September marks the start of fall gardening! Time to sow seeds for cool season crops or start transplanting to take advantage of one of the best growing seasons - fall. I have tons of ideas on what to start from seed or transplant in the month of September to keep your garden on track.
Get a free printable PDF checklist of this guide HERE.
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. Choose early maturing varieties that take 60-75 days to mature. 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 with spinosad 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
f 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 Provider which is the earliest producing green bean I have tried growing, and Golden Yellow Wax for its buttery yellow color. 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, Drying Beans
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, and drying beans used to store away. 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 growPuerto Rican black beans for a vigorous dried black bean.
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. 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).
The larger storage squash, like calabaza or banana squash take 5-6 months, and I only recommend planting those in the month of September if you're in zones 11 or above.
Check out my How to Grow Squash and Zucchini From Seed YouTube video tutorial.
Cucumbers
It is ok to direct sow seeds for cucumbers, if you have 3 months left before your first winter frost date. I recommend small fruiting, market, or pickling cucumber varieties because they mature early. 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) 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. For a market or fresh eating salad cucumber, Beit Alpha is great.
BT spray that I use from Amazon HERE.
Check out my YouTube video on How to Grow Cucumbers from seed to harvest.
Small greens like lettuces, bok choy, tatsoi, Asian greens, Swiss Chard, & Mustard Greens
It is time to sow seeds for cool season greens to grow your own transplants. If its 85F or cooler (on average), in your area, then go ahead and direct sow seeds outdoors. If its over 85F outside, sow seeds indoors of these crops will 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 a 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.
Flowers for butterflies & bees
If you have 3 or more months left before your first winter frost date, go ahead and direct sow seeds or transplant any kind of flowers. 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 you're 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.
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 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.
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. If your in a cooler area, like zones 7 and below, wait to transplant tomatoes in spring once all danger of frost has passed.
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.
Check out my how to transplant tomatoes video tutorial HERE.
Check out my fertilizer schedule that has doubled my tomato harvest tutorial HERE.
Peppers & Eggplants
It is too late to start these from seed. If you have 3-4 months left before your first average winter frost date, then go ahead and transplant. I recommend you transplant in containers or grow bags that can easily be moved indoors, or in a spot to keep them warm if a cold front moves through the area. Both peppers and eggplants are perennial plants, as long as the cold, a disease, or pests dont kill the plant.
Check out my how to transplant peppers tutorial HERE.
Check out my how to grow eggplants from seed to harvest tutorial HERE.
Brassicas
If you are 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 with intent to transplant in October. Some of you zone 8 gardeners might be able to transplant at the end of September if your 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.
I have so many video tutorials showing how to grow brassicas from seed to harvest.
How to grow broccoli from seed to harvest HERE.
How to grow cauliflower from seed to harvest HERE.
How to grow cabbage from seed to harvest HERE.
How to grow kale from seed to harvest HERE.
How to grow kohlrabi from seed to harvest HERE.
How to grow Napa cabbage from seed to harvest HERE.
How to grow Piracicaba Brazilian sprouting broccoli from seed to harvest HERE.
Heat loving tropical greens: Longevity Spinach, Okinawan Spinach, Katuk, Malabar Spinach, Chaya, Surinam Spinach, Yerba Mate, Sissoo 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
Ground cherries grow best in moderate temperatures (not extreme heat or cold). 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 10A garden, winter is not cold enough to kill them. If your in zones 9 and lower, it can cause damage.