FALL IS FINALLY HERE.
The days are getting shorter, the air cooler, the tropical rains are numerous and I’m planting my first fall garden.
Planning and planting our fall garden has been similar to my spring garden, except the days are getting shorter and cooler instead of warmer and longer. You can find a good comparison to these September entries in my April 2020 Garden Journal post.
Here’s how September grew in my garden:
Garden Journal
Saturday, September 5th – Fall Planting Begins!
We were up bright and early Saturday morning, eager to get work done before the heat of the day.
We planted all of the tomato starts: 12 Brickyard and 17 Homestead. These seeds we had bought from HOSS Tools and their germination rate was about 99%. The few I lost were my own fault and not the fault of the seeds. The plants are very strong and healthy. I’m excited to see what they’ll produce.
Tomatoes ready to plant facing north 
Tomatoes ready to plant facing south.
Mike reinforced the chicken wire trellises above the tomatoes and put up shade cloth to protect them from the 90 degree-plus heat and sun. We finished our planting with a good layer of compost from the compost pile. The compost was only about half broken down, but it made a great mulch.
Next, we planted two types of beans: Contender bush bean and Blue Lake pole bean, also purchased from HOSS Tools. We planted the pole beans under the trellises we had used for the tomatoes earlier this year, with short rows of bush beans in-between. We then mulched them with about two inches of grass clippings.
I also found random spots among the sweet potato vines to plant some lima beans.
Sunday, September 6th – Planting Continues and we found an awesome box!
Today, we had several things left to plant for the start of our fall gardening season.
Our passion-fruit seedlings were about four inches tall and I planted several near the blackberry bush.
A pineapple top I had started was ready and I found a spot for it in our bed we call “Pineapple Island.”
Pineapple island early spring. 
Pineapple island this summer. 
Squash added to the pineapple island flowerbed.
I found open places among the pumpkin and squash vines to plant more lima beans. I’ve been experimenting with intensive gardening and permaculture techniques. Mixing things up in the garden instead of planting in rows is kinda fun!
The lemon basil was getting crowded where I had originally planted it, so I move some of the smaller plants to the southeast corner where the pumpkins were growing.
After all that morning planting, it was time for a dip in the pool and a hearty brunch!
Later in the evening, we found a wonderful surprise! We were going for an evening walk around the neighborhood shortly before sunset. As we strolled down the sidewalk, we saw that someone had put out a large, wooden shipping crate. It was about 4-foot by 4-foot square and two feet deep. It was the perfect size for a small raised garden! We hurried home and came back with the truck to pick it up.
Later in the week, Mike stained the outside to match the garden shed. We leveled a spot next to the shed and have it sitting there waiting for November. That’s when we’re going to plant Irish Potatoes. I’m going to use Mel’s Mix from Mel Bartholomew’s recipe for soil for raised beds and square-foot gardening. I can’t wait to start growing potatoes. They are Mike’s favorite vegetable.
Monday, September 7th – Labor Day
A little less labor today! I only did my morning garden walk and trimmed off squash leaves that had powdery mildew. I’ve been researching Florida-friendly squashes and melons and I have a few in mind to grown next year. My traditional northern varieties are giving me a lot of trouble in our hot, humid weather.
September 10th – Beans are up!
All of the lima beans are up, the green beans and pole beans too!
The sweet potato vines have been growing like crazy, and I’ve been pruning them back. Some, I toss into smoothies, others end up on the compost pile.
While I was out in the garden, I trimmed leaves on various plants that had either powdery mildew or heavy leaf-miner damage. I’m having to do this every couple of days, which I prefer to do over spraying with chemicals.
September 12th – Planted a cabbage patch
It’s been cooler this week, in the mid-to-high 80’s, and overcast with occasional light rain. I finally decided to plant the 24 cabbage plants in the ground. We had enough lawn clippings to put around all of the plants. We also put a shade cloth in front of the garden bed to shade them during the hottest part of the day. Summer is far from over! Next year, I’ll start my cabbages later in the year.
September 18th – First Squash
I found our first tiny butternut squash about three inches long. Tonight was a good night to do some much-needed weeding too.
September 19th – Lumberjacking and Learning
Today was a sad day. The old oak tree in our front yard had been looking sick for a while. Our landlord had an arborist come out and look at it. He determined it was rotting from the inside and needed to be taken down before it fell on the garage. They scheduled the removal for the coming Monday.
I had hoped to get some tree mulch for the compost pile when the cut it down, but it was very rotted inside. They cut it in large sections and hauled it away.
Also, that weekend, we trimmed some small shrubs around the yard. We ran them through the wood chipper and added them to the compost.
Later in the evening we did our usual leaf-trimming of the vegetables that had pests or diseases. We’re trying to be better at organic gardening and to use less or no chemical pest controls. I’ve been doing a lot of researching this summer about Florida-friendly vegetables and fruits that are more resistant to diseases and pests in our region. One of my favorite resources is the University of Florida IFAS Extension website.
Another resource I enjoy is David The Good, the Survival Gardener. His blog, YouTube videos and books are all entertaining as well as educational.
September 22nd – Maintenance
It’s been dry lately and we had to water the garden. We’ve also found jagged bites taken out of the bean leaves and pest damage on the pumpkins. I’ve decided to try a pesticide approved for organic gardening called BONIDE Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew. It does contain Spinosad, so I try not to use it, but the insect damage was getting heavy and I was starting to lose my bean plants. You can learn more about Spinosad at this website: The National Pesticide Information Center.
September 26th – The Nematodes are back!
Actually, they’ve been here all along. My Bell peppers are finally to the point I had to pull them all out. The roots showed heavy nematode damage. The root-knot nematodes have been my Florida garden nemesis since I started growing a garden. The jalapeno peppers are looking stressed also, but they are still producing fruit so I will leave them growing until the cold season arrives.
The Extension Service recommends solarizing the ground every season, but I think it will be too cold over the winter to solarize where the peppers grew. For now, the sweet potatoes can overrun the area.
September 30th – Rain! Rain! Rain! Then a big chill!
The past three days we’ve had heavy rain, quite a change from a week without rain. I haven’t done anything in the garden.
I’ve noticed the pole beans are starting to climb their trellises.
The squashes are still blossoming and growing small fruit.
The tomatoes are getting taller and the sweet potatoes are out of control.
Everyone seems to be enjoying the rain out there. Today we got some sun, but the cool air made it truly feel like fall is finally here.
Looking Ahead
Our first fall garden is coming along fine. If you are growing a fall garden, is it anything like ours?
This weekend we’ll be harvesting some of the sweet potatoes. I’ll share with you next month what we find.
Soon, the tomatoes and beans should be blossoming.
We’re planning the winter garden right now and I’m worried about the nematodes. I plan to grow several root vegetables this winter. If you’re a southern gardener, how have you dealt with them when growing root crops?
If you have any advice, please share. I’m still learning how to grow in my Zone-9 climate.
Thanks, and happy gardening!
Alisa
[…] squash vines last season. This season, it will support the passion fruit I grew from seed. We also found a shipping crate that we turned into a 4-foot by 4-foot raised […]