Zone 9 - What to Plant in October

Zone 9 - What to Plant in October

It's finally cooling down a bit in zone 9 and this gives us a good window to grow some crops before the first frost in mid-December. Try growing a mix of fast growing warm and cool season crops. Below is a list of items that can be planted in zone 9 in October.

The Crisp Mint Lettuce is a big romaine variety with mint green-colored leaves that will be sure to stand out in any home garden! This bold lettuce is only mint in color, not taste. However, its sweet and crunchy leaves will be a favorite addition to any salad or sandwich. Crisp Mint's heads will reach 10 inches tall making it perfect for a container garden!

The Dragon carrot is a refined purple carrot that is perfect for home gardeners and market growers! The reddish purple color on the outside contrasts with the bright orange interior when peeled or sliced. The Dragon has a delicious sweet, slightly spicy, carrot flavor that is delicious roasted or in soups and stews.

White Boston lettuce seeds produce an old heirloom butterhead variety known since the early 1900s for its soft, tender texture and reliable garden performance. The plants form loose, pale-green heads with broad, silky leaves that have a mild, buttery flavor and a pleasantly delicate crunch. This variety prefers cool weather, making it ideal for spring and fall planting, and thrives in rich, well-drained soil with consistent moisture. To grow it successfully, sow seeds shallowly, keep the soil evenly moist, provide partial shade in warmer climates to prevent bolting, and harvest heads when they are full and firm for the best flavor and texture.

Countryside is a beautiful dark green very uniform baby leaf spinach variety. It has thick smooth round oval leaves. Countryside has good holding ability for baby leaf and it has acceptable bolt tolerance for fresh market growers. Due to its moderate growth habit, it has performed well in many West Coast baby leaf growing slots.

The Bloomsdale spinach is such an attractive, tasty, and a popular garden standard spinach. This variety is an old favorite amongst gardeners. It has an excellent flavor and produces large quantities of tasty leaves. Bloomsdale is also very nutritious with lots of Vitamin A, C, and iron and is low in calories.

Blue Vantage produces dense and large heads with short cores. A mid-season maturity that is ideal for fresh eating or coleslaw. Great resistance to Fusarium yellows race 1 resistant and tipburn tolerant.

The Bistro Blend is a component mixture of loose leaf lettuce and batavian varieties. All the varieties in this blend have been selected for sweet flavor and thick leaves that stand up well in a rough chopped salad. This blend's colors range from red, bronze, dark green and bright green. This Bistro Blend is a garden favorite with production all year long.

Freckles Lettuce gets its name for being an unusual bright green romaine lettuce with crimson freckles! This uniquely colored lettuce is sun-loving and grows upright. This variety has a crisp texture that can be harvested early or late!

Green Magic is a great summer and fall broccoli that is consistent performer. This broccoli matures mid-early and has wide adaptability to gardening zones. It has a semi-domed, tight head with medium-small bead size and a good plant habit.

Butter King Lettuce is slow to bolt or turn bitter. This varieties' light-green crisp 12-13 oz. butterheads do well in Midwest heat. The Butter King is a Boston type, but it is nearly twice as large and more tender. This lettuce grows vigorously with a good flavor and is disease resistant.

Georgia Southern is a large collard plant with a cabbage-like taste! This variety produces bluish-green leaves that can grow up to 36" tall and do not bunch or head like cabbage leaves. These large open heads are great for cooking or freezing. The Georgia Southern collard is vitamin rich, sweet, not bitter, heat tolerant, and frost hardy.

The Green Sprouting Calabrese produces large dark green heads bursting with flavor. This broccoli with is a favorite, that now is available as organic seed! Good in short season areas with cool nights. It will produce many lateral or side shoots over a long season. It is slow bolting with a flavor that can't be beat.