It’s finally starting to feel a little more like fall.
The afternoons are still warm, but the temperatures are coming down, and after the summer we’ve had, that’s welcome news. One of the first questions I hear when the weather starts to cool is, “What can I plant now?”
The answer is: quite a bit.
If you have a vegetable garden, fall is one of the best times of year to grow many of the vegetables that don’t appreciate our East Texas summers.
Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, radishes, turnips, carrots and beets are all possibilities for the fall garden. Some are easier to grow from transplants, while others can be planted directly from seed.
But don’t get too hung up on the calendar. Soil moisture and weather conditions are important, especially this year. If your soil is still dry, get it prepared and take advantage of the next good opportunity to plant when you have adequate moisture.
And don’t forget about the landscape
Fall is an excellent time to plant many trees, shrubs, perennials and native plants. Cooler temperatures allow new plants to concentrate more on developing roots before we get back into another East Texas summer.
That’s one reason I always encourage folks to look at plants that are native or well adapted to our area. A plant that has already proven it can handle East Texas heat, humidity and occasional drought is usually a better bet than something that simply looked good at the garden center.
If you missed the Angelina County Master Gardeners’ plant sale, don’t worry. The fall planting season is just getting started.
And for those of us who manage wildlife property, fall also means food-plot season.
Depending on your goals, location and soil conditions, cool-season food plots can include wheat, oats, rye, clovers, winter peas, turnips and other cool-season forage crops. But once again, don’t plant simply because the calendar says it’s time. A good seedbed and adequate soil moisture are far more important than getting a seed in the ground on a particular day.
The same principle applies whether you’re planting a garden, a flower bed or a wildlife food plot.
Don’t plant just to plant. Plant because the conditions are right.
After a long, hot summer, cooler weather gives us an opportunity to put something back in the ground instead of just trying to keep things alive.
So, what can you plant now?
Quite a bit.
Take a look at your garden. Walk around your landscape. Think about your wildlife areas. Decide what you want to grow, check your soil and moisture conditions, and then take advantage of the fall growing season.
After the summer we’ve had, it’s nice to finally be able to think about what we’re going to plant instead of what we’re trying to save.
Cary Sims is the County Extension Agent for agriculture and natural resources for Angelina County. His email address is cw-sims@tamu.edu
By Cary Sims, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Angelina County
