Yes, you can sow seeds in October and get great results from the right crops. Garlic, spinach, kale, lettuce, and hardy flowers all do well from a fall start. The cooler soil and shorter days suit these tough plants.
I plant garlic and spinach every October without fail. Last fall I tucked 40 garlic cloves into a raised bed and covered the soil with straw. By June I pulled fat bulbs from the ground. The spinach gave me fresh greens by April.
Fall seed sowing works because cool-season seeds want soil at 55°F to 65°F (13°C to 18°C) to sprout. October soil in most regions sits right in this sweet spot. Spring soil starts cold and warms slow, which can stall seeds for weeks.
These seeds also handle frost once they sprout. A young spinach plant shrugs off light frosts down to 20°F (-7°C). The plant slows growth in deep winter, then takes off fast in early spring weeks ahead of any spring sowing.
Garlic and Onions
- Crops: Garlic cloves and overwintering onion sets all go in the ground in October for next summer's big harvest.
- Why fall: Roots form in cool soil before winter, then bulbs swell fast in spring when warmth returns.
- Spacing: Plant cloves 4 to 6 inches apart and 2 inches deep, pointy end up, then mulch with straw.
Hardy Greens
- Crops: Spinach, kale, mache, arugula, and winter lettuce sprout in October's cool soil with no trouble.
- Why fall: These cool-season vegetables taste sweeter after a frost as cold pushes sugars into the leaves.
- Harvest window: Pick baby leaves through fall, then again in early spring once growth picks back up.
Herbs
- Crops: Cilantro, dill, and parsley sown in October give you a quick fall harvest before hard freeze hits.
- Why fall: Cilantro bolts fast in summer heat but stays leafy and lush in cool October weather.
- Tip: Sow a small batch every 2 weeks for a steady supply of fresh leaves through November.
Hardy Flowers
- Crops: Sweet peas, poppies, California poppies, larkspur, and bachelor buttons all want a fall start.
- Why fall: These flowers need cold weeks to break dormancy. A fall sow gives you blooms 4 weeks earlier than spring sowing.
- Sow depth: Just press seeds into the soil surface. Most poppy seeds need light to sprout.
Adjust your October plan by zone. Zone 5 and colder need a row cover or low tunnel to keep young plants alive through winter. Pull a frost blanket over the bed once nights drop below 25°F (-4°C) on a steady basis.
Zone 6 and 7 gardeners can direct sow most cool crops with just a light straw mulch. Zone 8 and warmer get a full second growing season in October. You can sow almost the full spring list and harvest right through winter.
Pick 2 or 3 crops to try this October if you have never done fall sowing before. Garlic and spinach make a perfect pair for beginners. One asks no work all winter, the other gives you greens within 6 weeks.
Set a reminder to check the bed on warm winter days for any pests or rotten leaves. Outside of that, fall sown crops handle themselves. You wake up in spring with food already growing and a head start the spring sowers never get.
Read the full article: Starting Seeds Indoors: 10 Steps for Success
