As October winds down, so does the fall planting season. Once we get into November, we will have a greater potential for freezing weather, and that limits what we can plant outside.

This week, we are planting more of what we already have in the garden. By planting sequentially through the fall, you can enjoy veggies that mature over time through fall and winter instead of having a bunch of them all mature at once. Both carrots and lettuce have been planted every two to three weeks through September and October.

This will be our last planting of lettuce. We are getting close to the time when we can no longer plant it. Mature lettuce plants can handle frost and light freezes, and even though cold enough weather will kill lettuce in the winter, I find that it is worth the risk. Some winters lettuce will grow all winter long. However, lettuce seedlings are easily killed by a frost or freeze. Since we are getting close to our average first freeze, lettuce planted now may not make it, and lettuce planted in November will have a hard time growing to maturity. Especially in the Pee Dee, if you plant lettuce now or in the next few weeks, it will help if you have a way to protect the small seedlings, in case we get a frost or freeze before the plants mature.

Carrots are not as sensitive to the cold as lettuce, but once we start getting freezing temperatures at night in November, the seeds are harder to germinate, and the plants grow much slower. Feel free to plant another batch of carrots this week or next, but after November 1, we will stop planting carrots until February.