September is a huge transplanting and seed sowing month for me. Time to get ready for the best fall, winter, and early spring garden. Here is what I am sowing or transplanting during the month of September in my zone 9B garden. Zone 8 is 2 weeks ahead of me, while zone 10 is 2 weeks behind me.
Check out the video version of this guide:
Corn - Corn can be direct sowed right now, if you have 4 months left before your first average winter frost date, and if you choose the early maturing varieties, 65 to 75 days from seed to harvest types. These cultivars are a lot shorter than the full sized ones that produce around the 85-90 day mark. Thats normal. The number one issue that prevents me from being successful growing corn is the corn ear worm. Closely monitor your plants. Spray spinosad (I will link it below) at the first signs of worm damage on the leaves to prevent the worm from making its way into the ear of corn. If they get into the ear of corn, they are protected and spraying will no longer work. They will eat the ear of corn from the inside out.
Find the spinosad from Amazon HERE.
Check out my YouTube video on how to grow corn from seed to harvest.
Bush and pole/vine beans - If you want to harvest fresh green beans in time for Thanksgiving, start direct sowing seeds right now. Bush beans are great for smaller gardens. My favorite bush bean cultivars are Harvester and Golden Yellow Wax. If you have a trellis, grow some pole or vining beans, which are great because you don't have to bend down to harvest the pods. Some of my favorites for a standard green pole bean is Kentucky Blue or if you want something more uniquely colored, I recommend the Purple Podded pole bean.
Check out my How to Grow Green Beans (bush & pole beans) from seed to harvest YouTube video.
Southern Peas, Black Eyed Peas, Cow Peas - If you still have a solid 3.5 to 4 months before your first winter frost date, you can easily direct sow seeds for southern peas, black eyed peas, cow peas. These crops are vigorous growers and start producing around the 2.5 month mark. I usually harvest a lot more volume or weight of these crops compared to green beans. My absolute favorite is the Pink Eye Purple Hull pea as a shelling pea for its buttery flavor and texture. Or grow the Thai Soldier long bean because the entire pod is edible or you can dry the pods to shell out the peas.
Summer squash / zucchini / tromboncino rampicante / winter squash / Seminole pumpkins
At this point, I recommend you transplant. In general things like zucchini need 3-4 months to start producing harvestable fruit. The larger storage squash, like calabaza or banana squash take 5-6 months. So transplanting is ideal to make sure you harvest everything before your first winter frost arrives. However, there are some exceptions. If you plant a "small" or "early" squash cultivar, they are faster to mature than the standard sizes, then you might be able to squeeze in a harvest if you direct sow seeds right now. An example of a "small" squash is Early White Patty Pan squash which is ready to harvest in about 60 days from seed. Or Grey Zucchini which is ready in about 50 days. This is all assuming ideal growing conditions, with fertilizer, and that you don't get hit by a hurricane (LOL for us Florida and coastline gardeners).
Check out my How to Grow Squash and Zucchini From Seed YouTube video tutorial.
Cucumbers - In warmer climates, the Asian cultivars of cucumbers grow better during the high heat of summer. But now that things are cooling down, I can grow market or pickling types of cucumbers very easily. During the fall, I take advantage and grow lots of cucumbers best for making pickles, because I like to can pickles. Direct sow 2-3 seeds per mound OR I make a trench in a straight row right under my trellis, sprinkle in seeds pretty densely, and grow a bunch of cucumbers. Have BT (bacillus thuringiensis linked below) spray handy in case you get worm damage and spray with 1 cup hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water if you get powdery mildew or other leaf diseases. My personal favorites for pickling are Boston Pickling and Wisconsin 58 SMR.
BT spray that I use from Amazon HERE.
Check out my YouTube video on How to Grow Cucumbers from seed to harvest.
Lettuces / bok choy / tatsoi / Asian greens / Swiss Chard / Mustard Greens - If its over 85F outside, its too hot to sow lettuce or smaller members of the brassicas family like bok choy, or tatsoi, outdoors, because they get stunted in growth. I recommend to start them in 72-cell seed trays indoors ONLY. They will be ready to transplant into the garden in about 4 weeks, landing you in October when the temperatures are significantly cooler.
Check out my YouTube video on how to grow lettuces and Asian greens from seed to harvest.
Heat tolerant greens (started from seed)- Molokhia & New Zealand Spinach - These greens are very easy to start from seed. You can direct sow or sow in pots and keep them outdoors. They wont get stunted in growth due to heat like the lettuces. I think New Zealand spinach is an pretty close substitute for spinach or lettuce. Molokhia is great to add to salads or soups when you harvest the tender baby leaves. It has a lettuce like flavor but just a tad more nuttier. Both grow bushy plants that will provide leafy greens over the course of several months, without having to replant or succession sow over and over like lettuce.
All flowers - We can squeeze in another sowing of flowers to bloom before cold weather arrives. My favorite quick to bloom from seed varieties include sunflowers, zinnias, marigolds, and cosmos. Plant as much milkweed and large flat flowers like tithonia (aka Mexican Sunflower) to support adult and caterpillar monarch butterflies that migrate south during the fall. Also, end of summer and early fall can be a "dearth" period for bees. Depending on where your located, there might not be a lot of blooming flowers available for the bees. These are my top choices for flowers that bees love, or purchase my Bee Garden seed collection: blue salvia, red salvia, borage, sunflowers, agastache (Korean mint), bergamot, tithonia, African Blue basil, any kind of culinary basil varieties, and bee balm.
Check out my "How to Grow Lots of Sunflowers" YouTube video guide.
All herbs - Time to sow seeds for lots of traditional herbs. I say traditional because these are herbs that come from Europe typically, so they like mild/temperate temperatures and drier soils - think Mediterranean conditions. They don't grow very well in the high heat of summer. Therefore, I start loads of seeds in 72 cell seed trays in September to transplant outside once they are ready. They grow fantastic during my fall, winter, and spring. A lot of these herbs, are actually perennial if you can get them to survive. In Florida that's a challenge because they don't like high heat or all the rain during our summertime. So you might notice a lot of them dying off when summer arrives. Those of you in CA or TX where its not so rainy, don't have that kind of issue, but its still very hot. The survival of a lot of my herbs is greatly increased by planting them in grow bags or containers. I move them into a spot that gets afternoon shade during the summer and containers/grow bags drain/dry out quickly. Herbs are easily susceptible to root rot, so this helps a lot.
Link to my favorite grow bags that I get from Amazon HERE.
Transplant into the garden during the month of September
Zones 9 and up still have time to transplant these plants so they get a little established before the first frost of winter arrives. I have live plants for many of these crops on my website.
Tomatoes - If your in garden zones 8 and up, its too late to just get started sowing seeds. But you can transplant asap. The next time I will start sowing seeds is Dec 1st to transplant mid-late January, just to give you an idea. The rain does start to decline in September unless we get a hurricane, but its still a pretty rainy month Florida. Monitor tomato plants for leaf diseases. Spray with 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water after a lot of rain to control leaf diseases. Use spinosad spray if you see any worm damage.
I have a whole playlist all about growing tomatoes, so I will link that below. It will give you lots of ideas on planting, trellising, and pruning tomatoes which can be found HERE.
Brassicas - If you in the south with warm winters, you need to start seeds for the big heading type of brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts) indoors ONLY during the month of August with intent to transplant in October. Some of you zone 8 gardeners might be able to transplant at the end of September if you average maximum high temperature is at 85F or below. Anything above 85F will stunt seedling growth. You missed your window if you have not started seeds yet. But no worries, you will have the opportunity to plant transplants from your local nursery into the garden in October.
With that said, growing brassicas in the south USA with warm winters is very challenging. I did a whole live fall garden class on YouTube all about growing brassicas successfully in the south, which includes very specific details, like how to figure out the correct time of year to plant, how to get rapid growth with seedlings, and how to get them to develop big heads properly. Watch the class for more details.
Heat loving tropical greens - Longevity Spinach, Okinawan Spinach, Katuk, Malabar Spinach, Chaya, Surinam Spinach, Yerba Mate, Sisso Spinach, & South Sea Salad Tree - Transplant into the garden as these usually are not propagated by seeds. I have lots of plants on my website if you want to try growing some of these. They grow well in both full sun or some partial shade. I like to grow these crops under my fruit trees because they block out weeds and provide something edible.
Watch my How to Grow Shampoo Ginger YouTube video.
Tropical Fruit Crops - If you are in zones 9 and up, you can still plant fruit trees and plants right now, so they get a little established before winter arrives. Here are some ideas: Pineapples, papayas, Barbados cherry, Grumichama, Jamaican strawberry tree, ice cream bean, bananas, plantains, passionfruit, blackberries, muscadine grapes, mulberries . Keep them watered until they are established. If your located in a rainy area, then just monitor these newly planted trees/plants to make sure they don't dry out.
I recently uploaded a "How to Grow Barbados Cherry" guide on YouTube if you want to grow this fruit punch flavored, tropical superfood cherry.
Check out this tutorial on how to grow lots of pineapples at home:
Check out this tutorial on how to grow muscadine grapes for the home backyard gardener:
Ground Cherries aka Gooseberry aka Physalis - I grow a ton of these because they are a perennial edible crop in zones +9. Seeds require light to germinate. Because of this I like to start them in 4 inch pots so I can place them under a strong light. Do not cover the seeds with soil. They are ready to transplant once the root system takes over the whole pot. In my zone 9B garden, the winter was not cold enough to kill them. If your in zones 8 and lower, it can cause damage.