It's my absolute favorite time of the year for so many reasons, but one of my favorite things about this time of the year is fall gardening! The arrival of fall brings about the time to plant all of my favorite vegetables to prepare for the hibernation of winter.
Fall Nutrition
As the days become shorter and the temperature becomes cooler, it's important to focus on foods and drinks that are warming to our bodies. Planting a fall garden is a great way to cultivate a practice of eating the foods that are beneficial for you during each changing season. If you are new to gardening, there are many great books and websites (linked below!) to introduce you to container gardening. Once you're ready to expand your garden, you can then transition to a traditional 4x4 or 4x8 raised garden bed, or like me, you can just jump right in with a raised bed and learn as you go! My favorite vegetables to plant in the fall are (Vegetable/Days to Harvest):
Brussels sprouts/80-100
Cabbage/60-70
Kale/30-40
Collard Greens/60-75
Radishes/30-40
Arugula/40
Carrots/70-80
Leeks/120
Fennel/90
Spring Onions/60
Broccoli and Broccolini/60-80
Cauliflower/80
Celery/140 (spring harvest)
Bok Choy/45
Swiss Chard/30-45
Chives/30
Basil, Dill, Cilantro
Strawberries (spring harvest)
Garlic/90-150 (spring harvest)
Many of these vegetables are extremely cold tolerant, especially here in the South where frost is not common (I will share in a later post how to prep your garden for a frost).
Another great way to incorporate more warming foods into your diet is through seasoning your food with more warming spices, such as ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg and curry spice, and drinking hot tea with these warming spices and honey (antioxidants and antibacterial properties!) and homemade bone broth.
Click here for some of my favorite Fall Recipes from a beloved local apothecary, Blue Heron Acupuncture and Apothecary in Charleston. I also love the book Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables by Joshua McFadden, which is a fun and useful way to practice eating farm to table using the seasonal vegetables growing in your garden.
Fall Emotional Support
In Chinese medicine, the introduction of fall invites us to slow down and take inventory of our emotional states, with particular focus on any feelings of Grief or Letting Go. Each season correlates with an organ and channel and it's no surprise that the Lungs (Yin) and Large Intestine (Yang) are the ones that need the most love and nourishment during this season.
The Lungs are important for our overall respiratory health and Drawing In the cool, crisp air of fall, and the Large Intestine for eliminating waste and Letting Go of those things that are no longer serving us or have caused us grief. Some of my favorite ways to maintain Qi and balance during this season are to:
Exercise. It's important for me to maintain structure in my daily routine so I make time each morning to workout for at least 30 minutes, and I end each day with yoga or stretching.
Meditate. I cannot stress the benefits of practicing meditation and breathwork, even if it's just 5-10 minutes a day.
Hot Baths. I take 4-5 baths a week, alternating between Epsom salts + Magnesium + YL Panaway essential oil OR Dead Sea salts + Magnesium + YL Stress Away essential oil. I have been a long-time customer of Mountain Rose Herbs and have always ordered my bath salts from them so I cannot vouch for any other brand of epsom salts or dead sea salts.
Reading. I had to set better boundaries in my life to force me to unplug from my job, the news and social media, and the best way for me to incorporate this rule is to turn my phone on silent and sign off of social media at 8:30 PM each night. I now spend the time before bed reading a book instead of scrolling through news feeds and social media posts.
Cooking. A few years ago, I saw a holistic life coach during a season in my life that felt stagnant and purposeless. She asked me one simple question, "what daily activity fills you with gratitude and peace?" I immediately answered, "cooking dinner each night," but at the time, I had just left my long-time, stable job with a large multi-office law firm to open a small boutique law firm. Life was hectic, and I would balance sending emails and responding to phone calls with trying to meal prep and cook dinner each evening. Her response was, "you have to cultivate a ritual when you cook each night." So, I did. I unplugged from work at 4:30 PM to head into the kitchen to start meal prep. I would turn on music, pour myself a glass of wine, and just be present during the ritual of cooking dinner each night. This ritual, which I still follow today, has become food for my soul, and it's something that I look forward to every evening. Cooking may not be your ritual of choice, but take a minute to ask yourself, "what daily activity fills you with gratitude and peace?" Once you have your answer, can you make any changes to your day to transform that activity into a ritual?
Medicinal Herbs. I add herbal tinctures to my tea every morning and night, depending upon my physical or mental needs that day or my monthly cycle. For the past two weeks, we have been adding more immune and respiratory health herbs to our nightly tea. We have used Organic Olivia and Mountain Rose herbal tinctures for years. I also buy loose tea, solar-infused honey, and herbal tinctures from a wonderful local apothecary, Herbal Passion, in West Ashley (Hannah does offer online shopping!). Due to the increasing censorship of holistic medicine, I am not going to list the specific herbs that we use, but I would encourage you to seek out the guidance and support of an herbalist or naturopath doctor to help you incorporate healing herbs into your daily routine.
I love this excerpt from the Mend Acupuncture clinic in Maryland - "According to Chinese Medicine, the best way to stay healthy is learning about the nature of each season and live in harmony with its spirit. If we are living in harmony with the world around us, we see that nature is slowing down, contracting, and preparing to rest. Therefore, it’s good for us to do the same. Sleep a little longer, eat nourishing foods, and move inward. Fall is the season to give yourself some extra attention and self-love so that instead of seeking value outside, like chasing status, money and power, you can be content inside – knowing that you have (and always have had) everything you will ever need, and already are a perfect, complete being."
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patients in care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.” – Thomas Edison
Helpful Links and Information:
Charleston Friends! I cannot recommend Rita's Roots enough to help you get started in your gardening journey. Rita offers everything that you need to get started, and to grow and maintain a successful garden. She is a wealth of knowledge and offers educational classes that have been integral to my growth as a novice gardener. I also joined her Garden Growers Club last year, and it has been the greatest investment!
Raised Bed Gardening for Beginners by Tammy Wylie
Container Gardening for Beginners by Tammy Wylie
The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith
How to Grow a Container Garden by The Gardening Channel with James Prigioni
How to Build a Raised Bed by The Gardening Channel with James Prigioni
How to Build a Raised Bed Using Recycled Pallets by The Gardening Channel with James Prigioni