There’s So Much You Can Plant in Your Houston Garden in October

In Houston, the weather might beginning to feel cooler with hopes of temperatures under 90 now that it is October.

We like to think the amazing growing season from October-March in Houston is our reward for May-September when we can’t step outside without breaking into a sweat.

The benefit of these mild Houston winters is that Houston can grow ALL year long in the kitchen garden. The cooler temperatures in October-March are ideal for growing sweet lettuces, kales, herbs, beans, peas, root crops and so much more when much of the country is under snow or experiencing freezing temperatures.

The Houston gardens are lush, green and oh so beautiful!

This month, at Rooted Garden, we are at the start of the Cool Season.

The cool season runs from October-March and is the favorite of the Houston garden seasons due to the variety of vegetable and herb options and the lushness clients can look forward to.

Plus, with the heat of summer having passed so have the challenges of growing during such extreme temperatures. Our cool season gardens aren’t struggling due to heat, water or garden pests.

We would love to help you get your kitchen garden installed before the holidays.

You Can Plant Herbs, Vegetables and Fruit in Your Houston Garden in October

In our Rooted Garden clients’ gardens, we love to plant a wide variety of herbs, vegetables and fruiting plants. This variety in the Houston garden not only means you’ll have something to harvest daily from the garden in October, but also contributes to a much healthier garden throughout the season. 

The herbs we love growing in October in Houston include the woody herbs in the mint family that grow throughout the year. These include rosemary, oregano, sage and thyme. The cooler temperatures bring a few additional herbs in the garden including, parsley, cilantro and dill.

The vegetables we plant in October in Houston include kale, mustards, collards, celery, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, radish, beets and carrots. Now that the temperatures are cooler they thrive better this month. These can be planted by seed of start (small plant).

And the fruiting plants we grow in October include fava beans and sugar snap peas on trellises.

Imagine a raised bed with herbs along the border, greens in the middle and vining tomatoes up the center trellis this month and you’re pretty much right inside a Rooted Garden kitchen garden. 

Let’s learn more of what is possible this month in the garden.

You Can Plant Sweet Lettuces in Your Houston Garden in October

Sweet lettuces are a client favorite in the kitchen garden and for good reason.

Imagine growing your own lettuce from October through April and never having to purchase from the grocery store. Having fresh and delicious greens ready at a moments notice for a lunch or dinner salad. This is possible in the Houston cool season garden.

The Rooted Garden team plants lettuce by both starts (small plants) and by seed in October which provides continual harvesting all season long. Growing your own lettuce allows you a wide range of varieties not found on your grocery store shelf. Our grocery store lettuce travels from California and Arizona on lengthy truck rides to Houston. As a result, growers produce those varieties that have a long shelf which compromises the variety consumers have access to. We love to grow a variety of greens such as Black Seeded Simpson, Lolla Rosa, Butter Crunch and Flashy Butter Gem.

Lettuces are what we call a “cut and come again” plant, meaning you can harvest again again from them for a three or so month period. This is why lettuce is ideal for all types of gardens from patio gardens to very large gardens. Plus, lettuce take up very little space and can be planted few inches apart from one another. It allows our clients to maximize their growing space.

Plant Fava Beans and Peas on Trellises

Both fava beans (pictured above) and peas are directly planted by seed during the cooler temperatures and are the perfect vegetables to grow vertically.

Fava beans are a Mediterranean bean that can be eaten raw, cooked or steamed. You can expect beans planted in the fall to be ready to harvest in the early spring.

Sugar Snap Peas and Snow Peas are two pea varieties that are slow growing so we suggest planting those early in the season to allow completion by the first Warm Season. Sugar Snap peas have a tougher outer shell and slightly sweeter taste than their cousin the Snow Pea.

As the beans and peas grow up the trellis providing some additional support to help those tiny tendrils attach s helpful. We use natural twine and simply attach the twine from the trellis to the vine.

Plant Parsley, Cilantro, and Dill in Your Houston Garden in October

Did you know that several of the cooler temperature herbs including parsley, cilantro and dill are part of the carrot family, Apiaceae? When you understand the plant families it becomes easier to identify similar traits and characteristics including their desire to thrive in cooler temperatures in Houston.

Although these herbs can be planted in September they require extra TLC. In October the temperatures from now through March are ideal for these herbs.

These herbs can be started by seed or by plant.

Plant Kale and Other Greens in Your Houston Garden in October

Did we mention you can grow greens year round in your Houston garden? It’s true!

Kale, mustards and arugula can be planted directly by seed in your Houston garden or you can directly install a new plant. Actually we love to plant these by both plant and seed giving our client access to greens now as well as later.

Greens such as kale and chard are so versatile for salads, smoothies, steamed and as garnishes. Plus, if we do receive a rare Houston freeze this actually enhances their favor and makes them slightly sweeter.

Plant Chives and Garlic in Your Houston Garden in October

Chives are one of the easiest things you can grow in the Houston garden, any month of the year in September is no exception. Chives do best when put into the garden by plants, and you can start harvesting your chives directly from your garden right away.

Garlic can be planted in October and then forgotten about until spring! First you will need to visit a local nursery and purchase organic garlic bulbs there, don’t use garlic from the grocery store. Next, separate the cloves and use the larger outer cloves for your garlic and the smaller cloves can be planted and the greens used for scallions. Dig a wide hole that can cover the entire clove of garlic. Be sure you plant the tip facing upwards. Green will appear in the spring and garlic in the summer.

Plant Root Crops in Your Houston Garden in October

Root crops such as radish, carrots and beets can be planted this month in your kitchen garden.

When planting root crops take some extra time to decide on where to plant them. Root crops needs approximately 5 hours of a sun a day and between the shorter days and the leafy greens growing in the garden root crops sometimes get shaded out from the sun.

You can expect radishes to take the least amount of time and be ready in as little as 30 days, while carrots and beets taking longer at around 75 days or more.

Plant these crops by direct seed and be sure to space them accordingly for ample growing room. If you are like many of us, it is easier to toss some seeds down then it is to take the time to carefully plan their spacing. If this is more your style you will need to go back when the plants are 1” tall and “thin” them. Thinning is simply removing the smaller seedings to make room for the larger ones to grow. Keep in mind if they are crowded above the soil, they will be crowded below the soil too.

Lastly, be sure your seeds stay watered and do not dry out. Even though the temperatures are cooler, don’t forget about water to ensure the seeds germinate.

Plant Broccoli and Cauliflower in Your Houston Garden in October

Broccoli and Cauliflower can be tricky to grow in Houston for a couple reasons and we suggest these for clients who have 75 or more square feet of garden space,

Both of these plants prefer cooler temperatures which Houston doesn’t always have in the winter, or for an extended period of time at least.

When growing broccoli the plant will produce one larger center head, and depending on the variety, several more smaller side shoots off to the side. Cauliflower will produce one large center head. Both of these can be fun to grow, but the production is much more limited with broccoli and cauliflower than other cool season vegetables.

We suggest both of these for larger gardens where clients don’t have to compromise the abundance of greens, herbs and root vegetables for a single head of broccoli and cauliflower.

How to Work with Rooted Garden in Your Houston Garden this Month

As you can see, there’s so much to plant and grow this month in the Houston garden. In fact, it was around this time way back in 2013 when I first started gardening in Houston. That first fall, my garden was so full and prolific that I couldn’t stop talking about with friends and neighbors. As I harvested one thing after another throughout the fall season, I kept looking around and wondering: 

“Why doesn’t everyone in Houston have a garden?”

It was that excitement for year round gardening that prompted me to start Rooted Garden in the fall of 2015 and it’s that same thrill that keeps our company going month after month in Houston. 

This month, we’d love to help you with a custom design and raised bed garden installation so you can plant all the things here (and so much more). We’re currently booking our consults for the rest of 2021 and we’d love to meet you in your own garden space. 

You can set up a consult and find out more about our services here. 

Here’s to having the best cool season garden in Houston this year.