Now
26°C · Clear
Today
26° / 8°
Soil 6 cm
19°C
First frost
~20 days (Sep 28)
Gardening in Laramie
AI field guide · refreshed weeklyLaramie Garden: Early September — Harvest Before Frost, Plant for Spring
Zone 4b with 20 days until average first frost (Sep 28). Soil at 19°C is cool but workable for fall crops. You have roughly 127 frost-free days annually; frost can arrive any night after late September, so prioritize tender crops now. Spring frost typically hits May 24, giving you a short growing season—plan accordingly.
Sow outdoors now
Spinach (Bloomsdale, Space or Tyee)
Direct sow now for fall harvest before frost. Germinates well in 19°C soil; ready in 40–50 days if frost holds off, or overwinter as seedlings for spring.
Arugula (Roquette)
Fast crop (30 days) in cool weather; sow now for mid-October harvest. Tolerates light frost.
Radish (Cherry Belle, Icicle)
Matures in 25–30 days; sow now for late September/early October harvest before hard freeze.
Mâche (Corn Salad)
Cold-hardy green; sow now for fall and overwintering. Germinates slowly in cool soil but thrives as temps drop.
Garlic (German Extra Hardy, German Hardneck)
Plant cloves 5 cm (2 in) deep in late September through October for spring emergence. Needs cold vernalization; Laramie's winter is ideal.
Start indoors now
Onion seedlings (Walla Walla, Red Wing)
Start indoors now for transplant in spring (8–10 weeks before last frost, ~mid-March). Laramie's short season demands early starts.
Leek seedlings (Titan, King Richard)
Sow indoors now; transplant in spring for summer/fall harvest. Slow to mature but cold-hardy.
Cabbage seedlings (Stonehead, Early Jersey Wakefield)
Start now for transplant in late March/early April. Fall-sown cabbage rarely works here; spring transplants are more reliable.
Harvest now
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant
Pick all mature and near-ripe fruit now; frost will kill plants within 3 weeks. Ripen indoors on a sunny windowsill.
Caution: Green tomatoes will ripen indoors if picked before hard frost.
Summer squash, zucchini
Cut all remaining fruit; plants will decline rapidly as nights cool. Compost spent plants after harvest.
Beans (snap, pole)
Pick pods at peak tenderness; frost will blacken plants by late September. Dry mature pods for seed if desired.
Carrots, beets, turnips
Harvest now or leave in ground under mulch for storage; they tolerate light frost and sweeten as soil cools.
Tasks this week
- Pull spent summer crops (beans, squash, cucumbers) and compost debris to reduce pest overwintering sites.
- Mulch fall greens and root crops with 5 cm (2 in) straw or leaves to extend harvest through early October.
- Prepare garlic beds: amend with compost, ensure drainage; plant cloves in 2–3 weeks when soil cools to ~13°C (55°F).
- Sow cover crop (winter rye, hairy vetch) on empty beds to prevent erosion and build spring soil.
- Check soil moisture; dry winds (19–44 km/h forecast) will desiccate fall seedlings—water deeply if no rain.
Watch out for
- Frost risk: Average first frost is Sep 28 (20 days away). Tender crops (tomatoes, peppers, basil) will die at −2°C; harvest or cover on cool nights.
- Dry conditions: Humidity at 20% and wind gusts to 44 km/h will stress fall transplants and seedlings—mulch and water consistently.
- Grasshoppers: Still active in early September; monitor young greens and cover with row cloth if populations spike.
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