Fall Planting for Spring Blooms

Gardeners rejoice – you have a reason to get out and plant in the fall! Maybe that will help stave off the slump that tends to come on when the growing season ends. This fall, why not plant crops and flowers that will produce and bloom in spring? Bear in mind that you will need to check with your local extension service to find out what zone you live in and adjust your planting accordingly.

Here are some ideas and suggestions for fall planting for spring.

1. Garlic

Autumn-planted garlic will produce shoots in the spring. Separate the cloves and plant each one individually about 3 inches deep, 6 inches apart. Garlic also produces round blooms. You can then harvest the garlic when the leaves begin to turn brown, which can be anywhere from late May to mid-June.

Tip: Purchase garden garlic from a local garden store or mail-order company, or use organic garlic bulbs that have not been treated with chemicals that prohibit sprouting.

2. Greens

A general rule of thumb regarding fall planting of greens is, you can plant the seeds of most greens that can be planted before the last frost date. Read the seed packets, and they will tell you that the seeds can be sown in fall or in early spring before the last frost date. Here are some greens you can plant in the fall for a spring harvest:

* Lettuce
* Mustard
* Turnips

Other greens can be sown in late summer for a harvest in autumn or winter. Kale, for instance, dislikes heat and flourishes in the cool weather of fall and early winter. Besides kale, cabbage and spinach are also cold-weather crops that can be sown in late summer or early fall.

3. Winter Squash

Planting winter squash seeds in late October has yielded successful harvests for many gardeners. Winter squash seeds can be sown again in spring to prolong your crop well into next fall.

4. Flowers

What bulbs and seeds can be planted in fall for spring beauty? Here are some of the bulbs and seeds that need to be sown in fall for spring color.

Bulbs:

* Daffodils are a classic flower that returns spring after spring.

* Tulips are not necessarily as persistent as daffodils, but planting the bulbs in fall should yield lovely flowers the following spring.

* Iris bulbs need to be planted in fall, and range in color from orange to purple to white.

* Lilies persist year after year once you plant them in the fall, producing lovely flowers and edible buds.

Seeds:

Wildflowers and native plants are especially conducive to fall planting. Why? Because in the fall is when nature plants seeds! Think of all the seeding flowers, trees, and shrubs in the fall. Here are some of the flowers whose seeds you can plant in fall for spring flowers:

* Echinacea (purple coneflower)
* Black-eyed Susan
* Columbine
* Mix (you can buy a wildflower seed mix for fall planting)