By William Terry Kelley
University of
Georgia

The dog days of summer will soon give way to the crisp fall air.
But this doesn’t mean the gardening season is over. It’s still
possible to grow crops well into the fall and even through the
winter in many parts of Georgia.

Frost will eventually reap the last of the heat-loving crops like
squash, tomatoes and okra. But crops like cabbage, turnips,
mustard, radishes, beets, broccoli, carrots and even English peas
can enjoy the cool days of autumn and early winter. Many of these
can take a fairly stout frost and be OK.

Cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower and
kohlrabi are all good crops for fall gardens. They’re best
started from transplants but can be direct-seeded, too. If you
seed them directly into the soil, keep the ground moist while
it’s still hot to give them a good start.

Keep them well watered if you transplant, too. The later you
start, the smarter it becomes to transplant to cut the time to
maturity. Establishing plants after late September may not yield
good results if you can expect severe cold in your area. Most of
these crops take from 70 to 80 days to mature in the fall.

Leafy greens

Most leafy greens can fit this pattern. Turnips and mustard are
less tolerant to frosts and freezes than collards and kale. Don’t
wait too late to plant them. They’re short-season crops and will
mature in 45-60 days.

All of these crops except cabbage and kohlrabi lend themselves to
multiple harvests. You may be able to get several cuttings on one
crop.

English peas can’t stand a hard freeze. But there’s time in most
areas to get in a crop before harsh weather. Sugar snap peas or
edible pod peas will fit into this category, too. They usually
require about 70 days to maturity in the fall.

Radishes will mature in about four weeks. Beets and Swiss chard,
both hardy crops, mature in about 60 days. Plant these in time to
harvest before hard freezes.

Carrots and onions grow well in south Georgia during the winter.
Neither can take severe temperatures, but light freezes and
frosts do them no harm. Carrots can be seeded in September
through October for harvest in the spring. Onions are usually
transplanted in November for harvest in April and May.

It will soon be time to clean off the remains of the summer
garden. But get ready now for fall and winter. It can be a lot
more fun to garden in the crisp fall air than in the
gnat-infested heat.

(Terry Kelley is an Extension Service horticulturist with the
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.)