Thoughts & Suggestions for a Fall/Winter Garden

David Trammel's picture

Its that time of year to consider what to plant for the Fall and over into the Winter.

These pots are just unhappy, wanting to be filled with Life.

I have seed pods still from this garden of Arugala, Romaine Lettuce, Black Seeded Lettuce and Broad Leaf Spinach that I think I'm going to plant. I've also go a big envelope of seeds from this thread

http://teresamcguffey.com/greenwizards.org/?q=node/35118

As well as a baggie of Malibar or New Zealand Spinach from someone here (thank you but I can't find the message where we talked, lol! Senior moment!!!)

I might replant a couple of containers with onion seeds, but I have a couple of plants in the ground I'm not digging up and going to allow to over Winter and then seed in the Spring.

That brings up the point that I am not just talking just plants in the ground. I also have an option of doing containers and bringing them inside to live under the grow lamps.

What suggestions would everyone like to see me try?

Sweet Tatorman's picture

Don't waste your effort with Malabar Spinach as a Fall planting. It is a hot weather plant.

David Trammel's picture

I would like to see how Malabar Spinach does indoors, so I'll probably plant seeds in one container just to see how it sprouts and whether the cooler indoor temp and how the growlights effect it. I am going to cut back the two tresles of cherry tomatos to one next year. The miniRomas and the pearYellows seem to fruit very well, enough that one plant of each should be sufficent. I'm going to try the Malabar outdoors on the other tresle.

I think I'm also going to seed a bunch of plants in small pots just so I can take pictures of the germinations and starter plants for the Plant Book. I am gioing to cut back the duration of the grow lamps being on. I had them at about 10-12 hours a day and i think that contributed to the lettuce bolting even though the temperature was cool.

Sweet Tatorman's picture

An observation of Malabar Spinach that may be of interest. The seeds seem to be programmed to have wide variablility in time or conditions for germination. Last Fall I tilled under the old vines with their associated seeds. Fairly early in the Spring some germinated seedlings emerged with continued emergence of additional seedlings thoughout the Spring and Summer all the way to present. The takeaway of this is that some of the container starts may not emerge for months even though others are fairly prompt.

If you have malabar spinach seeds, just place them in the ground about an inch or two deep wherever you want them to come up next year. They will overwinter outside and oblige when the soil gets warm enough for them. The lettuces inside under grow-lights should keep you in greens for a good while. You can give them 'haircuts' so they keep growing mixed salad for you. I hear sweet potato leaves are edible. I would like to know if they grow inside. Always looking for a way to have fresh greens in winter.

David Trammel's picture

I went out over the weekend to clean out the 2 gallon containers, in preparation for some Fall plantings and discovered some foundlings had sprouted. Guess some of the Spring plants, which I let go to seed after they bolted, dropped a few seeds.

I have spinach

Onions, which are probably from a few of the transplanted ones that did not sprout, now sprouting

and these are either Romaine lettuce or Arugala

The larger plant, center lower got munched on yesterday and its very bare. Hopefully with good soil and some water it will grow back.

I do have this plant, which looks alot like spinach but is probably a weed. Unless I can confirm what it is, I'll pull it up in a week or two, since I don't want to eat something that is poisonous my mistake.

I dug out the seeds I ordered for the Fall as well as some others I have in the seed box, and will be setting up some small starter trays. I use the suggestion Tatorman had, and put them all into the freezer for a week before I plant them.

The unidentified plant at the bottom looks a lot like arugula. I don't know if you had any of that in your previous plantings, but it goes to seed and reseeds itself.

David Trammel's picture

Yes, I had Spinach, Romaine lettuce and Arugala in those containers so it makes sense. It looks alot like spinach but has a darker tone at the left stems. One of the other plants is developing the same tone, so its probably arugala as well.