The fall sowing window is open: what to plant in August

Most gardens are planted once, in a spring rush, and then asked to coast until frost. But August opens a second season that many gardeners never use: the fall sowing window. The soil is warm, the seeds sprout in days instead of weeks, and the crops that mature into cooling autumn air often taste better than their spring versions.

The rule of thumb is simple: count backwards from your first expected frost. Take the days-to-maturity number on the seed packet, add about two weeks (fall days shorten, so everything grows a little slower), and make sure that total fits between today and your frost date. If it fits, sow it.

For most of the country, August comfortably fits spinach, lettuce, kale, arugula, radishes, turnips, beets, and carrots. Spinach sown now germinates fast in warm soil and then sweetens as nights cool; a light frost actually improves the flavor. Radishes can go from packet to plate in under a month. Kale planted in August will feed you into November, and in milder regions, all winter.

Two habits make fall sowing succeed. First, water the seed rows daily until germination: August soil dries fast, and a seed that dries mid-sprout is finished. Shade cloth or even a board laid over the row until sprouts appear keeps the moisture in. Second, sow a short row every week rather than one long row once; a staggered bed gives you a steady harvest instead of a glut.

The gardeners who feel smug in October, pulling sweet carrots while the neighbors' beds sit empty, are the ones who spent one August afternoon with a seed packet. This is that afternoon.