Zone 3 - What to Plant in September

Zone 3 - What to Plant in September

Zone 3 growers typically don't have too many options to plant in September. With your first frost right around the corner theres not much hardy enough to withstand the cold weather thats coming. That being said, September is the perfect time to plant garlic and cover crops in your garden. Planting garlic in September will give it an early start come spring. Cover crops are good for naturally adding back nutrients to your garden. Below is a list of items that can be planted in zone 3 in September.

Chicory has a long taproot that penetrates subsoils which makes it drought tolerant and allows it to make minerals more available to livestock. Rich in potassium, sulfur, calcium, zinc, sodium, manganese and iron. When managed properly, Chicory produces leafy growth which is higher in nutritive and mineral content than alfalfa and other cool season grasses. Used mainly in mixes with other pasture or cover crop seeds. Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) - Warm season, broadleaf - Perennial - Upright and spreading growth habit - Protein levels: 10-32% - Forms arbuscular mycorrhizal associations Uses: - Bees & Beneficial Insects - Chicken Forage - Deer Attractant - Forage

Pinkeye Purple Hull cowpea is one of the most popular varieties preferred by Southerners. Cowpeas in general are great for drying and canning. This variety's hulls are purple and its cowpeas are green with pinkeyes when freshly picked turning cream with dark maroon when dried. The Pinkeye Purple Hull produces pods that are six to seven inches long and purple. If you are using for Nitrogen fixation we highly recommend using a cowpea inoculant.

All of the seeds below are very good at attracting deer to your property! Buckwheat - Improves top soil and an effective choke weed! Plant late spring to early summer. Establishes quickly. Matures in 60 days. Accumulates phosphorus and and potassium for following crops. Frost sensitive. All below packages come in 1lb. bags. Crimson Clover - Winter annual protects and improves soil! Plant fall or early spring. A good nitrogen fixer (70-150 lbs per acre per year). Showy crimson blooms in late spring are an excellent source of nectar for bees. Inter-seeds well with grass. Austrian Winter Pea - A great cool season legume for cover crops, wildlife and winter grazing! Austrian winter pea, sometimes called "black pea" and "field pea" is a cool-season, annual legume with good, nitrogen-fixing capabilities. Austrian winter pea is a low-growing, viny legume which has been shown to fix over 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year. Peas - Grow regular old peas in your deer food plot. One of the most preferred vegetables for deer. Oats - Oats will kill off winter weeds and hold soil with a mat of vegetation! A high yielding oat that can produce over 100 bushels per acre. Plant anytime of the year. Deer will graze oats all year round. Barkant Forage Turnip - Great forage crop that provides high energy feed! Barkant turnips are an improved, early maturing, diploid turnip wtih a large purple tankard shaped bulb. Barkant turnips have a high leaf to stem ratio and and provide very high contentrations of protein, sugar content and leaf yields. Barkant Turnips are ideally suited for wildlife. Dwarf Essex Rape - A cabbage related plant that is a perfect grazer! Dwarf Essex Rape is a perfect grazer plant that will persist well after the first frost. Ready to pasture 6-8 weeks after sowing. Hairy Vetch - Sow with or without grain, grass or field peas! When sown late summer, grows fast and will attract wildlife. Hairy Vetch has rapid growth that makes it a good weed suppressant.

The Jackhammer Radish is a fast growing daikon radish variety that is a great scavenger that will start germinating immediately! This variety is very easy to grow. The Jackhammer Radish is good for winter kills and turns into great biomass. Radish (Brassica): Cool Season, broadleaf, Annual, Upright and spreading habit, Root Crop Uses: Nitrogen Scavenger, Green Manure, Forage, Organic Matter, Weed Suppression

The Winter Wheat is a cool weather grain that is quick to germinate, cold tolerant and is adaptable to a wide range of soils! This wheat can be sown in late summer for erosion control and tilled under in early spring to add organic matter. The Winter Wheat is winter hardy nearly anywhere, and won't go to seed until its second year of growth. Use: Erosion Control, Green Manure, Nitrogen Scavenger, No Till, Weed Suppression

Inoculants help free nitrogen from the air and into a usable form for plants. Seed Inoculants are able to convert and use this "free" nitrogen from the air into a usable form for the plant. This natural process gives your garden legumes the ability to provide their own organic fertilizer. Resulting in a more bountiful yield. Naturally. Natural, dry, peat-based cultures of beneficial bacteria. Treats up to 8 lbs. of beans, peas, vetch and more. OMRI/Organic.

The Common Buckwheat is a grain that can be planted late spring to early summer and improves top soil and an effective choke weed! This variety establishes quickly and matures in 60 days. This buckwheat accumulates phosphorus and and potassium for following crops and is frost sensitive. Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench): Cool Season, Grain, Annual, Upright growth habit, Enhances soil P availability,Crude protein: straw 5%, grain 13% Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Green Manure, No Till, Organic Matter (Biomass), Weed Suppresion

The Crimson Clover is an attractive winter annual that can be planted fall or early spring and will protect and improve the soil. This good nitrogen fixer (70-150 lbs per acre per year) blooms showy crimson flowers in late spring that are an excellent source of nectar for bees. This variety inter-seeds well with grass, making it a great way to ready your vegetable garden for the spring or beautify a landscape! Not to be confused with the tough perennial clovers that can take over a meadow. Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Chicken Forage, Compaction Control, Deer Attractant, Erosion Control, Forage, Green Manure, Nitrogen Fixation, No Till, Weed Suppression

The Medium Red Clover is fast to establish and can be grown in most soil types as well as sowed in spring, summer or fall! This clover works well for hay or silage. The Medium Red Clover can be used as a cover crop between rows of vegetable crops if mowed to maintain manageability. This clover can fix up to 150 lb. of nitrogen per acre. Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Chicken Forage, Compaction Control, Deer Attractant, Erosion Control, Forage, Green Manure, Nitrogen Fixation, No Till, Weed Suppression

The White Dutch Clover is a perennial clover variety that is a customer favorite for controlling erosion while protecting the soil! This legume is a living mulch of permanent cover that spreads by stolons. Grow low so takes close mowing and grazing. The White Dutch Clover benefits bees and insects as well as fixes nitrogen. Uses: Bees & Beneficial Insects, Chicken Forage, Deer Attractant, Erosion Control, Forage, Green Manure, Nitrogen Fixation, No Till, Weed Suppression

A multipurpose cover crop blend that is sowed in fall! This wonderful blend will help with nitrogen fixation, adding organic matter and weed suppression. Contains a blend of Austrian Field Peas, Crimson Clover, Hairy Vetch, Annual and Winter Rye. Cut right after flowering in spring and till into soil for green manure. (30% Field Pea, 20% Crimson Clover, 20% Hairy Vetch, 15% Annual Rye, 15% Winter Rye) Seed Coverage: - 5 lbs covers 2,000-4,000 sqaure feet - 100 lbs covers 1-2 acres Uses: Green Manure, Nitrogen Fixation, No Till, Organic Matter (Biomass), Weed Suppression

Growing your own forage for your chickens is a cheap, easy, and a highly nutritious way to feed your chickens. Chicken feed can be expensive to provide throughout the year. Growing your own from spring to fall provides high levels of nutrients that will make your eggs taste even better. Foraging chickens have a better balanced diet that creates better eggs and meat. This chicken forage blend is a mix of well balanced plants that chickens love to eat. Spread at 5 lbs. per 1,000-2,000 square feet. 100 lbs will cover 1 acre. Mixture includes: Annual Ryegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, Buckwheat, Flax, Millet, Forage Peas, Red Clover, Alfalfa

The Mississippi Silver cowpea is adapted to hot humid climates, but does well in most climates. This variety produces pods 6-7 " long, and that are colored silver, occasionally streaked with rose. The Mississippi Silver is easy to grow and shell. If you are using for Nitrogen fixation we highly recommend using a cowpea inoculant. Try with cowpea inoculant for maximum Nitrogen fixation.

Majestic garlic is a hardneck porcelain variety that is discovered by Beaver Pond Estates. This variety is a porcelain garlic so it does best in colder climates and develops large bulbs with a mild flavor. This garlic will mature later in the season and has excellent storage life.

Ajo Rojo garlic has a delicious mild and creamy flavor. This variety comes from Spain and is very similar to the Creole Red but is a beautiful and distinctive garlic. The Ajo Rojo is mild and creamy when baked, but watch out if consuming raw - the heat comes on slowly and builds to intense!

The Nootka Rose garlic is certified, and has a strong and aggressive flavor great for cooking. The Nootka Rose garlic was created on a farm in Washington State. The cloves have a dark coloration that are typically brown with red streaks. The Nootka Rose's bulbs tend to yield anywhere from 15-24 cloves each. This variety is a very long storing silverskin garlic. Approximately 12-15 garlic bulbs per pound. Approximately 15-24 cloves per bulb.

Lorz Italian garlic, known for its exceptional flavor and culinary versatility, is a beloved garlic variety that hails from Italy. It is renowned for its unique characteristics that set it apart from other garlic varieties. Lorz Italian garlic typically produces medium to large-sized bulbs, often ranging from 2 to 2.5 inches (5 to 6.4 centimeters) in diameter. These bulbs are composed of multiple cloves, typically numbering between 8 to 12 cloves per bulb. One of the standout features of Lorz Italian garlic is its distinct flavor profile. It boasts a rich and robust garlic flavor with a subtle, sweet undertone, making it a favorite among chefs and home cooks alike. Its cloves are easy to peel and have a slightly spicy kick, which adds depth and complexity to a wide range of dishes. Lorz Italian garlic is versatile in the kitchen, lending its bold flavor to sauces, soups, roasted dishes, and more. Gardeners and garlic enthusiasts often appreciate Lorz Italian garlic for its adaptability to various growing conditions and climates. It can thrive in both cold and warm regions, making it a reliable choice for home gardeners looking to cultivate their garlic crop. With its generous number of cloves per bulb, Lorz Italian garlic is a popular choice for those who enjoy growing their garlic and harvesting bulbs with plenty of individual cloves for planting or culinary use.

Spanish Roja garlic is a certified, early season garlic harvest! This variety is a gourmet best-selling garlic for home gardens with an excellent classic rich flavor! Each bulb has about 8-12 cloves. Spanish Roja's outer wrapper varies in color, from a rich cream to deep purple stripes. Its cloves are large with a brownish red color and are easy to peel. This garlic keeps well, 4-6 months. During curing, many bulbs lose their stems. Approximately 8-12 cloves/ bulb. Approximately 65-85 garlic cloves/ pound.