Fall Container Gardening

Container gardening is possible well into the fall. I tried it for the first time this year with good results. In early September I planted endives, a lettuce mix, and arugula in large plastic pots using a mixture of commercial potting soil and compost. The pots are on a sunny, south-facing patio. I began picking a few leaves by mid-October. Now it's the first week of December and I'm still harvesting enough greens for salads by cutting rather than pulling up the plants. And the leaves continue to regrow -- admittedly slowly but still there's new growth. With regular frost likely in the next few weeks, I plan to move the pots up against the south-facing wall of the house soon to extend my container gardening a bit longer.

I also planted kale in a similar large pot (foreground) in early September. This pot will go up near the south wall as well with the seedlings protected with light straw. To get a head start on spring gardening, I will set the well-hardened kale seedlings out in the garden in mid-February or when the frost is out of the soil.