Time to plant your garden for the fall season

Believe it or not, it really is time to plant a fall vegetable garden.

I know, I know, it is hot right now and probably will be for some time. However, those cold hardy plants need to germinate in warm soil now.

By the time cooler weather arrives, the plants will be growing.

Here’s a list of fall veggies to consider: beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, green onion, kale, lettuce, peas, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, turnips.

According to, Grant-Adams Master Gardener specialist Kris Nesse, most of our growing locations are “in Zone 6B, with smaller pockets of Zones 6A and 7A.

“The PHZM indicates statistically when first and last frosts occur,” Nesse said.

Looking at the PHZM interactive map, note that for Zones 6A, 6B, and 7A the first frost date is Oct. 15 and the last frost date is April 15. So, how do you plant for the fall?

Here is a rule-of-thumb planting guide with the fall frost date of October 15 in mind:

• Start with a fall frost date of Oct. 15.

• Count back the total number of days from seeding to harvest. This will vary among the vegetable varieties you plant. Since snow peas take 70 days to harvest, I have seeded them already. (If an early frost kills them, I will plow them under.)

• Then count back another 14 days to account for cooler fall temperatures and shorter hours of daylight, both which slow down plant growth. Err on the side having veggies to harvest by planting earlier if you wish.

• You may shorten the 14-day leeway if you really want to push limits.

• The result will be the estimated day to plant the vegetable seeds for a fall harvest.

— Duane Pitts it the Washington State University master gardener for Grant and Adams Counties.