Fall Gardening for Busy Families in the Desert; Plus a Fall Garden Soup Recipe
If you’re a parent or grandparent who wants to grow more of your own food but doesn’t have a lot of extra time, I have good news: fall and winter can be some of the easiest and most enjoyable seasons to garden here in the Antelope Valley.
After gardening in the high desert for more than a decade, I’ve come to really appreciate this time of year. The summer heat finally calms down, and the garden starts to feel a little easier to manage.
Cool-season vegetables like carrots, cabbage, broccoli, kale, lettuce, radishes and beets actually enjoy these temperatures. And the cold weather actually makes them taste better! A little frost can encourage vegetables like carrots and cabbage to develop more natural sweetness, making them some of my favorite things to harvest in the cooler months.
There can also be less weed and pest pressure compared with our long, hot summers. And honestly, one of the biggest benefits is simply being able to spend time outside without feeling like you’re melting!
For families, this makes fall gardening a wonderful time to get kids and grandkids involved. Pulling a carrot from the soil, picking a radish, or checking on how big your cabbage is getting are such a fun experience, especially with kids.
Spend Less Time Planning and More Time Growing
One thing I’ve learned about being a busy gardener is that sometimes gardening research can take more time than the actual gardening.
I used to spend so much time trying to figure out what to plant and when to plant it. Then I realized that researching what to grow doesn't actually grow any food.
Planting does.
That's why I enjoy my Seedtime planting calendar.
Once a year, I spend about an hour or two putting in the foods I want to grow throughout the year. Seedtime then helps me organize those crops into a planting calendar and gives me a weekly task list, so I know what needs to happen and when.
That has made a huge difference for me!
Instead of spending an afternoon searching the internet for planting dates, I can look at my list, grab my seeds or plants, and go outside quickly by myself or with the kids and grandkids to plant.
And that is how I’m able to grow more food and keep a harvest coming. I’m not trying to remember everything at once. I’m simply following the plan and planting a little at a time.
I especially love this for succession planting. Rather than planting an entire crop at once and having everything ready at the same time, I can plan additional plantings throughout the season. That gives me a much better chance of having something to harvest continually.
I also use the upgraded version of Seedtime, which includes a garden layout. This has become one of my favorite features because I can actually see where everything is going.
I don't have to guess where I planted something a few weeks ago, whether I have enough room for another planting, or where I planned to put companion plants. It's all part of the plan.
For a busy gardener, I think that's one of the biggest benefits: less mental clutter and more time with your hands in the soil.
You Don't Have to Grow Everything
If you’re new to fall gardening, don't feel like you need to grow a huge variety of vegetables. Start with foods your family already enjoys and add more as you learn.
The goal isn't a perfect garden.
The goal is to grow a little more food than you did before.
That’s what I love about gardening at Rancho de Anaya. Growing food isn't just about what ends up in our baskets. It's about getting outside, learning something, sharing what we grow, and creating a connection between our families and the food we eat.
And fall is a beautiful time to do that here in the Antelope Valley.
So while everyone else may be winding down their gardens for the year, don't be afraid to keep growing.
The cooler months have plenty to offer.
And if the planning is the part that has been holding you back, let a calendar do some of the work for you.
Ready to grow more food with less planning?
I use Seedtime to plan my garden because it helps me spend less time researching and more time actually growing.
You can create your own planting calendar and start planning your garden here:
🎁Seedtime Planting Calendar
Then grab your seeds, step outside, and plant something.
Because at the end of the day, that's what actually grows the food.
From the Garden: Fall Harvest Vegetable Soup
One of my favorite things about growing food is being able to walk through the garden and see what I have that can become dinner. This soup is perfect for that.
You don't have to have every ingredient listed below. That's the beauty of a garden soup. Use what you have growing, add what needs to be used up, and make it your own.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3–4 carrots, sliced
2–3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium potatoes, diced
½ head cabbage, chopped
1–2 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
4–6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme or other aromatic herbs
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon black pepper
1–2 cups chopped kale or other garden greens, optional
1 cup cooked beans, optional
Fresh herbs for serving, if you have them
Instructions
1. Start with the vegetables.Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion begins to soften.
2. Add the garlic.Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Build the soup.Add the potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, broth, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil.
4. Simmer.Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20–30 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
5. Add the finishing touches.Stir in the kale or other greens during the last few minutes of cooking. If you're adding cooked beans, stir them in at the same time and let them warm through.
6. Taste and serve.Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. Top with fresh herbs and serve warm with a piece of crusty brea
d.
Make it your own
This is one of those recipes where your garden can decide what's for dinner.
Have extra radishes? Slice a few and add them. Have a butternut squash? Peel, cube and add it with the potatoes. Have leftover cooked chicken? Throw it in. A handful of garden greens can always find a home in a pot of soup.
That's one of my favorite things about growing food—you don't always need a recipe. Sometimes you just need a garden and a hungry family
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