9 Fast Growing Crops to Direct Seed in September & October for a Fall Vegetable Garden

Your fall crops or cool weather crops prefer, generally speaking, 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit or 10-15.5 degrees Celsius nights. They enjoy cooler days as well, averaging around 75 degrees F. or 23.9 degrees C. As fall approaches, the cooler nights are a signal that the hot summer temperatures are beginning to break. The cool crops thrive in these cooler temperatures. However, the warm soil of late summer is perfect for quicker seed germination and getting some accelerated early growth for all those cool weather fall loving crops. Use the warm soil and day temperatures to get them going and the soon to arrive fall temperatures to keep them growing without bolting and flowering.

Summer Planted Peas for a Fall Garden

Direct seeding is the cheapest way to grow vegetables and late summer into fall is a perfect time for direct seeding these 9 crops. You may have to test the timing of sowing them in your garden, so take notes and use them for next year, as you perfect the timing. If you sow too soon the heat can be an issue. If you sow them too late, they may not fully mature before a hard ground freeze arrives. Remember these crops can take light frosts, so freezing leaves are okay.

The goal for my spacing guidelines is mature full sized crops.  You can always plant crops closer together, if you are going to be harvesting them at a smaller size. However, I wanted to give the minimum spacing, from experience, to get full sized plants. You can always add more space if you are concerned about overcrowding your plants and limiting growth.

Row spacing between crops can be anywhere from 6-12 inches or 15-30 cm. I recommend the higher end if you are just getting started with growing. The spacing numbers between seeds is based on my last 20 years of growing experience. These 9 crops mature quickly and the days to ‘full’ maturity range starts at germination. Remember, you can harvest many leafy greens as they mature and look good to you.

Peas 2 inches or 5 cm apart – Matures in 60-75 days (6 in or 15 cm Rows)

Turnips 4 inches or 10 cm apart – Matures in 50-60 days

Mustard Greens 8 inches or 20 cm apart – Matures in 35-45 days

Arugula 8 inches or 20 cm apart – Matures in 25-45 days

Lettuce (Romaine) 8 inches or 20 cm apart – Matures in 45-55 days

Spinach 6 inches or 15 cm apart – Matures in 55-60 days

Radishes 3 inches or 7.5 cm apart – Matures in 25-40 days (6 in or 15 cm Rows)

Carrots 2 inches or 5 cm apart – Mature sin 60-80 days (6 in or 15 cm Rows)

Pak Choi 8 inches or 20 cm apart – Matures in 30-40 days

The benefits of growing from summer into fall is faster germination and faster early growth. Radishes can germinate in under 5 days. Arugula can germinate in 3 days. The plants will grow more quickly early on and that helps the plants establish nicely before the cool weather and occasional frost set in. This methods will get produce more quickly to your table.

The main problem with sowing fall crops now is that the insect and pest pressure is really high as the insects have been thriving and multiplying. I highly recommend putting down a snail and slug bait a few days before you sow and about every 3 weeks after that, for a couple of rotations. Snails and slugs can devastate seedlings in a day. Any bait that uses iron phosphate or sulfur is effective. Here is a link to My Amazon Shop, if you want to view the baits there. Snail and Slug Baits I recommend. And below is my video (I updated the spacing 9/25/2024 in this article), covering these 9 plants, you can find over 1600 gardening videos on my YouTube channel: The Rusted Garden.

“A Garden Want to Grow”

Cheers!

Gary (The Rusted Garden)