Many fall crops are best direct seeded, like carrots, arugula or radish, but many crops can be grown as transplants. Growing transplants can provide another month for the existing spring crop to develop and mature before harvest.

After harvesting the spring crop and weeding and prepping the soil, the use of healthy transplants gives your crop a 3 to 4 week jump on the weeds. Planting transplants as opposed to direct seeding also results in better plant spacing which results in better crop quality and production.

Summer Transplants

The crops that are grown into the fall should be frost tolerant and fast maturing. When buying seed, look for seed that is described as good for fall planting, and avoid the spring planted cultivars. Fast maturity is very important, especially when the autumn is colder than usual. Look for cultivars that can be grown in 60 days or less.

When to Start Your Transplants
Early June – cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli
Early July - Swiss Chard, kohlrabi, beets, radicchio, bok choi
Mid July - kale, turnips, lettuce, green onions and scallions, spinach, rapini.

These dates are averages, so in colder climates you should start a little earlier, and in the mild, coastal areas you can often get away with planting until late July.
Some years when the autumn is warm you can get away with a late seeding, but each day is getting shorter and the sun is dropping in the horizon, so the earlier the better.

If you have waited too long you may be able to find transplants for fall and winter crops at your local nursery. Check the cultivar to ensure it is for fall crops, because if a summer cultivar is planted the results may be poor. The best way to ensure that you have the right cultivar at the right time of year is to grow it yourself.

The great thing about summer transplants is you don’t have to grow them in a greenhouse or sunny window, you can grow them outside. Potting up transplants and watering them in the backyard on a grassy area makes clean up with a garden hose easy.

The summer sun can get incredibly hot, especially if your transplants are growing in a dark coloured container. If you are growing your transplants outside make sure and position them so they are partially shaded during the hottest time of the day. Under a tree, beside a fence or shed, somewhere that will give your transplants a little shade from the noon day sun, otherwise you may find them sun dried and roasted. I have a canopy I set up on those super hot days to protect not only my transplants, but myself.

Shade cloth can also be used to protect your transplants from the sun. You can build a simple tunnel using ¾” black plastic pipe to make the supporting hoops. The shade cloth can be secured onto the ¾” pipes with clips, forming a tunnel, or sun shelter for your transplants.

You can start your transplants directly in the garden, or in a raised bed as well. Seed heavily and when you thin out the crop, use the extra plants as transplants. Avoid heavy clay soils. If loose, crumbly soil is used in the bed, it will be easier to separate the extra plants without significant root damage.

Be diligent about checking the soil moisture. If you’re are using black pots, they can heat up and dry out quickly during a hot and windy day, especially if they are supporting well developed transplants that are drinking up the water fast. Peat pots also dry out quickly. The best time to water is in the early morning, when the transplants can quickly dry off in the morning sun. Late day watering can encourage more fungal disease because the plants remain wet until the following morning before drying off.

Remember to feed your transplants. Most potting soils lack any nutrients, so it is important to work some mature compost or a balanced organic fertilizer into your soil.
If you are mixing a blend to start your transplants in, here is a recipe that works for me.
In a 20 liter bucket, mix 8 liters of high porosity peat moss and 8 liters mature compost or worm castings, one cup of 4-4-4 organic fertilizer, and 2 liters of perlite. The perlite helps to improve drainage and makes the soil crumbly and easier to work with when digging transplants. I suggest buying a professionally made compost, rather than using your own from the bin in the backyard, unless you are a diligent composter. The reason being is that many home compost bins are not large enough or managed enough to ensure a balanced and healthy compost, and if used to start seeds could lead to disaster.

In my opinion fall crops are much tastier than their spring counterparts. There is no concern with a fall crop bolting or going to seed, like there is with the spring sown crops. All the energy is going into plant production, as opposed to seed production. The shorter days and the cooler weather seem to thicken the fall spinach leaves, giving them a crunch, and the swiss chard grows strong and brings out its best colours and taste. Make sure and get your summer transplants going and reap the benefits of a fall bounty.