WHAT TO PLANT IN
October

Mid-Atlantic Region

“Pick a sunny afternoon – one of those sharp, bright days that only fall brings. Pull out a lawn chair, and set it down right smack dab in the middle of your garden. Lie back and relax, and think about all the beauty and success your garden has given you this year.”

Susan Sides, Putting the Garden to Bed

September-October 1988

To read more about what to plant in other months and regions, visit our What to Plant Now home page.

For planting times specific to your zip code, check out the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Vegetable Garden Planner. 

Top Crops for Mid-Atlantic Gardening:

 

Here are the Top Ten crops for Mid-Atlantic gardens, followed by other recommended crops, as rated in our National Survey of Most Productive Garden Crops. (The criteria for selection include ease of culture, efficient use of garden space and time, ease of storage and desirability at the table.) The recommended crops are sorted by plant family to help you plan rotations so that the same plant families are not grown consecutively in the same area, as much as possible.

Top 10 Crops: Mid-Atlantic Region

 1. Slicing tomato
 2. Sweet pepper
 3. Cherry tomato
 4. Pole snap bean
 5. Bush snap bean
 6. Garlic
 7. Potato
 8. Snow/snap pea
 9. Summer squash
 10. Bulb onion

Other Highly Recommended Crops:

Cabbage family:  Broccoli, cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi 

Cucumber family:  Cucumber, winter squash 

Leafy greens: Arugula, chard, lettuce, mache, mustard (all types), pac choi, sorrel, spinach 

Legumes:  Asparagus/yard-long bean, bush lima bean, dry soup bean, edamame, peas (all types), Southern pea

Root crops:  Parsnip, radish, rutabaga, shallot, sunchoke, turnip 

Tomato family:  Eggplant, peppers (all types), tomatillo, tomato (all types)

Miscellaneous:  Asparagus, leek, okra, scallions, sweet corn 

VEGETABLES 

Sow Indoors   

Sow Outdoors  

Transplant 

Mache 

XXX 

COVER CROPS 

Sow Indoors   

Sow Outdoors  

Transplant 

Crimson clover