Zone 8 - What to Plant in October

Zone 8 - What to Plant in October

Zone 8 growers still have a couple months of growing season before their first frost arrives in late November. The earlier you start in October the better. Try direct sowing some kale, spinach, radish and other second season vegetables. Below is a list of items that can be planted in zone 8 in October.

The Dukat Dill is a popular, improved dill variety that produces a high amount of its essential oil! This dill's attractive ferny foliage is best when used fresh or dried in dips, salads, soups and sauces - as well as to flavor peas and potatoes.

The Romanesco broccoli is a funky little vibrant broccoli! Known for its different appearance, it is also a really great tasting broccoli! This Italian variety is bright lime green with lots of texture. The Romanesco is excellent for cool areas.

The Fiesta is a beautiful, heavy yielding broccoli . Uniform plants are medium height, giving rise to 5-7" blue-green heads. Heavy yields that are disease resistant, which is definitely a reason to celebrate!

Continuity is an extra early iceberg type of lettuce that has thick dark-green leaves that fades to a bronze-red tip. This lettuce is crisp with a fine flavor! This reliable header has some tendency to bolt in hot weather, and is firm and solid.

Happy Rich Baby is an excellent summer producing baby broccoli. Produces uniform, vigorous, dark-green florets that look like baby broccoli heads. One of the best flavors broccoli flavors with hints of sweetness. Produces generous amounts of side shoots when first floret is pinched out and plants are spaced 12-18" apart.

The Midnight Ruffles Lettuce gets its name for being one of the darkest red loose leaf lettuces around! This variety is a delicious new lettuce variety that has extra crinkled leaves, with toothed edges. The Midnight Ruffles hearts are very densely packed for a leaf type, but are so sweet and delicious any salad or dish!

The Rondo Pea is a wrinkle-seeded variety that produces great yields of long, uniform pods that contain around 10 little plump peas per pod. This stocky, dark green pea is hardy and shows good resistance to Fusarium Wilt. This favorite has a delicious sweet flavor that can't be beat! The Rondo is perfect for freezing for soups and stews but is also amazing when eaten freshly picked!

The Winter Density Lettuce is a favorite cold weather Romaine! This variety produces compact, extra-dark green heads that are 8" tall and very tightly folded. The Winter Density gets its name for doing well in the cold weather!

Bobcat is a high producing fresh-market variety that has long storage life. Excellent flavor and good resistance to disease. Due to its high yield potential, Bobcat is suitable for coleslaw production.

The Blush Butter Cos Lettuce is a very popular and tasty butterhead variety with beautiful pink blushing and cos qualities. This lettuce has a good, sweet flavor with dense, buttery sausaged leaves. This variety is most known for its easy to remove leaves without any tearing or bruising.

The Orange Dream cauliflower performs like a dream in outdoor and greenhouse growing conditions. This cauliflower is a medium-large plant. Orange Dream is a pastel orange cauliflower that exhibits great tolerance to heat and stress.

The Super Sugar Pea is an improved original tall snap pea that is bursting with a sugary sweet flavor! This plant variety has a very high yield potential and even better flavor than before being improved, making it a favorite to add to many dishes.

The Noble Giant is an old heirloom that was an All-America Selections Winner in 1933. This spinach variety produces huge, dark green leaves with a very delicious flavor. This spinach is great in salads, cooked, canned or frozen. The Noble Giant is slow to bolt and is very easy to grow, making it perfect the perfect spinach for the home gardener!

The Sweet Valentine Lettuce is a beautiful bronze-red variety that turns apple-green in the center, making it look and taste sweet! This lettuce starts out as a head lettuce before forming a looseleaf romaine excel. Sweet Valentine holds long into the heat without bolting and is one of the sweetest lettuces around.

The Sunset is a beautiful deep red looseleaf lettuce that is slow to bolt. The very attractive crinkled leaves make it a favorite in any salad or dish. This lettuce was an AAS winner in 1987, and since has been known to be a rare lettuce leaf. The delicious Sunset lettuce is a great variety for home and market growers alike. Certified Organic. Learn more about our organic seeds.

Watermelon radish is a striking and flavorful root vegetable that adds both color and variety to the garden. Known for its vibrant pink to red interior, which contrasts with its pale greenish-white skin, this radish variety is a favorite among gardeners looking for something unique. Watermelon radishes are cool-season crops, thriving in the early spring or fall when temperatures are mild. They prefer well-drained, loose soil and require consistent moisture to grow to their full potential. The plants develop large, round roots that can reach up to 4 inches in diameter, and their slightly peppery flavor becomes milder and sweeter when grown to full maturity. Watermelon radishes grow best when spaced 2-3 inches apart to allow room for their large roots. They are relatively easy to grow, with a quick turnaround from planting to harvest—usually around 50 to 70 days. Besides their stunning appearance, watermelon radishes are versatile in the kitchen, perfect for salads, pickling, or as a crunchy garnish. Their unique beauty and crisp, mildly spicy flavor make them a showstopper in any home garden.

The German Red garlic is an easy to grow garlic that is well suited for cold winters. This garlic variety offers a strong, spicy and robust flavor with large, easy to peel cloves. Averages 14 cloves per bulb. Hardneck variety.