You’ve got your Fall seeds. Now it’s time to get them growing!
As part of our fall seed giveaway, we’re sharing four of our favorite cool-season vegetables to help you get your garden ready for autumn. Whether you picked up Freckles Lettuce, Black Spanish Round Radish, De Cicco Broccoli, or Purple Top White Globe Turnip, this guide has everything you need to give your seeds a great start.
Fall gardening is a little different from spring and summer gardening, but that’s part of the fun! Cooler temperatures can help bring out the best flavors in many fall crops, and with a little preparation, you can enjoy a fresh harvest right from your own backyard.
Find your chosen seeds down below to get started:
Freckles Lettuce
If you’re looking for a vegetable that’s just as pretty as it is delicious, Freckles Lettuce is a great choice. This romaine-type lettuce gets its name from the beautiful burgundy-red spots scattered across its green leaves.
It has a buttery texture and mild flavor, making it perfect for salads, sandwiches, wraps, or adding a little color to your favorite meal.
How to Plant
For a fall harvest, sow Freckles Lettuce about 6 to 8 weeks before your first expected hard frost. If you live somewhere with mild winters, you can make additional plantings throughout the fall for a longer harvest.
- Planting depth: 1/8 inch deep
- Spacing: Start seeds about 1 inch apart and thin seedlings to 8-10 inches apart
- Row spacing: 12 inches
- Germination: About 7-10 days
- Sunlight: Full sun in cooler weather or partial afternoon shade while temperatures remain warm
Lettuce seeds prefer cool soil, so if summer temperatures are still hanging around, keep an eye on your seedbed. A little temporary shade and frequent, gentle watering can help keep the soil from drying out.
Growing & Harvesting
Keep your lettuce evenly watered to encourage tender, flavorful leaves. Once your seedlings are established, add a thin layer of mulch around them to help maintain moisture.
You can harvest individual outer leaves as they grow or wait until the heads are fully formed and cut them at the base. Young leaves can be ready in around 30 days, while mature heads typically take 50-60 days.
And the good news? Lettuce can handle a light frost! If a hard freeze is in the forecast, protect your plants with frost cloth or a low tunnel.
Black Spanish Round Radish
Black Spanish Round Radishes are a fun addition to the fall garden. These round storage radishes have dark, almost black skin and crisp white flesh. They have a stronger, spicier flavor than the typical spring radish, but their flavor mellows beautifully when roasted, braised, or sliced thin and salted.
How to Plant
Radishes are a great option if you want something simple to direct-sow right into the garden. Plant Black Spanish Round Radishes about 5 to 10 weeks before your first expected frost.
- Planting depth: 1/2 inch deep
- Spacing: Start seeds about 1 inch apart and thin to 4-6 inches apart
- Row spacing: 12-24 inches
- Germination: About 5-10 days
- Sunlight: Full sun
Before planting, loosen the soil and remove rocks or compacted clumps from the top 8-10 inches. Your radishes will appreciate having plenty of room to grow into nice, evenly shaped roots.
Growing & Harvesting
Keep the soil consistently moist while your radishes are growing. Letting the soil swing between very dry and very wet can lead to cracked or tough roots.
Thinning is also important! It may be tempting to leave all those tiny seedlings in place, but giving your radishes room to grow will result in larger, healthier roots.
Black Spanish Radishes generally mature in 50-70 days. Harvest them when they reach around 3 to 4 inches across, depending on your preferred size.
They can handle a light frost, but be sure to harvest them before the ground freezes solid. Once harvested, remove the leafy tops and store the roots somewhere cool and humid, like a cellar or a fridge, and they can last up to 3 months!
De Cicco Broccoli
Broccoli is a fall garden favorite, and De Cicco Broccoli is especially rewarding for home gardeners!
This Italian heirloom variety produces a central head followed by lots of smaller, tender side shoots. Instead of getting one big harvest and calling it a day, you can continue picking broccoli from the same plant for weeks!
How to Plant
For a fall harvest, start your De Cicco Broccoli seeds indoors about 10-12 weeks before your first expected hard frost. Transplant your seedlings outdoors approximately 6-8 weeks before that frost.
- Planting depth: 1/4 inch deep
- Plant spacing: 3 seeds per foot
- Row spacing: 24 inches
- Germination: About 5-10 days
- Sunlight: At least 6 hours of direct sunlight
If you start your broccoli indoors, give the seedlings about a week to harden off before moving them outside. Gradually introduce them to outdoor sunlight, wind, and cooler temperatures to help prevent transplant shock.
Growing & Harvesting
Broccoli grows best in fertile soil with consistent moisture. Adding compost before planting can give your plants a strong start, while mulch can help retain moisture and keep weeds under control.
Keep an eye out for common garden visitors like cabbage worms and aphids. Row cover can be especially helpful for protecting young plants from pests.
When the main head forms, harvest it while the buds are still tight and green. Cut several inches below the head, but leave the rest of the plant in place. Your De Cicco Broccoli will continue producing side shoots that you can harvest over the following weeks.
Your first major harvest will generally come about 50-70 days after transplanting, depending on growing conditions.
Purple Top White Globe Turnip
Last but certainly not least, we have the Purple Top White Globe Turnip.
This classic garden variety is a two-for-one crop: you get both flavorful roots and nutritious greens. The round roots have distinctive purple shoulders and white bottoms, and they’re especially delicious when harvested young.
How to Plant
Turnips are another easy crop to direct-sow right into the garden. Plant them about 6-10 weeks before your first expected hard frost.
Want a steady supply? Make additional plantings every 2 to 3 weeks as long as there’s enough growing time left in the season.
- Planting depth: 1/4 inch deep
- Spacing: Start seeds about 1 inch apart and thin to 2-4 inches apart
- Row spacing: 10-12 inches
- Germination: About 4-8 days
- Sunlight: Full sun, although light shade is okay
Turnips prefer loose, well-drained soil. Try not to overdo it with nitrogen fertilizer, as too much can encourage lots of leafy growth while leaving you with smaller roots.
Growing & Harvesting
Keep your turnips watered regularly so they grow quickly and stay tender and make sure to mulch deeply to retain that moisture and protect the roots. Thin your seedlings early to give the roots plenty of room to develop. If you have concerns about pests like flea beetles, a floating cover can help limit access and control population.
And don’t toss those greens! Healthy turnip greens can be enjoyed in salads or cooked into your favorite dishes.
For baby turnips, harvest when the roots are around 1-2 inches in diameter. If you prefer larger roots, let them grow to about 3-4 inches. We find the best texture hits the happy middle of 2-3 inches!
Most turnips are ready to harvest in 45-60 days, and a light frost actually helps bring out their sweetness. Just make sure to harvest mature roots before the soil freezes deeply.
A Few Tips for Your Fall Garden
Fall gardening may be a little cooler, but getting your garden started can still be a challenge when late-summer temperatures are hanging around.
The biggest thing to remember? Keep those seeds watered!
Newly planted seeds need consistent moisture to germinate, so check your garden beds regularly and give them a gentle watering whenever the soil surface starts to dry out. If temperatures are still warm, temporary shade can also help protect young seedlings.
Once your plants are established, keep these tips in mind:
- Add 1-2 inches of mulch around your plants to help retain moisture.
- Keep an eye out for slugs, cabbage worms, flea beetles, and aphids.
- Thin seedlings on time so your vegetables have plenty of room to grow.
- Keep frost cloth or row cover handy for those unexpectedly chilly nights.
- Keep track of when you plant and harvest to help you plan next year’s garden.
Keep Growing with Good Foods Grocery
From colorful lettuce and spicy radishes to tender broccoli and sweet turnips, fall is a great time to get your garden growing again. With a little preparation and some help from the cooler weather, you can enjoy fresh, flavorful vegetables right from your own backyard.
And when you’re ready to stock your kitchen with even more good food, join the Good Foods Grocery Loyalty Program! It’s an easy way to stay connected with your neighborhood grocery store and enjoy special savings and perks along the way.
Happy fall gardening!