🍂 The Garden Is Changing: Let’s Make Sure We Are Ready for Fall

A little garden inspiration for the season ahead

There’s something I really love about this time of year in the garden.

Summer isn’t quite over yet. I’m still harvesting vegetables, keeping up with the garden, and enjoying everything that has grown over the past few months. But at the same time, my mind has already started moving towards fall. Not only fall decor but what makes sense to grow.

I’m thinking about which seeds I need to start, what needs to be cleaned up, and how I can keep the garden producing for as long as possible.

Fall gardening is one of my favorite opportunities to slow down and look at the garden a little differently. Instead of thinking about the season ending, I like to think about it as the garden getting a second act.

Definitely not as big as spring and summer but in it's own right at decent fall garden. And that’s what I’m planning for right now. 🌱

🌱 My Fall Garden Plans Are Underway

While my summer garden is still producing tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and many other vegetables, I’m starting to make room for what comes next. So when my plants tire out I'm pulling them and getting the soil ready for the next round of planting.

There’s something satisfying about planting a fall garden because you’re not starting from scratch. The soil is already warm, the beds are established, and you can take everything you learned from your summer garden and put it to use.

I’m looking at my raised beds and deciding where I can tuck in another crop, which spaces will become available soon, and what I want to start from seed.

Some of the things I’m thinking about for the fall garden include:

🥬 Leafy greens
🥕 Root vegetables
🌱 Cool-season herbs
🌸 Fall flowers
🧅 Crops that can grow into the cooler months
🌿 Vegetables that can give me another harvest before winter

If you haven't started thinking about your fall garden yet, now is a great time to start planning.

The best part? You don't necessarily need more garden space. You can often follow summer crops with fall crops and get much more use out of the same beds.

🍅 Before You Pull Out Your Summer Garden…

One of my biggest reminders for this time of year is:

Don't clean up too soon.

If your tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, squash, or other summer crops are still producing, let them keep going!

It can be tempting to look at the calendar and think, Well, it's almost fall, so I should clean everything up.

But the calendar doesn't always know what your garden is doing.

If my plants are healthy and producing, I'm happy to keep harvesting.

Instead, I like to think about the transition gradually.

Harvest what is ready.

Remove plants that are finished or struggling.

Clear out space as it becomes available.

Then use those newly opened spaces for fall planting.

That way, the garden never feels like it suddenly goes from summer abundance to empty beds.

It simply changes.

🍂 Your Fall Garden To-Do List

If you're planning a fall garden too, here's a little checklist to get you started:

☐ Take inventory of your remaining summer crops
☐ Harvest anything that is ready
☐ Remove diseased or finished plants
☐ Add compost to beds that are opening up
☐ Check your seed collection
☐ Decide which fall crops you want to grow
☐ Start seeds that need extra growing time
☐ Direct sow crops that can go straight into the garden
☐ Plan for frost protection
☐ Keep harvesting summer crops while you can!

And don't forget to write down what worked this year and what didn't.

The end of summer is actually one of the best times to make garden notes because everything is still fresh in your mind.

Which tomatoes performed well?

What did you plant too much of?

What didn't grow the way you expected?

Which varieties do you absolutely want to grow again?

Those little notes can make next year's garden so much easier.

🫙 Preserving the Harvest

One of my favorite parts of growing a garden is knowing that the harvest doesn’t have to end when summer does.

When the garden starts giving me more tomatoes, peppers, herbs, beans, or fruit than we can eat fresh, I start thinking about how I can preserve some of that abundance for later.

There is something incredibly satisfying about opening a jar, pulling something from the freezer, or reaching into the pantry in the middle of winter and finding something that came from your own garden.

This time of year is when I start shifting my mindset from simply harvesting to preserving.

Depending on what you’re growing, there are so many ways to preserve your harvest:

🍅 Canning

Tomatoes are one of my favorite summer crops to preserve. You can turn that garden abundance into sauces, salsa, tomatoes, and other pantry staples that you can enjoy long after the garden is covered in snow.

❄️ Freezing

Freezing is one of the easiest ways to preserve many garden vegetables, especially when you don’t have the time or energy to spend an entire afternoon canning.

I love being able to quickly process something from the garden, package it up, and put it in the freezer for later.

🌿 Drying Herbs

Don’t overlook your herbs!

If you’ve grown more basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, or other herbs than you can use fresh, drying them is a simple way to extend the harvest. A jar of homegrown dried herbs can bring a little bit of summer back into your kitchen all winter.

🫙 Fermenting & Pickling

Cucumbers, cabbage, peppers, and other vegetables can become something completely different through pickling or fermentation.

There’s something especially fun about taking an abundant garden crop and turning it into a pantry staple with a completely different flavor.

🌬️ Dehydrating & Freeze-Drying

If you have access to a dehydrator or freeze dryer, you can take your preservation game even further.

These methods can be especially useful for gardeners who grow large quantities of food and want to preserve it for long-term storage.

And honestly, I think that’s part of the magic of gardening.

You’re not just growing food for today.

You’re creating a little bit of your summer for the months ahead.

So as you’re harvesting your garden right now, don’t feel like you have to eat everything fresh. Look at that basket of produce and ask yourself:

“What can I save for later?”

Because come winter, you’re going to be very glad you did. 🍅🌿

🌻 Don't Forget the Flowers

When I think about fall gardening, I don't just think about vegetables.

I also love the idea of keeping flowers going for as long as possible.

A fall garden can be absolutely beautiful.

Think about adding flowers that can handle cooler temperatures, refreshing tired containers with seasonal plants, or planting bulbs now for a beautiful display next spring.

Even when the vegetable garden starts slowing down, there can still be plenty of color and life outside.

And honestly, that's one of my favorite things about gardening.

There is always something to look forward to.

🎥 Come Garden With Me

If you enjoy following along with the garden rather than just reading about it, I've been sharing more of what's happening over on YouTube.

You'll see the garden as it really is harvesting, planting, experimenting, figuring things out, and occasionally dealing with the things that don't go exactly according to plan.

Because let's be honest...

That's gardening too. 😂

Come join me in the garden on YouTube →

📖 From the Blog

If you're ready to start planning your fall garden, I've been working on several resources to help you get ready.

🌱 Fall Vegetable Gardening

A good place to start if you're wondering what you can still grow once the summer garden begins winding down.

Checkout our guide →

Fall Gardening Guide

🍂 Fall Garden Preparation

If your garden needs a little TLC before you plant your next round of crops, this is the time to start.

Get the garden ready →

25 Fall Garden Chores

🌸 What to Plant in Fall

Fall isn't just about vegetables. There are plenty of things you can plant now that will reward you later.

See what you can plant →

Ultimate Guide to Fall Bulb Planting

🛒 A Few Things I'm Loving in the Garden

You know I'm always experimenting with garden tools and products, and there are a few things that have become favorites around my garden.

If you're getting ready for fall gardening, these are some of the things I'd have on my radar.

🌱 Garden Beds & Growing Space

If you're trying to squeeze more growing space out of your garden, raised beds and vertical growing systems can make a huge difference.

See what I'm growing in →

Vego Gardens

🧤 Garden Essentials

A few simple tools can make fall garden cleanup, planting, and harvesting so much easier.

Shop my garden favorites →

Amazon Favorites

Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. I only share products I genuinely use, love, or think would be helpful.