What to Plant in September

That is, if you live in an area where you can grow a cool season garden—what some call the “second season garden.” My early vegetable gardening years were in Massachusetts where the growing season usually spanned the months of March through October. Moving back to Southern California I reveled in the opportunity to grow vegetables 52 weeks a year, hence ediblegardens52.

September is a pivotal month to launch the fall-winter garden. Brijette Peña, founder and CEO of San Diego Seed Company reminds us of the fall effect. “The fall effect occurs as days get shorter, causing plant growth to stall. By starting crops while days are longer, your starts are ready to plant out by the time it’s cool.”

Here are Brijette’s recommendations for Southern California gardeners. You can find month-by month garden guidance in her Southern California Urban Farmers’ Calendar 2022. (The calendar is out-of-stock, but look for the 2023 edition before the end of the year).

You’ll also find pertinent links for the cool season garden in my blog sidebar Timely blog posts.