Winter Is Coming: Putting The Fall Garden to Bed

Putting The Fall Garden To Bed

Fall has arrived quickly on the tail of summer this year.  My garden is wild and unruly, as it likely is for many of you.  However, it has slowed its progression and thus signals the time to start putting the garden to bed for me here in South Central PA.  I am in zone 6B/6A, with roughly 2 to 3 weeks before my first frost. While it can be sad to tear out the summer garden, the turning of the season makes way to let the fall garden finish out its journey before taking a rest for the winter.

As I walked through the garden, noting the tomatoes had not turned that should have over a week past and the peppers had completely halted their change as well, I knew the time for putting the garden to bed was upon me.  The nights had grown cold about a week prior to the first day of Fall and set the transition of the garden in motion.

Harvest it Now

Typically, tomatoes should be left to ripen on the vine as long as possible before the first frost.  However, with a multi-day rain in the forecast from a tropical storm, it can be a wise decision to pick all of the tomatoes to avoid losing them to cracking, which can occur during consistent or heavy rain.  The green tomatoes will turn slowly in the house, but in the meantime, I will process the ones that are ready.  Peppers will also turn in the house, so I harvested them as well.  I will cut up peppers and put in the dehydrator for pepper flakes. I will also likely freeze peppers along with the tomatoes.

Leave it in the Ground 

You can leave beans right up until the first frost.  Use them fresh still for cooking and let the shelling beans dry out for storage.  The carrots were succession sewn and are being picked as they are ready.  Zucchini and cucumbers have already passed for me.  I did not have a good plan in place for sewing multiple rounds.  My first time growing pumpkins has been successful and they will be left as long as they can be.  Melons did not do well for me again, but I will continue to try in the future seasons. 

Planting the Fall Garden

My fall garden was sewn very late and likely will not produce much.  But if you don’t try you will never grow anything at all.  I am very proud of the single lettuce plant that is growing by itself while new bean plants struggle further down the bed.  A fall garden usually includes root veggies and frost-hardy brassicas such as kale, broccoli, and spinach.  

Some choose to skip the fall garden.  However, you may enjoy growing without the pest pressure that the summer garden is known for.  It is a more relaxed time in the garden as the growing season winds down.

Reflecting on The Garden

As you began the garden cleanup, this is a great time to reflect on what worked in your garden and what you will improve upon.  Make a list of the plants you will not grow again.  Write why you won’t grow them again.  Keeping a specific accounting will help you avoid plants with negative traits.   

Sometimes a variety will not do well in your zone, perhaps due to disease or the weather.  Other times, you may grow a variety you simply do not like the taste of.  The things that did not work out this season make room for new varieties for the next.  

Writing a list of what will be in the garden for the next year is one of my favorite things.  It’s an opportunity to try something new.  

It is easy to get overwhelmed during the garden season when the harvest is coming in all at once, the pests have taken permanent residence, and the weeds have crept in. The garden is imperfect and ever changing, which lends to its beauty.  No garden season is ever the same as the previous year.