Extend the Abundance: Your Guide to Fall Gardening in Western North Carolina

Join the Transylvania County Master Gardeners at the Transylvania Farmers Market on August 2^nd and August 16^th to answer all your gardening questions. This whole month we’re focusing on getting ready for fall.

Yes, right now is the sweaty season and gardening with the heat and bugs may not be fun, but soon enough its going to cool off. Our region’s mild autumns and surprisingly long growing window make it an ideal time to extend your harvest, prepare for spring, and enjoy the beauty of cooler-weather plants. Forget winding down; fall can be prime time to keep your hands in the soil!

Here are some tips and tricks to make the most of your fall garden in the beautiful mountains of WNC:

1. Plan for Your Second Season: What to Plant Now

While it might feel like summer is just ending, late July and August are crucial for planning and planting your fall crops. Think of it as a second spring!

• Cool-Season Vegetables are Key: Focus on crops that thrive in cooler temperatures and can tolerate a light frost.
  • Leafy Greens: Spinach, lettuce, kale, collards, Swiss chard, arugula, and mustard greens are perfect. They mature relatively quickly and can often be harvested well into winter with some protection. Plant successive sowings every 2-3 weeks for a continuous supply.
  • Root Crops: Carrots, radishes, beets, and turnips can be direct-sown in late summer for a fall harvest. Ensure your soil is loose and free of obstructions for straight roots.
  • Brassicas: Broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts require a longer growing season, so starts (transplants) are often preferred for fall planting in August. Look for varieties with shorter maturity dates.
  • Peas: Both snow and snap peas can be planted in late summer for a delicious fall crop.
• Succession Planting: Don’t plant everything at once! Stagger your plantings of quick-maturing crops like lettuce and radishes every few weeks to ensure a continuous harvest rather than a glut.
• Know Your First Frost Date: While it varies throughout WNC (from higher elevations experiencing frosts in early October to valley floors often not until late October or early November), understanding your local average first frost date is critical. This helps you calculate backward to ensure crops mature before hard freezes.

2. Prepare Your Beds: Revitalize for Round Two

After a summer of production, your soil could use some help. Consider getting a soil test (we have the boxes and paperwork here in our office).

• Clear Out Spent Summer Crops: Remove any finished or diseased summer plants. Composting dead plant material can act as a reservoir for diseases in the garden, so it’s best to remove them.
• Weed Thoroughly: Stay on top of weeds before they go to seed and become a bigger problem next spring.
• Replenish Nutrients: Summer crops are heavy feeders. Top-dress your beds with a couple of inches of good quality compost. This replenishes organic matter, improves soil structure, and provides a slow release of nutrients for your fall plants. A balanced organic fertilizer can also be incorporated if your soil test indicates a need.
• Light Tilling (Optional): If your soil is compacted, a light tilling or broadforking can help aerate it, but try to only disturb the top few inches of soil so you can maintain soil structure. Tools like a stirrup hoe or collinear hoe can help keep your back healthy while minimizing soil disturbance.

3. Embrace the Benefits of Cooler Weather

Fall gardening offers distinct advantages over summer’s intensity:

• Fewer Pests: While your garden might currently seem to have every existing insect pest in the world right now, many common summer garden pests (like squash bugs and tomato hornworms) start to disappear as temperatures drop, making pest management less of a headache.
• Less Disease Pressure: Thanks to Transylvania County’s heat and (especially) humidity, many of your spring planted crops will likely have succumb to disease pressure at this point. Fall gardening is a change to get new crops in the ground that will have a chance to thrive as diseases abate with cooler weather and (hopefully) less humidity.
• Improved Flavor: For those of you with a more refined palate, you might notice that many cool-season vegetables, especially leafy greens and root crops, develop sweeter, more intense flavors after a light frost. This phenomenon is known as “sweetening” or “frost kiss.”
• More Pleasant Working Conditions: Gone are the dog days of summer! Enjoy gardening without the oppressive heat and humidity.

4. Extend the Season: Simple Protections for Lasting Harvests

Even with WNC’s mild fall, a little protection goes a long way.

• Row Covers: Lightweight floating row covers can protect crops from early frosts, extend the growing season, and even deter some late-season pests. They allow light and water to pass through.
• Cold Frames & Hoop Houses: For more serious winter harvesting, consider building or buying a cold frame (a bottomless box with a transparent lid) or a small hoop house. These create a microclimate that can keep greens growing well into winter.
• Mulch Heavily: A thick layer of straw or shredded leaves around your fall crops can insulate the soil, help maintain consistent moisture, and protect roots from freezing.

5. Don’t Forget Spring Prep & Perennials

Fall isn’t just about harvesting; it’s also about setting yourself up for success next year.

• Plant Garlic: Late September to November is the ideal time to plant garlic in WNC. Plant cloves pointed end up, about 2-3 inches deep, and mulch heavily.
• Plant Spring-Flowering Bulbs: Daffodils, tulips, crocuses, and hyacinths need a period of cold to flower. Plant them in fall before the ground freezes.
• Cover Crops (Green Manures): After harvesting summer crops, consider sowing a cover crop like winter rye, hairy vetch, or crimson clover. These protect the soil from erosion, suppress weeds, add organic matter, and fix nitrogen, improving your soil for next spring.
• Perennial Care: Divide overcrowded perennials, plant new ones, and cut back spent foliage as needed. A layer of mulch around them provides winter protection.

Fall gardening in Transylvania County might seem like a lot of hot sweaty work right now, but soon enough the garden will be cool and peaceful again. With a little planning and effort, you can enjoy fresh, homegrown produce long after the summer rush has faded, and set the stage for an even more vibrant garden next spring.