Simple Fall Gardening:What to plant and when?

So we're now at that time of the year when the nights seem longer, and the days are surely shorter. If you're just a novice gardener or an expert gardener, you tend to spend less time in the garden this time of the year. But you can still garden well into the late winter months (Just not in zones 1-5a). It used to be widely believed that Spring is the best time of the year to plant trees, plants and grass( and in some areas that's still true),but in most areas Fall is the best time to Plant trees,etc. Why? Because the roots of most living trees and plants get rooted in during this time. What does that mean? Trees grow through out the year,but when it gets close to Winter, the tree starts to shut down and goes dormant.The cooler night temps sparks this change to put it simply. The leaves fall off , and that extra energy goes to the roots,that's why this is a great time to fertilize,so the rooting Trees and plants can become strong for the Spring. Fruit and Japanese Maple trees are my favorites. Fruit trees will usually have beautiful flowers and smell wonderful in the Spring, while Japanese Maples start off with a light to dark green foliage, then in the fall the leaves turn a amazing crimson red. And for other maple trees; orange,yellow, brown or purple. What about the veggie garden...what can we grow there in the Fall and Winter? Mostly leafy greens, Winter Squashes and Root vegetables. Swiss Chard, Spinach,Cabbage,Collard greens and most lettuces will grow very well. Collard greens taste a whole sweeter after the first frost. Garlic, Leeks and Onions will grow well, but are usually harvested early spring. Sugar snap and Snow peas grow well also. Beets,Potatoes,Radishes,Turnips,Rutabagas,Parsnips and Carrots are all root vegetables.Potatoes are tubers. Note: Carrots get sweeter as the weather gets cold.Acorn Ambercup,Autumn cup,Banana, Butternut,Buttercup, Gold nugget,Hubbard,Pumpkin, Kabocha and Spaghetti squashes grow well in a Fall/Winter garden, but you'll have to sow the seeds in the late summer ,usually around august because most squash takes 75 or more days to grow. Ensure that you plant all squash seeds in small hills or if you're growing them on the ground, give them plenty of space, at least 20 ft to spread out.You can plant any of the above veggies starting in August-December.Some seeds take as little as 28 days to germinate(sprout) up to 120 days. So plant your seeds accordingly. So now that you know what to plant,why to plant and when to plant it get started on your garden now, because it's never too late.                                For more on trees, watch the video on twitter @ 80sgreenblog