What To Plant Now
I’ve received deliveries of fall veggies at the day job and it looks like more are on the horizon. So, to make sure y’all are aware of what you can plant now, I double checked my fall planting guide and came up with a list of plants you can be on the lookout for and hopefully get a good deal!
Crops to Plant Now (Central Texas, Early Fall):
🥬 Kale – Choose varieties like Lacinato (dinosaur), curly, or Red Russian. These are cold-tolerant, nutrient-rich, and great for salads, soups, and (my favorite) omelets!
🥕 Carrots – Sow seeds directly into loose, compost-enriched soil. Danvers variety does very well here and cooler temperatures will help them sweeten.
🥦 Broccoli – A cool-season staple in my garden. Plant transplants now for a steady harvest through fall and early spring. Be sure to harden them off to the heat if they have been in a controlled environment.
🌿 Cilantro – Thrives in cooler weather and bolts less in fall. Perfect for tacos, soups, and salsas.
🧄 Garlic – Plant cloves around Thanksgiving for a spring harvest. My husband’s grandmother planted her garlic and shallots at this time and I’ve picked up the tradition.
🥬 Spinach – Another leafy green that loves fall. Try Bloomsdale or baby leaf varieties for tender harvests.
🌿 Sugar Snap Peas – These climb beautifully and offer sweet pods for snacking or stir-fries. I’ve already done the first round of planting, keeping them hid under the on-their-last-leg cucumbers until they can get up to the trellis.
🌱 More Crops to Plant Now (Mid–Late September, Central Texas)
🧅 Bunching Onions – Evergreen Hardy White or Red Beard are great for fall. Sow seeds or transplants now. Honestly, I have talked to people who start them now and are successful, but I like Granny’s tradition of putting them in on Valentine’s Day. Your choice.
🥬 Swiss Chard – Rainbow or Fordhook Giant varieties add color and resilience. Harvest young leaves for salads or let them mature. If you lose your swiss chard in a freeze, replant! They will last way into the summer.
🥬 Mustard Greens – Mizuna or Southern Giant Curled bring spice and vigor. Great for stir-fries and pollinator interest.
🥗 Lettuce – Start with heat-tolerant varieties like Jericho, New Zealand Spinach or Black Seeded Simpson, then transition to cooler-weather types in October. The mesculan mixes are great. Purchase enough seeds so that you can do succession planting into spring.
🌿 Parsley – Flat-leaf or curly, it’s a slow grower but worth it. Plant now for winter harvests.
🌸 Calendula – Not just pretty—edible petals and medicinal uses. I prefer plants, but you can direct sow seeds at this time.
🌿 Fennel (bulbing or leaf) – Florence fennel can be started now. Adds structure and pollinator appeal. I’ve tried growing this one for food and ended up donating it to the butterflies, both spring and fall. I’m good with it.
🌾 Soil & Ritual Notes
Add compost and a healthy sprinkle of worm castings to each bed—especially after the heat stress of August.
Consider a mycorrhizal inoculant for transplants like broccoli and chard to boost root resilience. Central Texas Mycological Society is a great resource.
If you’re keeping a garden diary/notebook, this is a great moment to note moon phase (planting by the moon anyone?), weather shift, and varieties that you planted. I have plants in the garden right now that I’m not sure how they got there because I didn’t write down what I put in the bed. “Let me just pop this in the garden and then we can go. It’ll just be a second.” And now I have no clue as to what it is.
