September feels different. The kids are back to school and the change in light seems to signal that autumn is on the horizon. September is for harvesting, preserving, and seed saving as well as tidying up the garden for winter.
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In the August garden, we prioritized harvesting and preserving summer garden crops while planting the fall garden. Many gardens start winding down this month so it’s not quite as hectic as August.
Need more tips? Check out my Year-Round Gardening Calendar.
Following are some ideas for how to prioritize your activities in the September garden. These tasks are based on my gardening in USDA hardiness zone 6b. You may need to make adjustments for your climate.
1. September Harvest
Prioritize the harvest, food preparation, and preservation—don’t let your harvest go to waste!
Harvesting Cool Weather Crops in September
- Beets (Don’t forget to harvest and use the greens!)
- Brassicas
- Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Collards
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Radishes
- Turnips (Greens are super tasty, too)
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic (Learn when to harvest and how to store garlic)
- Lettuce
- Onions (Cure for 2 weeks before storing)
- Potatoes (Also cure for 2 weeks before storing)
- Peas
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
Harvesting Warm Weather Crops in September
- Beans
- Corn
- Cucumbers (Here are my tips for harvesting and using cucumbers)
- Eggplant
- Melons
- Peppers
- Okra
- Summer & winter squash
- Sweet potatoes (Here’s how to harvest, cure, and store sweet potatoes)
- Tomatoes
Harvesting Herbs in September
- Basil
- Calendula (Use dried calendula to make a healing oil)
- Chamomile
- Chives (Check out these tips for using and preserving chives)
- Echinacea
- Fennel
- Lavender
- Lemon balm (Try making a tincture, elixir, or herbal vinegar)
- Marjoram
- Nasturtium
- Oregano (Here are my tips for using oregano)
- Parsley
- Peppermint
- Rosemary (Learn how to keep your potted rosemary alive over the winter)
- Sage
- Sunflower
- Thyme (Here are a few suggestions for using thyme)
Grow a garden that’s both productive and manageable with my Complete Garden Planning System, which includes practical tools for planning your season from seed to harvest.
Harvesting Perennial Crops in September
- Apples
- Figs
- Pears
- Quince
- Strawberries
A September harvest
2. September Planting
Here are the planting tasks that I typically focus on this month. Don’t forget I’m gardening in USDA hardiness zone 6b – you may need to make adjustments for your climate.
Sowing Seeds Outside in September
- Radish (I like this Easter Egg Blend from Botanical Interests)
- If you have clay soil, consider growing daikon radish as an edible cover crop that will loosen your soil over winter.
- Here’s more about using daikon radish as a cover crop.
- You can also use daikon in a mixed cover crop.
Getting Ready for October Planting
- October is the time to plant garlic (Chesnok Red hardneck variety is one of my favorites), fruit trees, berry bushes, and rhubarb, so order them now!
3. September Garden Maintenance
There’s lots of maintenance to do in the garden over the next few months. Start in September so you’re not overwhelmed this winter!
Cleaning Up
- Cut spent herbs and flowers or leave seed heads to feed the birds through the winter.
- Watch out for beneficial insects such as ladybug/lacewing larvae, and garden spiders.
- Do you have large black and yellow garden spiders? Here’s more about these beneficial insects.
- Remove diseased plant matter and dispose in garbage.
Lacewing hunting for pests on a kale leaf. (A beneficial insect!)
Fertilizing
- Cut back herbs and use them as fertilizer.
- Here’s how I use comfrey.
- The Herbal Academy shares how to fertilize with other herbs.
Pruning
Many varieties of brambles (i.e., red raspberry, blackberry, black raspberry) require a fall pruning. Here’s how I prune my black raspberries.
Seed Saving
Fall is a good time to collect and save herb, flower, and vegetable seeds. Here’s how I save cilantro seeds and here are my tips for collecting calendula seed heads.
Be sure to store your seeds properly.
Watering & Weeding
- Proper watering can make all the difference in your garden. If you want to learn more, check out How to Grow More Vegetables—it’s chock-full of useful information, including lots of details about watering.
- Don’t let the weeds drive you crazy! Here are five weeds you want in your garden.
Is your garden season coming to an end, or are you preparing to have a great fall garden?
READ NEXT:
- Four Garden Planning Tools You Need This Year
- Mulching in the Permaculture Garden
- When to Start Seeds: Your Guide to Fall Planting
Annalee Duganier says
i was excited about seeding a winter garden but had 3 major problems (sorry about the whining!):
1. I discovered a huge amount of tree roots that didn’t seem that bad before in the garden – possibly the big old maple tree – trunk is only about 25 feet away – is coming after all the compost I put in the garden. I wonder if that is why my plants have looked increasingly sickly through the past few years no matter how much compost I put down!
I guess next year I will have to either move the garden or build raised beds.
2. the other problem is that so much grass has popped up after I laid the compost down! It looks like the yard! Was the seed in the compost?? I decided to try to pull it all anyway, working maybe 1/2 hour a day.
3.The final problem is that my spinach seeds never sprouted – I put them in a wet paper towel in the fridge like they do at Turner Farm and – no sprouts. Is it too late for spinach?
Amy says
Those are some problems! Let’s see…
1. Roots: My compost pile is next to a maple tree, and its roots have taken over the bottoms of all the bins, so I totally know what you mean. I would suggest using a root cutter to cut the roots at the perimeter of the vegetable garden. If the tree is 25 feet away, this action shouldn’t harm it. You can either dig up the larger cut roots or let them decompose to fertilize the garden.
2. Compost: Yes, grass seed can lurk in compost, whether it’s homemade or industrially-made. Grrr. It is a pain. If it is homemade compost, I would suggest letting your compost sit longer before using it in the garden. If it is store-bought, I would find another supplier. I’ve found that quality varies greatly among local companies.
3. Spinach: To be honest, I’ve never had great luck with spinach, and I’ve found that late season seedings don’t work very well because of the heat. My calendars say that fall/winter spinach should be sowed in August in our area, but seeds are cheap, so doing another seeding couldn’t hurt! If you have plans to cover the spinach with a row cover or cold frame once it gets cold, you should be fine.
Mike Davis says
I’m having good luck planting hard- or slow-to-germinate seeds in small soil blocks indoors, then moving them outdoors as soon as they’re showing their first true leaves. It’s an extra step, but results in much higher germination rates. The beets I grew that way this year were excellent, and the spinach looks good so far.
Amy says
I have always been impressed with soil blocks, though I don’t own a soil blocker. I didn’t know about their success with root vegetables. Good to know – thanks for sharing!
Krati says
Here is what I am doing in September. House hunting. I live at a rented house and built an organic garden on it. Next year, I am
Planning to expand to get my own place and expand garden into a two acre farm.
I sowed spinach and cabbage for my fall garden this year.
Do you live far from a city ? I kind of miss social life living in suburbs. All my friends live 50 miles away in city. There is no
land in cities and that is why I
moved to suburbs this yr. And I will
move again once I find my new home.
Amy says
Moving anywhere–no matter if it’s a suburb or city–requires a lot of work to find likeminded friends and companions in the area. Community gardens can help. Also, our suburban township offers gardening classes at the civic center that are a great place to meet friends. Find a local permaculture course, and you’ll have friends in all parts of your city. Good luck on your endeavors 🙂
Kelly Duncan says
I’m still harvesting and preserving but have started a little garden cleanup.
My main focus this Fall is decluttering my urban garden. Three years running of adding plants and not removing much has left my vegetable bed, herb bed, and pretty flower / privacy beds pretty crowded. But now I know what grows well and where, and how much room certain plants really need, so it’s all good data I’ve gathered.
I’ll also be preparing spots for a few fruit trees – columnar apples, at least – in what remaining front lawn I have left.
And sourcing some more mulch. Our city has a Chip Drop program that connects arborists with gardeners and voila! free wood chip mulch.
Oh, and enjoying my weeds! Thanks for linking to your 5 Weeds post – I now feel better about giving the plantain, dandelion, and clover free rein in my yard! I actually ordered some white clover seed just the other day to fill in some dead patches of lawn!
Thanks for the great post and all the helpful links! Now to remind myself – 15 minutes a day, just 15 minutes a day…
Amy says
Sounds like you are creating an amazing mini edible ecosystem! I wish my city had a mulch program…so cool. Haha, 15 minutes a day and don’t forget that beverage of choice 🙂
Karen in Cincinnati says
Amy, there is a ChipDrop program in the Cincinnati area.