September gets an unfair reputation in the vegetable garden. The tomatoes may look tired, the cucumber vines may resemble tangled shoelaces, and the squash plants may have reached the stage where every leaf looks like it has seen some things. But that does not mean the garden has run out of useful work. In many parts of the country, September offers a valuable window for planting cool-season vegetables that actually prefer the shorter days and cooler temperatures of fall.
It involves choosing the right crops and giving them enough time to establish before cold weather slows growth. Lettuce, spinach, radishes, arugula, turnips, kale, and several other vegetables can fit into a fall garden, although the exact timing depends heavily on local weather and the crop itself. A gardener in one region may still have plenty of planting opportunities while another gardener a few states away needs to shift toward winter preparation, so the calendar alone cannot make the decision.
