by Jackie Daniell
In Georgia, most cool-season vegetables are planted in August and September for a fall garden. The traditional cool-season vegetables are beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard, onions (green & dry bulb), radish, spinach, and turnips. While some of these plants may be planted in the early spring and do fine until it starts heating up – think bolting, wilting, and insects descending; cool-season vegetables planted in the fall will be more productive, have better flavor and quality in the cooler weather.
Planning for a Fall Garden
Before you rush out to buy plants or order seeds, there are several steps and considerations to address in planning your fall garden for a successful season. These include, but are not limited to recommended cultivars, considerations for seeds and plants, soil test, preparation of beds, fertilizer choices, creating a planting chart, and reviewing a planting calendar for planting dates.
Plant Recommended Varieties: When you are trying to decide what to plant, the best plan is to choose cultivars or varieties that grow well in our Georgia soil and climate. I know it’s fun to experiment, but plants and seeds you picked up while on vacation may not work well here. If you want to try a new variety, then plant them in smaller quantities and a different location than your regular crop. For major crops, stick with proven varieties.
Seeds and Plants: When selecting seeds or transplants, consider:
1.) Adaptability to your microclimate.
2.) Earliness of planting to determine the possibility of succession plantings to extend the harvest season.
3.) Days to maturity.
4.) Productivity with some varieties producing more than others, even with the same care, hybrids generally may produce more.
5.) Quality of the produce and intention of use: varieties have different flavors, textures, keeping ability, and adaptability for canning and freezing.
6.) Disease-resistant varieties.
Make sure the purchase of seeds or transplants is from a reputable nursery for quality and freshness. After all, if you are excited about planting, why would you do all of that work and not use quality seeds and plants to start your garden?
Soil Test: If you didn’t get a soil test done at the beginning of the year, then have your soil test completed. Since it is a little late with fall planting dates coming up, you may end up planting and then amending your soil when you receive your soil tests. With our long growing season and rotation of vegetables, the soil tests and recommended fertilizer/amendments make a significant difference in the health of your plants and the yield. If you did not obtain a soil test, see the section on “Fertilizer Choices” for additional help.
Preparation of Beds: It’s time to remove some of those now-aging spring/summer vegetables. You know the ones- leaves are spotted, yellowing or are brown, the plants are producing very little, have an abundance of white flies or other pests, and/or may be diseased or have a virus. Remove all plant debris and weeds from the bed. Cleaning the harvested rows as soon as possible will prevent insect and disease buildup. Till or spade the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Till organic matter into your beds to improve soil tilth, conserve moisture, and help root development. Top-dressing the beds with organic matter, such as compost or manure, will also provide a good start for your plants.
Fertilizer: The type and amount of fertilizer you apply to your beds should be determined by your soil test. If you have not had a soil test, you can apply a 10-10-10, 6-12-12, or 5-10-15 grade at the beginning of the fall season rather than a specific analysis fertilizer for each vegetable. Work the fertilizer into the soil prior to planting. Depending on the fall vegetable, a sidedressing of additional nitrogen may be added when the fruits set, and then repeat every 4–6-week interval. The sidedressing for nitrogen-loving plants may be a balanced organic fertilizer, blood meal, cottonseed meal, fish emulsion, or 15-5-8 every 2-3 weeks. Examples of nitrogen-loving fall plants include cabbage, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, and Swiss chard. Think greens.
The sidedressing for fall plants that have low-nitrogen requirements needs to have more phosphorus and/or potassium. Fertilizers such as bone meal, 0-10-10, or 5-15-15 may be used. For example, plants that require low nitrogen: beets, carrots, radish. Think about root crops. Fertilizer for turnips is determined by whether you are planting turnips for the greens or the turnips. If you want turnips, sidedress using a low nitrogen or balanced fertilizer such as 1-9-3 or 5-10-10, and there will be turnips. For greens only, use the sidedressing for greens above. Broccoli and cauliflower prefer a little less nitrogen, so use a balanced organic fertilizer or 5-10-10 before planting and side-dress with 5-10-10 monthly. To prevent burning the plants, the sidedressing of fertilizer needs to be at least 5” from the plant.
Planting Chart: Before you start to plant, considerations should be made regarding: rotation of crops; plant families-don’t follow plants from the same family in the same bed; maturity dates; size at maturity for space optimization, light requirements-tall vs shorter crops; pest and disease control-some plant combinations can deter pests or attract beneficial insects; fast-growing vs slow growing crops; companion plants-some plants help the growth of other plants, some deter pests and some plants grown together will stunt the growth of each other. Determining the right companions will allow for intercropping, side crops, and trap crops to improve plant health and yield. Prepare a planting chart for your garden with these things in mind.
Planting Calendar: When to plant in the fall is generally determined by the type of plant and its cold hardiness, seed germination and soil temperature, days to maturity, and finally, the weather for your area. Some fall vegetables can handle frost, but maybe not a hard freeze, while some can grow during the winter, and some fall vegetables will taste sweeter after the first frost.
Below is an abbreviated plant chart for the fall vegetables based on the UGA Extension Calendar to help determine your fall planting dates. For more detailed information, refer to the UGA Extension Vegetable Plant Calendar, which provides examples of the best cultivars for Georgia with seed amounts, row spacing, planting depth, the number of days to maturity, and planting dates.
| Fall Planting Dates By Month | ||||||||
| July | August | September | October | |||||
| Type | Plant Dates | Type | Plant Dates | Type | Plant Dates | Type | Plant Dates | |
| Pole beans | 7/1-8/1 | Beets | 8/1-9/20 | Lettuce | 9/1-10/1 | Dry Bulb Onions | 10/10-11/10 | |
| Bush beans | 7/5-8/10 | Broccoli | 8/1-9/1 | Gr Onions | 9/1-12/31 | |||
| Cauliflower | 7/15-8/15 | Cabbage | 8/1-10-1 | Spinach | 9/1-10/15 | |||
| Cucumber | 7/15-8/15 | Carrots | 8/20-9/15 | Radish | 9/1-10/15 | |||
| Bell Pepper | 7/25-8/10 | Collards | 8/1-9/1 | |||||
| Kale | 8/1-9/1 | |||||||
| Mustard | 8/15-9/15 | |||||||
| Summer Squash | 8/1-8/25 | |||||||
| Turnip | 8/10-9/15 | |||||||
| 07/2025 jd | UGA Planting Dates | |||||||
Happy planting! J Daniell