GardenLine | Vegetables | Fall Seeding of Veggies

With a growing season as short as ours, it is no wonder that gardeners want to get their vegetables growing as soon as possible in the spring. One way of accomplishing this is to seed the vegetables in the fall. The process sounds simple, but there are definite risks involved. Consider these factors:

Timing - Vegetables must be seeded late enough in the year that there is no chance of germination and growth this year. If the seed takes up moisture and begins to grow, the tiny seedling will almost certainly die over winter. The soil should be dry when seeding to further prevent the seed from taking up water. The usual time for fall seeding in Saskatchewan is late October or early November, just before freeze up.

Location - Select an area in the garden which is out of the way, and mark the area well. All too frequently a gardener will forget where the seeds were planted, and the area is roto-tilled in preparation for spring seeding. The area should be protected from the wind to prevent the seeds from blowing away. It should also be where a good snow cover will accumulate to help insulate the soil against the freezing winter temperatures. Incorporating compost into the soil will help prevent "crusting" on the soil surface - a problem which reduces emergence of the seedlings.

Vegetable Selection - Not all vegetables can be fall- seeded. In fact only a few have proven successful in Saskatchewan. Parsnips, lettuce, radishes, onions (seeds), and spinach and garlic (cloves) are the most reliable. Warm-season vegetables, such as bean, corn and tomatoes, cannot be fall-seeded. Garlic should be handled somewhat differently than the other vegetables. With garlic, the objective is the same as with other bulbs (like tulips) and that is to encourage establishment of a good root system in the fall. Garlic can be planted in mid to late September. Water the bulbs after planting them, mulch the area thoroughly to protect the bulbs from the freezing winter temperatures.

Culture - The soil preparation for fall seeding is the same as for spring seeding. Ensure a good supply of organic matter and incorporate a high phosphorous fertilizer (11-51-0). If required, additional nitrogen can be broadcast in the spring. The soil should be smooth and well tilled.

Final word - Fall seeding is not 100% reliable. Seeds in their dry state are quite tolerant of freezing temperatures; however, at very low temperatures or slightly moist conditions,death of the seed can occur. Even if the seeds do survive the winter, and do germinate and emerge in spring, late spring frosts can damage or kill the tender seedlings. Despite the odds, many gardeners do fall-seed and for their efforts are rewarded with earlier and sometimes larger yields. The seeds planted this fall will, with a little luck, survive the winter to germinate early the next spring. I

Fall seeding of garlic requires a different approach from other vegetables. With garlic, as with other bulbs (like tulips) the idea is to establish a good root system in the fall.

Wood is an instructor with the Department of Horticulture Science. This column is offered as a service by the Extension Division

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Sustainable horticultural information, offered free of charge to the public with the support of the University of Saskatchewan Extension Division, the Department of Plant Sciences and the Provincial Government.