Fall Seed Starting

It may still feel like summer, but Fall is fast approaching! Now is the time to start preparing your Fall veggie seeds. Our veggie and herb buyer gave us a great guide for Fall seed starting! For further questions, feel free to give us a call or visit us in store!

Learning your regional frost dates is essential to gardeners for crop planning and risk mitigation. Using frost dates, you can plan when to plant warm-season crops in the spring and when to plant cool-season crops in the fall. 

The average first frost date in Austin is usually in mid-late November, but can vary with freezes happening as early as October or as late as December. Use the below dates to sow seeds in your outdoor garden. Allow yourself a few extra weeks on top of that when starting seeds indoors to transplant when conditions are more favorable.

Once you have your frost date, you can “count backwards” from the first frost date. All seed packets have a “Days To Harvest” line and most of the transplants we have here at Garden Seventeen also mention it on their tags. That number is the amount of time that a seed or transplant needs in ground until harvest time!  

For example, this packet below says this variety of Cauliflower is ready in 70-80 days, so counting backwards from November 30th would land in Mid-Late September. That’s when you’d need to sow these seeds in the garden. 

It’s not an exact science and results may vary, so it’s always wise to allow yourself a little extra wiggle room, especially if starting seeds indoors prior to transplanting.

Happy planting!

Sow by 7/30 – for 120 day crops

Garlic
Leeks 
Onions (from seed)
Parsnips
Quinoa

Sow by 8/30 – for 90 day crops

Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Carrots
Leeks
Quinoa

Sow by 9/30 – for 60 day crops

Beets
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Fava Beans
Kale
Kohlrabi
Lettuces
Mustard
Peas
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Turnips

Sow by 10/30 – for 30 day crops

Arugula
Baby Chard
Baby Salad Greens
Baby Spinach
Mizuna
Microgreens
Radishes