The Blooming Joy Journal
What Seeds I'm Sowing in My Vegetable Garden This September
Cool Season Vegetables I'm Sowing in September
For quick reference, I grow outside of the Nashville, Tennessee area, Zone 7, first frost about October 15th.
Fall gardening is one of my favorite times of year to grow plants! It’s a time when the summer heat begins to fade, the days get a little shorter, and there’s still plenty of time to plant certain vegetables for a fall harvest. It's also a time when I make sure I have all of the cool season cut flower seeds I need for fall and winter sowing.
My priority in early September is getting the cool season vegetable seeds planted. Yes, there are some veggies that thrive in cooler weather and frosts! We want these plants to mature before December when there is little plant growth happening due to colder temperatures and lack of daylight. I am essentially planting my fall and winter grocery store!
With my first frost usually around mid-October, it’s the perfect window to sow quick-growing vegetables and cool-season crops. In this post, I’m sharing exactly what I’m planting this month, from leafy greens to root vegetables, so you can get inspired to keep your garden productive well into the season.
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Leafy Greens for Quick Harvests
Leafy greens are fantastic to plant for September sowing because they grow quickly and thrive in cooler temperatures. Some of the greens I'm growing can be ready for harvest in just 20 days!
This month I’m planting spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale, swiss chard, and mustard. Many of these can be harvested as baby greens in just a few weeks, giving me fresh salads in the fall.
Spinach and kale will even sweeten up after a light frost, while mustard and arugula add a spicy kick that keeps fall meals interesting. We definitely love a good soup and salad in my home so these greens are the perfect homegrown garden edition to meals. With a little succession sowing, I can keep a steady supply of greens coming well into the season.
How late is too late to sow leafy greens? Well, I sowed a lettuce mix in my greenhouse on January 1 and by mid February, they were ready to harvest! Check out this blog post on how I heat my greenhouse. For outside growing, its best to have your crops mature going into the winter due to lack of warmth and daylight.
I tend to grow a seed mix of greens because I enjoy the element of surprise. My go to lettuce mix for years now has been the 'Farmers Market' Blend. For Spinach, 'Bloomsdale' has never let me down with an abundant harvest and tough as nails through our winters. Leafy greens require less daylight to grow than cut flower plants which makes them great to grow in the fall when the daylight hours are diminishing.
The nice thing about growing leafy greens is their roots don't get too long. This means you can plant them in a more shallow pot to grow.
Seed Varieties I'm Sowing:
Lettuce mesclun 'Chef's Medley'
Swiss Chard 'Five Color Silverbeet'
Lettuce Mesclun 'Farmers Market Blend'
Lettuce Mesclun 'Gourmet Baby Greens'
Brassicas to Transplant
Sometimes with seed starting, you have to pick your battles. August was a very busy month getting my kids back to school, doing cut flower speaking engagements and traveling to Michigan for the Proven Winners / Walter's Gardens plant trip. I knew that I needed to start seeds of broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts but I just needed one less thing to worry about! I’ll be picking up transplants of brassicas from the garden center this month instead.
Broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are all cool-season favorites that thrive as the temperatures drop. Starting with transplants gives me a head start and increases the chance of getting a good harvest before the light levels really diminish and temperatures have cooled way down. I love the idea of having fresh heads of cabbage or homegrown broccoli to enjoy in cozy fall meals. Also, never I never dreamed that as a Mom I'd say that I can't keep enough Brussels sprouts in the house. My kids, husband and I love them, especially with bacon!
Varieties I'm Growing:
To be determined by what I find at the garden center!
Other Fast Growing Cool Season Options
In addition to leafy greens, roots, and brassicas, I'm including a few fast-growing peas in my September garden. This year I’m sowing sugar snap peas and 'Iona' shelling peas, which are both a Spring vegetable staples in my garden too.
Peas are quick to germinate and thrive in the cooler weather, making them a perfect late season crop. I love harvesting them young and tender for snacking straight from the garden or adding to salads and stir-fries.
Sugar snap peas needed to be grown on a trellis because they can get quite tall. Mine will grow up the fence that surrounds my gardens. 'Iona' Shelling peas don't require any trellis. They grow in a lovely bush form well in a pot.
Greenhouse Update
In semi-vegetable related news, the new greenhouse finally got a coat of black primer and first layer of siding! You may notice on a few of these seed packets the spotted black paint. I was organizing my seeds sorta near where my husband was spraying this greenhouse and the paint drift got on a few packets. Opps!
This greenhouse is made from a lot of recycled material from pallets to old windows (to be installed!) Stay turned for more updates.
I already love the black though. I always wanted a black greenhouse!
Root Vegetables That Love Cool Weather
September is also a great time to sow root vegetables, especially quick-growing ones that don’t mind the cooler nights. I’m planting carrots, radishes, and beets. Radishes are the fastest, often ready in just three weeks, which makes them perfect for filling in gaps. Speaking of gaps, I plant radish in any gap I can find. I sow a seed or two in extra space in perennial pots and corners of my garden bed. They don't take up much space!
Beets and carrots take a little longer, but fall-grown roots develop such rich flavor. They are sweet, earthy, and crisp after a few cool nights. I love mixing these roots into salads or roasting them together for a simple autumn side dish.
Varieties I'm Growing:
Tips for a Successful September Vegetable Garden
To get the most out of your September sowing, a few simple strategies go a long way.
- Keep the soil consistently moist so seeds germinate quickly.
- Consider frost cloth covers or low tunnels to protect young plants from early frosts.
- Succession sowing every week or two of lettuce, spinach and radish up until about a month before your first frost helps keep a steady stream of greens growing at different stages for harvest
With a little planning, you can extend your garden’s productivity well into the fall season.
Frost Cloth ShoppingWrapping Up September Vegetable Sowing
Sowing seeds in September is such a rewarding way to extend the garden season and enjoy fresh, homegrown vegetables well into the fall. From quick-growing leafy greens to hearty roots and cool-season peas, there’s plenty to plant and harvest before the first frost. I hope this list inspires you to tuck a few seeds into the ground and experiment with succession sowing so your garden stays productive and colorful all season long.
What are you planting in your September garden? I’d love to hear your plans in the comments!
October is when the cut flower seed sowing action starts for me . It is a bit crazy to think I continuously sow seeds from October through February for Spring cut flowers. I'll be back to share another blog post on that but in the meantime, check out my Seed Sowing Schedule Cut Flower e-book that outlines everything I sow and when!
PS- If you are interested in any of the Botanical Interests seeds above, use my discount code of BLOOMINGJOY and that will get you 5% off your order. Happy seed shopping!
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