What to plant in September — zone 11a
Zone 11a averages its last spring frost around January 1 and its first fall frost around December 31. Everything below is timed from those two dates, so it stays useful whether you're planting for summer or for a fall harvest.
Plan & order
- Inventory and order seedaround Sep 11
Sort what you already have, toss anything over 3 years old, and order early while varieties are in stock.
- Map this year's bedsaround Sep 18
Rotate families off last year's ground — nightshades, brassicas and cucurbits each move to a new bed.
- Soil testaround Sep 25
A $20 test now tells you what to amend before planting instead of guessing all season.
- Order fall seedaround Sep 2
Fall brassicas and greens get sown in the heat of summer — have the seed on hand before that window opens.
Start indoors for fall
Direct sow for fall
- Parsleyaround Sep 24
Fall parsley window opens — sowing now beats the last-minute date by a month of growth.
- Bush beanaround Sep 29
Fall bush bean window opens — sowing now beats the last-minute date by a month of growth.
- Lettucearound Sep 30
Succession sowing 3 of 3 — sow every 21 days for a steady cut.
Turn this into your own calendar
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