Your Custom Text Here
Take the list you’ve just downloaded and use it as a guide to order your seeds for your 2025 garden! Later in the spring, take this list along with you to garden centers as you shop for transplants.
You also might be interested in these related posts!
Want more evidence that gardening is good for you? Read this from Dr. Weil: Gardening Yields a Harvest of Health Benefits
You are hereby granted permission to be a lazy gardener this fall, while you give Mother Nature some much needed assistance. Want to know why? Want to know how? Let’s start with why you should be a little messy.
Don’t feel compelled by your lawn service company or by neighborhood peer pressure to have a perfectly manicured yard this fall. Consider the following:
The EPA tells us that collected leaves and yard debris cause over 34 million tons of waste each year in the US. That is almost one-fifth of all solid waste in this country.
Collected yard waste also generates methane gas (a greenhouse gas) and contributes to water and soil pollution.
Using leaf blowers on flower beds takes off more than just the leaves. They blow away the top layer of precious top soil. Don’t believe me? Watch a lawn care company using leaf blowers and you’ll see it for yourself.
Now let’s observe Mother Nature’s fall routine:
Go for a walk in a forest and you’ll see leaves accumulating to form a natural much. Weeds are suppressed. Roots are protected.
Leaf litter breaks down and provides food for billions (yes, that’s with a “B”) of microorganisms that will feed plants next spring. Think of it as free fertilizer!
Leaves provide shelter for beneficial insects and animals like solitary bees, butterfly larvae, frogs, salamanders, and worms. Undisturbed ground means that when butterflies and moths are in their caterpillar stage, they become a crucial source of proteins for birds.
Fall is a busy time of year, so here are the Cliff Notes on how to help your garden AND the environment. HERE IS WHAT I DO:
Run a mulching mower over a leaf covered lawn to chop leaves into smaller pieces. Those smaller pieces will decompose over the winter and provide nutrition for your grass. Granted, you do not want to leave large quantities of leaves or overly large, flat leaves to smother your lawn. So mulch the leaves one time after leaves have partially fallen.
For the deluge of leaves that are sure to come down over the next few weeks, use the mower’s catcher and spread those chopped leaves over your perennial beds and bare soil flower beds. Just don’t cover up the crowns of your plants or mulch too close to tree trunks.
Run collected leaves through a leaf shredder and spread over your edible flowerbeds or over planted garlic to insulate the soil and prevent any ground upheaval that occurs naturally during freeze/thaw cycles.
Help the birds this winter by leaving the stems and attached seed heads of perennials such as coneflowers, Black-Eyed Susans, Joe Pye Weed, sunflowers, goldenrod, native wildflowers and low grasses. To our eyes, the seeds may appear too small, but birds will find them and consume these protein-packed snacks as a way to survive over the winter.
Collect blown down tree branches or collect fallen twigs and build an out-of-sight brush pile to shelter smaller birds from both the elements and predators.
Well, I guess there is some work involved, but at least it’s a fall yard routine you can feel really good about!
If you hurry, it’s not too late to plant garlic if you do it before a hard freeze! Never done it before? Don’t worry - I’ve got you covered. In my blog post Garlic Planting Time is Here! you can download a complete, step-by-step guide on how to plant garlic that’s meant for beginners. It’s FREE!
It’s time to put in my order for garlic here in my Zone 6a Illinois garden. Like tulips and daffodils, garlic is planted in the fall and comes up in the spring. It’s one of my favorite fall garden traditions. Garlic is planted here in October, so order your seed garlic this summer to get the best selection. Since garlic has become extremely popular the last few years, if you can’t find your favorite variety, you can always buy organic, locally grown garlic at farmers markets.
If your family likes garlic and you're ready to reap its many health benefits, but you’ve never grown it before, believe me, it’s easy and fun. I’ve written a growing guide - one I wish I had my first year of growing garlic eight years ago! It gives beginning gardeners the information necessary to successfully grow garlic for the first time.
Each bulb separates into cloves. Each clove planted in the fall yields a new bulb the following summer.
If you’ve never grown garlic before, start small the first year. Plant 6-8 cloves from ONE garlic bulb and you will have 6-8 bulbs to harvest next summer. If you decide you like growing garlic - and you will - you can plant even more the following year! That’s how I first started, and now I harvest more than 90 bulbs for my family and friends that last through the winter months.
Garlic not only adds a gourmet touch to home cooking, it also adds a super healthy punch (The Health Benefits of Garlic).
If you're still hesitant, read what others say who once felt the same way. Here are the answers to a question I posed to some of the growers I’ve helped:
Garlic scapes appear about a month or so before harvest. They are edible and can be used in cooking. They are removed to allow energy to go into bulb formation.
Q: How did you feel about growing garlic for the first time?
“When you suggested I try growing garlic, I was worried that if I didn’t plant the clove at exactly the right height or distance, it wouldn’t grow. But I followed your step by step approach. and quite frankly, after planting and putting mulch on top, I forgot about it. Then I saw the sprouts in the spring, and it was very exciting. They grew into whimsical plants! After making Garlic Scape Lemon Butter, I was hooked. The bulbs I harvested lasted well into winter. I couldn’t wait to plant garlic the second year, and now I’m on my third year! It was easy and a beautiful addition to the garden. I’m so glad my eyes (and nose!) have been opened to the garlic plant!” (from Muffy O.)
“My daughters, ages 7 and 9, really enjoy spending the summer planting vegetables. Jan suggested we plant garlic because it is super simple and would be fun for my girls to grow. The girls were super excited about it, so we gave it a try. I let my kids put the cloves in the soil in early October, which only took five minutes. After we covered them with a little mulch, we didn’t touch them again. To our delight, by May our garlic was really growing! We used the scapes to make Garlic Scape Lemon Butter (link to recipe in previous paragraph), which is amazing on everything from steaks to veggies. By July, the bulbs were ready to harvest. My kids dug them out of the ground and hung the bulbs in our garage to dry for three weeks. Our reward? Delicious, organic, homegrown garlic all winter long. We are ready to plant our garlic again this fall!” (From Lauren B.)
“I had no experience in planting garlic until you showed me that all I had to do was stick cloves in the ground, I must admit I was a little skeptical, but then spring came, and things started growing! All I did was follow the process step by step. By the time the second year rolled around, I had the confidence to do things all by myself!” (Cathy C.)
So please let me know if you're “in” on growing garlic this fall. I would love to hear your experiences. It’s always fun to grow something new!
Hardneck garlic and clove.
Have you and your children spotted any birds building nests this spring? Spring is a perfect time of year to teach our children the many benefits of birds to both our gardens and to us, including the following:
Watching birds and listening to their songs help to relieve stress and boost our sense of well-being, and heaven only knows both we and our children can use this nowadays! Being outside gives us the added benefits of vitamin D, increased physical activity as we prepare our yards for our feathered friends, and a healthy dose of fresh air and exposure to green spaces.
Observing bird behavior opens up many learning opportunities for children to study local wildlife. Most children I know, including my grandchildren, love animals and science, so use this time of year to bolster their STEAM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math).
Birds greatly contribute to our garden’s ecosystem. By turning our yards into bird-friendly places, we teach our children to care for Mother Nature’s creatures and respect the environment in which we live.
For the past nine years, my brother, John, has been an avid bird photographer whose goal it is to document as many native Minnesota birds as possible. To date, he has successfully photographed 150 of the 311 bird species commonly found in the state. He says his birding photo sessions give him an excuse to hike, particularly during the long and often bitter Minnesota winters. A few years ago, my brother sent me incredible photos of a bald eagle's nest near his daughter’s home in St. Paul.
I’ve hiked along with him during some of his birding excursions and greatly admire both his skill in photography and his knowledge of ornithology (the scientific study of birds). John will hike for hours gingerly hauling about a backpack full of camera lenses, a tripod, and other equipment required to capture just the right shot of these native birds, all of them spectacular.
This labor of love requires patience and persistence. He once whimsically observed, “I am totally dependent upon the whims of the feathered ones! It’s a great reminder of who is in control . . . and it’s NOT ME!” 😊
👍 So, thumbs up for birds . . . the only members of the animal kingdom with feathers to help them fly and keep warm . . . these beautiful egg laying vertebrates whose species number at least 10,000 . . . the graceful, two-winged creatures who fly, glide, and soar, inspiring us to do the same.
(All books were available from my public library, but the pdf will also link to the books on amazon as well)
Do you remember a time when you went out to the garden on a summer morning and came back with a bowl full of berries to put on top of your cereal?
When I was growing up, my father and I were the first ones up on weekend mornings. One of my favorite summer memories was to go out to the wild and cultivated berry patches while they were still shaded from the hot summer sun and pick strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Father and I would bring in our full baskets just as the other family members were getting up and gathering around the kitchen table. My dad was as much of a “kid” on those berry-picking days as I was!
So, some of the first plants I wanted to put in my garden were berries for my grandchildren to enjoy. When they know it’s ripening season, they run over to wade through the strawberry patches, gingerly reaching for raspberries and blackberries from among the thorns, and eagerly compete to see who can pop the most blueberries into their mouths.
Conventional store bought berries probably have a high residue of pesticides, so growing them in my organic garden creates a healthy alternative while also building memories and instilling the love of gardening into the souls of my grandkids.
"7 Ways to Use Photos in the Garden to Build Family Memories"
Ideas On How To Use Your Camera in the Garden
Micronutrients and antioxidants are necessary to offset the normal but harmful byproducts of oxidation known as “free radicals.” Healthy foods high in antioxidants are essential for children throughout their growing up years, and berries are among the highest sources of antioxidant foods as compared to serving size. Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries are good for developing a strong immune system and decreasing the risk of infection. (10 Berry Health Benefits)
Blueberries, in particular, are considered a superfood with nutrients that support “healthy aging, better memory, decreased inflammation” (Health Benefits of Blueberries)
Strawberries are packed with even more vitamin C than an orange, and one serving provides enough vitamin C for an entire day.
Raspberries are not only high in vitamin C, but also very high in fiber. We all know the phrase “eat the rainbow” and raspberries come in many colors. I grow gold and red, but they also come in black and purple.
But blackberries win the prize with one of the highest antioxidants of any food per serving. (What are the Health Benefits of Blackberries?)
What’s not to love? They are sweet and juicy, with just the right amount of tang for a youngster’s palette. Blueberries and strawberries are easy to pick. Older kids can work around the thorns of many raspberry and blackberry patches. The beauty of modern agriculture is that many thornless varieties are now available.
If you have enough space, you can grow enough of these plants to satisfy casual picking/eating as well as gathering enough fruit to make into jam, pack into a pie, or sprinkle on top of ice cream for dessert. How To Grow Berries: Easy for Beginners
Blueberries grown as individual plants may need 6 feet of separation, or 3 feet if planted in a hedge. Plant MORE THAN ONE VARIETY of blueberries together. They also like a highly acidic soil.
Both raspberries and blackberries need to be about 2 feet apart. Warning: they can become unruly, especially blackberries, so I put mine in the yard where I don’t care if they thrive. Best when kept pruned.
Strawberry plants need to be planted about 1 foot apart. You can plant strawberry plants in spring, summer, or fall, but many gardeners say fall plantings are best.
All of this depends, of course, on the variety you choose, but you can expect each of these berries to spread as they mature. Growing Berries in Your Back Yard
If you don’t have enough space, both blueberries and strawberries can be grown quite successfully in containers placed on a sunny patio or porch. In fact, I know many gardeners who do both - plant some in the ground and some in containers. Growing Berries In Containers: How to Grow a Small-Space Fruit Garden Kids and container gardening pair well together!
After all, can anyone really have too many berries when kids are around - no matter what age they may be!?
“There are only two lasting gifts we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.”
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
One family tradition I am passing on to my grandchildren is how to garden. I want to share with them the joys and dependable seasonal rituals of growing homegrown food and show them how Mother Nature works together with gardeners of all ages, even if it is only on a small piece of land.
Family traditions, like the roots of plants, anchor children from the buffeting winds of life, feed their souls, and give them a strong foundation from which to grow tall, reach for the sun, and bloom in their own unique ways.
Keep your memories alive by using your camera to record your garden memories! Now that my grandchildren are getting older, we treasure all the garden photos that we have collected over the years. You can do this, too! Here are some ideas to get you started! 7 Ways to Use Photos in the Garden to Build Family Memories
During the COVID lockdowns, gardening and growing food at home became extremely popular again! If you could follow directions, had some seeds, a yard, or some containers, it was a great time to bring back the Victory Garden.
The trend hasn’t slowed down. In fact, gardening is even more popular now! So even if you have never grown anything before, try growing some of your own food! Whether you get the whole family involved or live in a single person household, it is a great time to get outside now that spring is almost here!
Here are a series of articles that will help you get started on planting a Victory Garden - one step at a time:
Click here if you want to learn more about the history behind Victory Gardens.
The garlic I planted last fall, the daffodils, and the chives are all coming up. The magnolia trees are budding out, and the birds are singing and building nests. Mother Nature only needs a willing gardener to work alongside! Get growing this year!
World War 2 campaign to encourage the homeland to grow food at home.
Soil Thermometer
Seeds are smart. They know when the conditions are right for germination. Mother Nature tends to have a pretty forgiving nature, but she prefers a partner in the garden who will work WITH her rather than AGAINST her! One way to be a better partner is to become aware of the role that soil temperature plays in seed germination. If the soil is too cold, seeds will fail to germinate or the germination process will be SLOW! If the soil is too warm, seeds will fry! So be a good partner and get a soil thermometer. For kids, the digital ones are easiest to read.
Find out the ideal soil temp range for the seeds you want to plant by visiting the Cornell University Vegetable Growing Guides for over 58 vegetables. Click on the veggie, and the guide will provide information on growing that particular vegetable, including the optimum soil temperature range.
My grandkids love science, especially doing experiments and working with scientific tools, so they eagerly head out to the garden to take soil temperatures for me, which will vary from location to location. Sunny spot? Higher soil temps. Shady spot? Cooler temps. Raised beds generally warm up sooner than adjacent areas that are level ground. Here's a handy chart you can give to the kids on a clipboard as they go about temperature testing.
Also known as “pepitas” or “little seed of squash”, pumpkin seeds pack a BIG nutritional punch, so much so that it may surprise you! For a 100-g serving of seeds, a mere 127 calories, you get protein, healthy oils, fiber, calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium - WITH ZERO GRAMS OF SUGAR! My school-age grandkids LOVE the crunch and eagerly consume them as an after school snack this time of year. (NOTE: As with all seeds and nuts, use caution with young children to prevent choking).
Pie pumpkins are plentiful in stores now, so if you don’t grow your own, pick up a few at your local fall farmers market or in your produce department. I like to roast two in my crock pop for a few hours, scoop out the seeds, rinse them under cold water in a colander, and spread them out on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, cinnamon, and a tad of brown sugar and roast in a 235 degree oven until crunchy. DELISH!
Want to read more on this nutritional powerhouse? Here you go!
Here is a link from the Univ. of Calif. to more information on dragonflies. When you are in the garden with the kids, keep your eyes open for moments like these. A beautiful dragonfly posed for the camera while resting on a nearby bush. Notice the paper thin transparent wings! The head is made up of numerous eyes capturing an almost 360 degree view. We want these creatures in our gardens - another good reason to practice organic yard care!
My grandson loves to climb trees! This locust is a bit too large, but it is one of our favorites to hug!
Here is a link to the Arbor Day Foundation on ways to celebrate trees!
I love emphasizing with children the miracle of seeds! In this short video, you will see just one way seeds are dispersed into the environment to give birth to a new generation of plants. This is a milkweed. Show this to your kids, and check out this lesson called “Seeds on the Move: Seed Dispersal for Kids.” Wait for a windy day and go for a walk to find plants that are sending themselves into the world by this method.
Winter is long in this part of the country. One way I try to postpone the quickly approaching “fall garden goodbye” is by planting some fall edibles in August. Now that autumn is just days away, these plants (beets, onions, carrots, Swiss chard, etc.) are happily getting established and will provide a mid-to-late autumn harvest.
But even with these late veggies, the closer we get to our first average frost date around October 8, the more lonesome the garden becomes. The towering tomato stalks get dismantled, the lush bean and cucumber vines get chopped, the herbs start bolting one by one, and the milkweed releases its fluffy seeds.
Thankfully, there are still some beautiful swan songs yet to be performed by Mother Nature. For example, soon the bright red pineapple sage blossoms will grace the garden, and the lemon verbena will unfurl delicate white blossoms. These two plants look more like shrubs this time of year. And then, there’s the garden’s final curtain call — the turning of the majestic autumn tree leaves! They will eventually sacrifice themselves into huge mounds in my compost bin, where by next spring they will complete their miraculous transformation into rich compost.
Because it was the first year I started chronicling my experiences as In The Garden With Grandma, reflecting back on this season was particularly fun!
I am grateful for what Mother Nature and this humble gardener have accomplished together. I am inspired by the bubbly enthusiasm of my grandchildren, and the supportive encouragement of my family, friends, and followers. So come on Fall and Winter! There will be plenty to keep us busy until spring comes again.
New Beginnings! Today is the first day of school for my grandkids. It's always such an exciting day! My daughter is a teacher, as I was, so there's a definite rhythm we fall into and feel in our souls this time of year.
I know I have done my part this season to share healthy, organic food with our family all summer long, to teach them even more about how to grow their own food, and to provide lots of fun when they come over to play in the garden and pick food they can eat right off the vine.
There is also a certain nostalgia that kicks in about now. The days are slowly growing shorter by 2-3 minutes each and every day, but the plants remain at their very lushest and most abundant stage. Mother Nature is putting out her very best efforts, and it shows. Both She and We Gardeners know what is waiting right around the corner in our part of the country -- autumn's chill, the first frost, and then the snows of Winter. Walking around the yard at twilight is often a bitter sweet endeavor, a reminder that Summer is soon coming to an end.
Endings and Beginnings. The rhythm and joy of life.
Garden Vegetables Picked This Morning
First of all, I never “win” anything (raffles, the lottery, playing Old Maid with my grandkids ...).
However, in the spring I won a free ticket to a Garden Walk in a village a few towns over which was held on Saturday. Even though I walked in a few rain showers, it was one of the highlights of my summer so far.
On April 8, 2018, I wrote on my blog that “Gardeners are Kindred Spirits.”
Saturday's Garden Walk reinforced that sentiment as generous gardeners opened up their outdoor spaces to friends and strangers alike, revealing incredibly beautiful gardens! I snapped pictures with my iPhone when inspired with an idea that I might want to implement in my own humble garden.
You can do the same! Go on a Garden Walk and become inspired!
One thing I’ve come to know for sure. Gardeners are kindred spirits! I guess that’s why I love gardening so much, and why I think gardening is good for kids. I have found gardeners to be among the most generous, warm, enthusiastic, and willing-to-share people I’ve ever met. It doesn’t seem to matter their ages or ethnicities, what part of the country or world they come from, their socio-economic status, or more relevant today, their political persuasion. Put a bunch of gardeners together, and those potential obstacles melt away as soon as the conversation turns to plants. There are just too many questions to ask one another, too much pertinent information to share, too many successes to celebrate and failures to commiserate over. In short, gardeners just want to talk to and learn from one another. What a concept in these tumultuous times in which we are living!
Take, for example, these two young women I met on Saturday morning. I got up early (most gardeners do) and drove 30 miles due west, smack dab to farm country, to attend an organic vegetable plant sale. Many weeks before, in a small greenhouse set next to the barn, these two gardeners began the time honored tradition of seed starting while snow still covered the fields. They placed seeds first in flats, and then as the seedlings' first true leaves appeared, they transplanted the kohlrabi to kale and basil to broccoli into the individual containers that now sported robust, healthy looking plants ready to put into the ground as soon as the weather permits.
As I pulled open the sliding door leading into the greenhouse where the sale was taking place, I was met with the sight of numerous children of various ages following mom, dad, or grandma around as they picked out the plants they would take home together. I was grateful for a momentary lull in the line behind me as I was paying my bill, which was just enough time for me to strike up a conversation with these two young farmers in the photo. In the span of just a few moments we were like old friends meeting for coffee, sharing how each of us had gotten into gardening. I was not one bit surprised to learn that both had been exposed to gardening as children by their parents or grandparents. The young woman on the left above expressed a deep appreciation to her South American grandmother who once told her, “Someday, you are going to work with the soil.” Years went by without her thinking much about it until the seed her grandmother had planted in her soul began to take root. Here she is, embarking on her career of working with the soil.
More often than not, that is the way it happens. That is how it happened for me. Maybe that is how it happened for you.
Just as we were about to exchange names, I noticed the line behind me was growing and the parents with the young children needed that line to keep moving! But before our conversation ended, these kindred spirits had extended an invitation to me to bring my grandkids with me the next time. They would show them the goats, the cows, the fields, and the farm. What a gift it would be for my grandkids to be around garden people who are generous, warm, enthusiastic, and willing-to-share. What a gift it would be for your kids, too.
My grandkids love the homemade applesauce I make, especially when they can help me by nibbling around the apple cores and sprinkling the cinnamon in the pot. The aroma of applesauce cooking in the kitchen is a memory I hope they will always remember! But the fun doesn't have to end there. I have taught the kids the importance of composting, so they enjoy the chore of helping me collect and sprinkle the kitchen scraps out in the yard. Watch this little video on how to feed the soil.
Here is what we are planting and winter sowing in early March in Zone 5.
