Growing your own fruits and vegetables can be hard work, but it’s well worth it. You can grow organic veggies for a fraction of what the supermarkets charge, homegrown almost always tastes better, and there’s nothing more convenient than stepping into the yard or porch to pick ingredients for that night’s dinner.
But perhaps you realized all this a bit too late and are worried you’ve missed summer’s prolific growing season for vegetables and edibles. But really, you haven’t. In most parts of the country, you can still till the soil and watch seeds turn into food for the dinner plate. While procrastination means you probably won’t be feasting on tomatoes, eggplants, and melons—summer’s bounty—you can still catch the fall sun in time for some great eats during the cooler autumn months.
Know Thy Frost Date
The first step to planting for a fall and winter harvest is to know when, approximately, your region experiences its first frost. You can then count backwards to see what crops will have enough time to reach maturity before then.
Long Maturing Crops
These crops take approximately three months to mature, so plant them now for places with October frost dates; or hold off until August if your frost isn’t until November.
- Carrots—Carrots grow best in temperatures ranging from 40° F to 85° F; in hot climates, it may be best to plant in shade or wait until August. Temperatures in the low twenties will kill off the tops of the carrots, but the roots below will be fine. Before frost sets, cut the tops off and cover rows with wire netting, topped with straw as mulch. You can then lift the covering when you’re ready to harvest.
- Cabbage—Hot summer sun tends to harden cabbage and make it flower, but seedlings can be started now for autumn harvest.
- Potatoes—Spuds come in late and early maturing varieties, so you can choose which type depending on where you live. Potatoes prefer cool climates and don’t like hot, dry soil. Therefore, if you have mild summers, you can start the long maturing types now. In hotter regions, wait to plant earlier maturing varieties later in the summer.
Medium Maturing Crops
These crops take about two months of growth before harvest can begin.
- Broccoli—Broccoli likes cool weather and will bolt in extreme heat. For places with a mild climate, plant in the shade now; for warmer climates, wait until summer temperatures lower.
- Swiss Chard—This leafy green can tolerate frost and actually tastes better when the weather cools. It takes about four to six weeks to mature, so it can be planted now or later.
- Kale—This versatile green takes around sixty days to mature, but the young leaves are the most tender, so they can be harvested as soon as they appear. Since those delicate leaves can withstand cold temperatures, kale can be planted as late as September.
Fast Maturing Crops
These crops will mature in around a month; plant as late as September. They can also be started earlier and planted in succession, so you have a continual harvest over many months.
- Spinach—Another cool weather vegetable, spinach doesn’t tolerate heat well. In warm/hot climates, you can wait until fall to plant; in mild climates, August is a good time to plant a fall crop. Spinach also comes in many varieties—some is resistant to heat, some to cold—so ask your nursery which one is right for your area.
- Leaf Lettuce—If you buy a quick maturing loose leaf lettuce variety, they can be ready to harvest after only three weeks. And because they like cooler weather, you can hold off planting these until the hot summer days have passed.
- Arugula—Usually ready in around forty days, arugula tastes better when grown in cool weather.
These are just a few suggestions for fall vegetables; depending on your climate, you can still grow cucumbers, beans, cauliflower, peas, Brussels sprouts, onions, and many others.
References: “1001 Hints & Tips for Your Garden” by Reader’s Digest and Humeseeds.