We had our first day of cool weather yesterday. The skies filled with gorgeous clouds and a light rain fell, freshening up our dry landscape. In Southern Oregon our summers are hot and dry, great for seed production. But sometimes the months without rain leave us unprepared for fall. The first rain in September is always a reminder that the season is about to change and it is time to focus some attention on shifting our gardens to prepare for fall and winter.

So today we want to share a few things we start to think about as the Fall Equinox approaches. 

Plant out any last seedlings that you have ready for your fall and winter garden. Depending on where you live your last planting dates will be different from ours. If you want to find out your last planting date, you will need to find out what growing zone you are in. Your growing zone tells you your first and last frost dates which are important indicators for when to plant different crops. 

Pull in the last of the summer crops like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Sometimes you just have to decide it is time to stop picking these crops. Maybe you need the bed space for garlic or perhaps you want to get your cover crop in before it gets too cold. Early September is always a great time for canning and food preservation, which allows you to continue to enjoy delightful summer crops into the winter time. This weekend I will be making pepper jam with Jimmy Nardello peppers and last weekend we made tomato sauce from a great crop of San Marzano tomatoes. We will have San Marzano seed available in the 2025 catalog so stay tuned

Prep your garden space for fall allium crops. September is a great time to ready the beds you want to  plant garlic. You can add some of your fertility amendments and let them settle in before your October planting dates. Check out this article about garlic fertility for more information on how we prep garlic beds.  It is really helpful to have your garlic space prepared well in advance of planting. This will make it easy for you to plant what will likely be your last crop of the fall. 

Harvest any seeds that you have been letting go in your garden for collection. This is especially important for us as we are a seed company. It is important to harvest seed crops before it rains too much and before killing frosts come. We are currently in the process of drying and cleaning our 2024 seed crops.

 Plant cover crop! This is one of my favorite garden tasks. The optimal time to plant cover crop is by late September, this should allow the seedlings to grow and get established before the winter. Although, your cover crop planting time might be different than ours, so check out information for your specific growing zone.

Start watching the ten day forecast for frost. We have noticed as the climate in Oregon shifts slightly that our first and last frost dates can be abrupt. By paying attention to the forecast you can ensure that you have time to set up your season extenders like row cover and harvest crops like winter squash before it freezes. 

Finally, it is time to start cleaning the garden up. Clean and put away all of your pots and seedling trays. Coil hoses and remove irrigation that is no longer needed. Sometimes the garden gets chaotic in summer as hopefully you are so busy enjoying the fruits of your labor. I always find it is much easier to clean up before it gets rainy and cold. Leaving plastics, hoses and garden tools out in the winter weather degrades them much faster. So do your tools a favor and put them back in the shed. 

Happy Gardening!