Fall Planting in Elevated Garden Beds: A Beginner’s Journey

You know that feeling when everything that could go wrong with your garden timing does?

That’s exactly what happened with my fall garden this year.

We got our beautiful new Vego Elevated Garden Bed all set up, and then life happened.

First, it was way too hot to plant anything. Then we had that family trip we’d been planning forever. And, I’m an overthinker, so I spent a good bit of time researching seeds and planning.

But here’s the silver lining:

While I was procrastinating on planting, we received the most gorgeous solar garden lights from Vego Garden.

Let me tell you, our tiny urban backyard transforms into something absolutely magical when these lights come on just after dusk.

Even before a single seed was in the ground, I was already falling in love with our little garden space all over again.

Getting My Act Together with Fall Seeds

I ordered my fall seeds and knew I needed a game plan to make the most of our short growing season here in Zone 5.

Side note: we’ll be publishing a whole series of Zone Garden Plans soon!!!

My process was pretty simple once I got organized:

• I planned out exactly how many plants I wanted for each variety
• I grabbed a bunch of disposable cups and labeled each one with the plant name, the spacing requirements, and the corresponding color from the plant spacing tool below. (Trust me, this color-coding step saves so much confusion later!)
• For each hole the spacer indicated, I counted out 2-3 seeds, dropped them in the labeled cup, and covered them with about ½ inch of filtered water to soak overnight

The pre-soaking trick is supposed to speed up sprouting, which felt crucial given our time crunch.

The Reality of Planting Pre-Soaked Seeds

Here’s something no one warns you about: trying to move sticky, waterlogged seeds from a cup to tiny holes in your garden bed is not as straightforward as it sounds.

Those little seeds want to stick to everything—your fingers, the cup, each other. It’s like trying to handle wet rice with tweezers!

But I managed to get the job done, even if it took longer than expected and involved more muttering under my breath than I’d like to admit.

Now comes the waiting game … will they actually sprout—and mature to harvest—before frost hits?

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Racing Against the Clock in Zone 5

The truth is, I’m genuinely worried we might see frost before harvest time. Thankfully, Vego’s cover system should help protect the plants if temperatures start dropping too early.

I’m really hoping they’ll soon offer a frost cloth specifically designed for the elevated beds.

They just released a whole series of frost cloths for their raised garden beds, so fingers crossed the elevated bed version isn’t far behind.

Why the Solar Lights Make Everything Better

Even if this whole fall garden experiment doesn’t go according to plan, those Vego solar garden lights have already made it worthwhile.

Get $10 off your purchase at Vego Garden with code: FOODPREPGUIDE10OFF

There’s something about walking outside in the evening and seeing our little urban backyard bathed in that soft, warm glow that makes all the gardening stress melt away.

The lights charge during the day and automatically turn on at dusk, which is perfect for those of us who aren’t great at remembering to flip switches.

They add just the right amount of ambiance without being too bright or harsh.

Lessons Learned (So Far)

This whole experience has reminded me that gardening is as much about adapting and learning from mistakes as it is about following perfect timing.

Sure, I wish I’d started earlier, but I’m choosing to focus on what I can control now—giving these seeds the best chance I can and enjoying the process!

Plus, even if the harvest isn’t everything I hoped for, our backyard has never looked better in the evenings. Sometimes the unexpected parts of a project turn out to be the most rewarding.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go check on those seeds for the third time today. Hope to see some green sprouts soon!