Inspiration Friday: Fall Vegetable Gardens!

After yesterday's post, I think a little fall gardening inspiration is in order! It's not too late to get some goodies growing that will last until the first frost and beyond (although the heat right now may fool you!). It just takes a bit of creativity, planning, and good old fashion "get 'er done". (We really need to get over the mindset that gardening is ONLY a summer thing!)

For creativity and ingenuity, how about this? Lindsay @ LLH Designs Blog wanted to plant some produce in boxes, but her only sunny spot was her steps. So she promptly had her husband replace the step with a wider one. Now that's commitment! (No excuses city dwellers - she's a Houstonian). These can easily be pulled in the garage or house for those cool fall nights and set back out again during the day.

Hume Seeds has a great post on fall gardening tips: late maturing - early maturing, wind break considerations, protection, and lots more (but without being overly wordy). 

Diana of A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa wrote a post at Simple Bites with a weekly countdown of what to do and when along with some crop ideas.

Fall is the time to plant garlic! (Can you ever have too much garlic? I don't think so.) Karen at The Art of Doing Stuff says that anyone can grow garlic. (Well, okay... she said it a bit differently.) But you can read about how on her blog. 

As a side note, she does not recommend soaking them, but Susy at Chiot's Run says it's a good idea; perhaps try it both ways and see which works best!

She also has an excellent post on growing great carrots. I just planted my seeds accordingly this week... hope they grow!

There's always several ways to protect your plants once the first frost starts to set in. You can use straw bales...

Photo Credit

Or you can go even more simple, like this one from Michelle @ It's A Small Town Life.

Conduit hoops are kind of my favorite (or PVC). They can be made in numerous ways, but Amy @ What Did She Do Today has really thought it through... she can actually access the plants!

It doesn't have to be blah out there, you know. Some mums or fall blooming annuals make a spectacular show. Lowes has a few suggestions. 

You can always count on Mother Earth News to have some great tips for fall gardens. Can I just say, who wouldn't want to spend their autumn days in a garden like this?

Plan and plant now, for the next season awaits! Even if you only plant one thing... get 'er done!