulch around these veggies to keep them insulated. 
• Sow seed of garlic, carrots, parsnip, beets, fava beans.

Keep an eye on the forecast and cover your cool season veggies when there is a chance of frost. Floating row cover or a plastic cloche are quickly applicable tools. Refer to Tilth Alliance’s Maritime Northwest Garden Guide for more information on what can be planted in the fall season.