Fall is upon us; time for sweaters, scarfs and jackets. I, personally, like the opportunity fall gives to start growing cool weather veggies in the garden – one of the advantages to Southern California living is being able to grow something 365 days a year. But let’s be honest, summer gardening gets intense – there’s a lot to plant, grow and harvest. I love to harvest loads of summer veggies to put up for the cooler months. But that’s not Fall’s personality. Time changes, less sun time, the gardener has no choice but to slow down and adapt. And that’s where the fun starts for me.
This Fall I am excited about growing root veggies, leafy greens and heading vegetables such as brussel sprouts, because these are challenging for me to grow in the heat of Summer. Growing in Fall slows down gardening and gives me a bit of a break from the intense summer season. Planting and nurturing the cool weather crops to harvest becomes fun with the winter rains, and leaves time for other garden projects and experiments.
For the first time or experienced Fall gardener, here is episode 1 of “Growing Your Fall Garden” Series. After watching the video, comment on this blog post, what does Fall gardening mean for you? Are you a first time Fall Gardener? If so, welcome! We are all here to help out and would love it if you left a comment introducing yourself and what you are planning to grow. See you in the garden!
-CaliKim
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I think the videos you have made are very informative and educational to the new gardeners out there and that goes for the one I just watched growing your fall garden 1 seares but all have been very good to me especially the strawberry series you did with the creates I know I will be doing that for my strawberries next year and Calikim you do a fantastic wonderful job in front of the camera and project yourself very well and as far as Max goes YOU MUST HAVE MAX ON THE CAMERA MORE OFTEN BESIDES YOU CALIKIM MAX SHOULD BE PART OF THE VIDEOS YOU MAKE EVERY WEEK HERE FROM NOW ON FORWARD ! ! ! Now I think you tell it like it is for the gardening world now and I ran into your videos just 1 week ago and have LOVED the videos ever since then. I wish I could get all your videos on DVD so I could put them in my library of gardening stuff of mine here and one more thing is that I LOVE the $10 searies was the best thing you have done for the beginner gardeners out there now and I LOVED that you took a home owner of there first time gardening and after the weeks of doing the gardening they got the rewards of all there hard work and said that they would stay do the garden project and have added more vegetables in there new garden areas they put in now and Calikim you were very surprised of the results that came from the home owner that stuck with the gardening projdect and that the home owner stuck with it all.
Hello Mark,
Glad you are enjoying and learning from the videos – Mac does manage to get in many of my videos, when the camera comes out, he has a way of showing up! Mary Jo really caught the gardening bug in the $10 garden series, she is also encouraging her friends to grow their own food as well. Are you planning on growing a fall garden?
Hi CaliKim,
Fall gardening is also very exciting for me because I get to garden with kids at school. Last week we sowed some carrot seeds that are already sprouting. This week we are planting kohlrabi, radish, and rutabaga, seedlings that I started last month. It’s so much fun to introduce kids to new veggies. In the next few weeks we will grow some broccoli, kale, and lettuce. Do you have any suggestions regarding gardening with kids?
Gardening with kids is always fun, as they really enjoy seeing where food comes from and like to eat what they grow. You planted some perfect crops that are quick growers and will give them that immediate gratification! I planted some veggies with students in styrofoam cups, they really enjoyed seeing them sprout, then taking them home to show mom and dad. Keep up the great work – and let me know how it goes!
Hi my name is Danielle I live in Honolulu, Hawaii and our weather here in the fall is pretty much the same as summer. But yes I’m a first time fall grower. I have Brussel sprout plants about 4″ high now. I have beets but only growing it for the greens. planning on planting some leafy greens again hopefully I’ll have better luck this time around.
Thank you so much
Hello Danielle – First of all, let me say, I love Honolulu! We enjoyed a visit there a few years ago. Your weather is perfect for gardening all year round – brussel sprouts and leafy greens are perfect crops for you as a first time gardener. Did you grow any crops this summer, or are you just starting now in the fall? Thanks for stopping by!
Hello and yes I did grow a few things like squash, celery, kale, 2 different type tomatoes, sweet basil, rosemary, egg plant, jalapeño peppers, strawberries & taro. I’m having lots of fun.
Awesome, that is so important – garden therapy! Way to go growing your own food!
Awesome update and thank you for sharing have a blessed day very useful
even though i have garden in the past it refreshing to have a refresher course on how
to do things we are always learning new things every day
Glad you enjoyed the update – enjoy your fall planting! What are you growing for fall?
Thanks for your wonderful videos and posts! I’m here in Huntington Beach – had great intentions in the Spring to do a lot of gardening but couldn’t squeeze it in. Now that it’s fall – I want to plant Daikon Radishes – since they’re a great low-carb alternative to noodles – and also I’d like to grow some varieties of onions – as those are always so handy to have on hand. Not sure what options there are for this time of year – I haven’t researched yet. I want to plant veggies that support low carb eating and recipes, basically – avoiding fruits and starchy vegetables.
Hello Leslie,
My apologies for the delayed response. Glad you are enjoying the posts and videos – so happy to hear that you are growing a fall garden here in So Cal. Radishes (and turnips) are an excellent fall crop, easy to grow too. Plant seeds every 3 weeks or so and you’ll have some to harvest all winter long. Onions need longer days and are best started indoors in the spring, super easy – here’s a video on how to do this, https://youtu.be/nlng6pW2zDA?list=PLH4z_9MDD00LuPHoTGkgO43cBRlnTaVEq. Happy Gardening!
I am trying to buys some seeds from Migardener but they seem to be out of everything I want. Do you know if they are still in business? They haven’t replied to my inquiry. If they are not available do you have suggestions where we could get some hierloom seeds in Southern California? We live in Highland (by Redlands and San Bernardino) and are looking for kale and cauliflower. I was able to get carrots at Home Depot but that’s all they had. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
My apologies, Robin, for the delayed response. Yes, they are definitely still in business. The Fall Garden Collection sold out very quickly and he will not able to restock until at least November. A great resource for heirloom seeds is Baker Creek Seed, rareseeds.com. I have used their seeds for years and always had great germination. A bit more expensive than MIgardener, when he is out, they are my go to. Hope this helps!