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Plan Your Fall Garden

As temperatures cool off in Central Texas, it’s time to get planting in the garden again! As you decide what veggies you’d enjoy growing and eating this fall, you’ll also want to think about how to arrange them in your garden. Here are a couple of tips to guide you:

  • Which way is south? In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun is in the south sky, which means gardens always get their best light from the south. As the days get shorter, and the sun’s trajectory across the sky gets lower, it’s even more important to make sure your garden receives unobstructed light from the south. What’s the take-home message for arranging your garden veggies: always place tall plants and trellises on the northern side of your garden.
  • Who likes who? One fascinating bit of garden wisdom is that certain plants actually benefit from growing alongside others, and, on the flip side, some plants are harmed by the proximity of others. This practice of pairing plants that provide mutual benefits to each other in the garden is called “companion planting”. Companion plants include tomatoes and basil, peas and carrots, and lettuce and strawberries. Find a companion planting chart, and give your veggies neighbors they like!

For a wealth of additional information to help you start your fall garden with confidence, join us for one of our upcoming hands-on classes, Citizen Gardener # 52 at LASA High School, or the Plan Your Fall Garden class in the SFC Teaching Garden!