In my zone it is kinda late for planting. It is good to convert grass to garden beds though for next season. Also start on your compost for next season. I just planted some lettuce and kale a few weeks ago. I will be doing inside sprouting for greens soon.

Yeah, much too late for any Fall crops. Your asking too much for anything to germinate, grow and mature this time of year, or to make it thru the Winter. I would just concentrate on getting the soil ready for next season. Take you time getting your garden together and researching good varieties to grow in your area.

Welcome to GardenWeb and congrats on the new home.

You can plant cover crops (green manure), garlic, carrots, kale, greens, turnips, and onion seeds now. Also plant spring blooming bulbs now; daffodils, tulips, crocus, etc.

You did not mentioned where in Oklahoma you are but perhaps your zone is the same as Tulsa...this url might be helpful

http://www.tulsamastergardeners.org/blackbox/lm_sch.htm

You can also call your county extension agent for information about what grows best in your area, etc.

I add amendments to my garden year round; collect coffee grounds from Starbucks year round and they go right into my beds. Also collect from a local restaurant and they include the large tea bags.

If you have weeds to deal with you can begin smothering them out with newspaper. Put down at the least 12 pages thick of newspaper; soak in tub of water as you do it (I'ved used my wheelbarrel, too) to keep the wind from blowing them about. Once you get the area covered you can add any amendments you have and then spread mulch...great way to start new flowerbeds or veggie beds.

A visit to the Soil and Compost forum would be helpful http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/soil/

Fall planting of trees is recommended in my area. They get a chance to start a good root system before they are stressed by our heat.

Also you might benefit from a visit to the GW Oklahoma forum:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/okgard/

Good luck and happy gardening!
Peggy

Find out from the link Peggy gave you above what are the growing seasons for different fall veggies in your area, you might be able to grow a few things still.

Onions, garlic, chives, all do well in cool weather. Root veggies, turnips, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, radishes.....for leafy greens, bok choi, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, cilantro, gai lan...also the time to plant artichokes is now.

For cover crop you could maybe plant peas so you can harvest something edible, then till the roots into the soil to increase nitrogen in soil. I am growing chick peas in some beds for this purpose but my area is dry not sure if this grows in your area, and what is the average rainfall in the winter months.

Good luck and enjoy your fall garden!

I am all about growing veggies year-round. So much so that I just built a greenhouse with beds inside to grow greens all Winter. I would encourage you to still try to grow something for Fall/Winter. Most leaf lettuces would still grow and there are many cold hardy greens. I just started more lettuce seeds indoors under lights and I will transplant them outside soon. I have row covers and cold frames ready to protect them when the temps get too low. There is something to consider - build a quick cold frame and give lettuce a try. Even if it doesn't work, you'll have a cold frame ready for early Spring. You can see my simple cold frame plan here. If you don't want to try lettuce, prepare a bed and plant garlic bulbs that will over winter and be ready for harvest next Summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardendesk.com

Starrysky, if you are an experienced gardener, you can ignore the rest of this message. But if not, and you don't have all your gardening supplies, now might be the time to find end of the season sales, and stock up.

Also, find out what your predator/pest problems are going to be and plan your permanent beds accordingly. You may need to put down hardware cloth before building beds if you have a gopher or mole problem; and have fences and netting to keep out deer, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels and birds.

Note the microclimate areas of your yard throughout the season. In my yard, these are areas where I rotate container plants in and out over the course of the year.

Also Any deep container can also become a microclimate for a small crop. Keep it off the ground and Lay a piece of glass over it on cold nights or freezing days to extend your growing season.

If drought is a problem in your area, you might want to put in some irrigation assistance now and get a couple of selfwatering containers built for tomatoes, peppers, cukes or whatever you will use a lot of next year. Irrigation assistance can be as simple as changing an outdoor faucet from a single head to a multiple head or running a hose into to a pipe lying on top of the ground that will deliver the water where you need it.

And of course you will want to be bookmarking all the great seed sites to dream on over the winter! Have fun in your new nest!

j.

AHHHH yes! I remember my first year of planning. It was the exact same time as you. Early fall. I wanted so badly to grow something. But alas, I had to wait. So.......
First, prepare your garden area now! Till your soil. Or, if tilling is like a sacrilege to you, as it is to some, start layering your ammendments on top of the area you wish to garden in.
You will find tons of info for either here or in the aforementioned soil compost forum. you will also find alot of "heated" arguments between tilling and no-till preparations.
This is a fun time for you. I hope you see it as such. There is a wealth of info here and wonderful and experienced people to share it with also.
Sit back, google away, and soak up all you can of the vast array of tips and advice that you will find here and on-line to help you enter the wonderful world of gardening!
And WELCOME!

Listen to everyone above. Get the beds ready for next year and go to the Farmers Market til it's time for planting next spring. This gives you MONTHS to plan, prep your garden area, start a compost heap or area or do some lasagne garden prep.and read read read!
I went to a fall garden prep class (local organic nursery offers free classes)in August for our area! We are still getting tons of tomatoes!They said to start our winter veges while the ground is still warm, or they won't grow.With still warm temps, we shade them in Sept and Oct., but now they're thriving!
Good luck! You WILL be hooked in no time! LOL Nancy