Start with Columbia's local window
Richland County is listed in Clemson Cooperative Extension's Coastal Plain gardening region. The dates below start with Clemson's South Carolina planting chart and add practical detail from Clemson and NC State Extension guidance for warm fall gardens.
Planting dates are useful windows, not guarantees. Weather, variety, shade, soil moisture and your exact yard can move the best day. Aim for the middle of a recommended window when possible and choose faster varieties near the edges.
What to plant in September
- Kale and collards: seed or transplant through October 30; transplants help a September garden gain size quickly.
- Mustard greens: direct sow through October 15. Spinach: direct sow through October 15.
- Bok choy: use seed or transplants in September; quick varieties and protection make later starts more realistic.
- Leaf lettuce: sow or transplant from September 5 through November 1.
- Radishes, beets and turnips: direct sow through September 30. Carrots have the narrowest local window, September 1-15.
- Plant cilantro and parsley as late-summer heat eases. Begin green onions from seed or sets around September 15.
What to plant in October and November
- Continue kale and collards through October. Finish mustard and spinach sowings by midmonth and lettuce by November 1.
- Make small cilantro sowings through October and establish parsley in fall. Treat November herb sowings as protected experiments.
- Plant garlic cloves from October 1 through November 30.
- Plant green-onion sets through November 15; plants are recommended from October 1 through November 15, while the seed window ends October 30.
- In November, focus on garlic, early-to-midmonth green onions, harvest and frost protection rather than forcing late sowings outside their primary window.
Grow in containers
- Use containers with unobstructed drainage holes and a clean potting mix rather than dense soil dug from the yard.
- Leaf lettuce, spinach, mustard, radishes and green onions can begin in 6-8 inches of soil. Give kale, collards, bok choy, beets and turnips 10-12 inches.
- Use a container at least 12 inches deep for carrots and match its depth to the mature variety. Short carrots are easier in pots.
- Containers dry faster than beds. Check them often during warm or windy weather, and use manageable pots or a rolling caddy if plants may need frost protection.
Use succession planting
Instead of planting an entire packet at once, sow short rows or small blocks. Repeat fast crops every 7-14 days and leafy crops every two to three weeks only while their local planting window remains open.
- Quick lane: radishes, leaf lettuce and mustard greens.
- Leafy lane: spinach, bok choy, kale and collards.
- One-window lane: carrots, beets and turnips, followed by garlic or green onions after their prime dates close.
- Label every sowing with the crop, variety and date so you can learn from the weather in your own yard.
Prepare and care for the fall bed
- Remove spent summer plants, roots and weeds. Compost healthy material and keep clearly diseased plants out of the active compost pile.
- Use a soil test to guide lime and fertilizer. Loosen compacted areas only when the soil is moist but not sticky, then rake a fine seedbed for small seed.
- Keep new seed evenly moist with a gentle spray. Thin root crops promptly so they have room to size.
- After seedlings emerge and transplants settle, apply a light layer of clean straw, shredded leaves or finished compost. Keep mulch away from stems and plant crowns.
- Use insect netting or lightweight row cover early for leafy crops and spun-woven cover or a cold frame when freezing weather threatens. Vent protection on warm, sunny days.