How to Know When To Plant A Fall Garden In Central Texas

Fall is considered by many to be the best planting time for many kinds of vegetables in Central Texas. Here are some tips.

Change your ideas about when to plant a garden by realizing that in Central Texas you can plant two gardens, a spring and a fall one. By Mid September the searing heat of the Texas summer is about over and it it time to plant a fall garden. There are a number of vegetables that do very well this time of year including broccoli, onions, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Clear out all the old foliage from your summer garden including dying tomato vines. Although you may still be getting a couple of late tomatoes here and there the vines are done for the most part and are only attracting unwanted pests to the garden at this point. Compost the vines and remove stalks of corn, okra, etc, that will attract insects and promote fungal disease if left to decay in the garden.

Till in an inch or so of new organic compost for the fall garden.

Plant the "blue leafed" vegetables such as broccoli in September and the greens, including mustard greens, collards, kale, and turnips in October.

For a complete list of planting times visit the Texas A&M Horticulture site at the link below.