How to Plant a Back to School Garden

Have you ever tried summer vegetable planting for a fall harvest? Back to school time is just the time to try this.

It really seems counter intuitive to go out into the summer heat and plant spring, cool season vegetables. But it works! Give it a try. Here’s how.

How to Know What to Grow?

The trick to planting a back to school vegetable garden is two-fold. You need to know the date of your first frost and you need to know how long vegetables take to mature.

Here’s what you need:
1. your web browser;
2. a calendar;
3. a pen (or your keyboard, if you are using a digital calendar).

4 Step Frost Date Calculation

Here’s how you calculate what your frost date means:

1. Look up your first frost date with the Victory Seed Company state locator.
2. Mark the first frost date on your calendar (that’s the fall date they give in the chart).
3. Count back 30 days from your first frost date. Write 30 days in this spot.
4. Count back 60 days from your first frost date. Write 60 days in this spot.

Now you’re going to learn what you can plant based on these dates.

30 Day Crops (and less)

Many spring vegetables are early to mature, taking around 30 days. These are the same vegetables you want to plant in your back to school garden, at least 30 days before your first fall frost. There is some variation between varieties of the same vegetable. You can get that information on seed packets, or in the catalog you order from.

• Radishes take 22-30 days to mature, depending on variety. Shop online from Botanical Interests (just search for radishes) or Generic Seeds.
• Greens and mustards - a few of the wild varieties will produce a crop within 30 days. If you are short of time, plant in a container and move them inside before frost hits, or grow greens which can be eaten at the baby stage. Look for arugula, roquette, winter green mixes, salad mixes, and wild kales.

Territorial Seed Company has a fall and winter seed page.

50-60 Day Crops

With 50-60 days before your average fall frost you can grow a wide variety of greens. Some of the root vegetables typically planted in spring will also work in your back to school garden.

• Lettuce comes in a wide variety of styles. Most mature in 55 to 60 days. Plant the seeds thickly and you can thin out and eat the yummy extras earlier.
• Kales, Chards and Greens – most mature in 50 to 65 days. Look for spinach, oriental greens, such as pak choi and Chinese cabbage, mustards, corn salad, collards, and many varieties of kale. I have found cabbage white caterpillars to be more problematic in the fall than in the spring, so if they are a problem in your area avoid kale and collards.
• Root crops, including carrots, beets, and turnips take 50-75 days to mature. Carrot tops and beet tops can be eaten, as well as the roots, making them doubly good. I find carrot tops to be a bit of an acquired taste, but they work well in stews and soup where they add a tart flavor.
• Onions can be planted from seed during August. Bunching onions and scallions mature in 50-60 days and are great for soups and salads. Larger onions are planted for overwintering in your garden – you harvest them the following summer.

Whether you want a new outdoor project for your kids, or something to do by yourself when school heads back, a back to school garden could be just the thing.

Do you need more help with planting for a fall harvest? Check out Second Harvest – Organic Gardening.

Good places to look for seeds include local garden centers, Seeds of Change Certified Organic, Territorial fall and winter seed page, Botanical Interests, Generic Seeds, and Seed Savers Exchange.

Related posts:

1. When to Plant Vegetable Seeds
2. Life is Amazing!
3. Vegetables to plant in July