Plant Now For Fall Harvest

Depending on where you live, your summer harvest might be in full force. Or maybe your main harvest time has passed. Either way, now is a great time time to start planning and planting cool weather crops to extend the season into fall and early winter. When and what to plant depends on your first frost date, assuming you have a frost! However, many crops can benefit from a light frost or two but your planting dates still will depend on first frosts for your general location. To get an estimate of your first frost date, take a look at this map from Bonnie Plants. To find the best dates to plant your fall crop, insert your first frost date into Johnny’s Select Seeds Fall-Harvest Planting Calculator Here are some additional tips on Fall & Winter Growing from Territorial Seed Plant Now for Fall Harvest Post can be found at Sustainable Seed Company

Consult our NGB Members to learn about many possible crops to plant.

Plant cabbage now for a crop of delicious fall and winter cabbage…perfect for sauerkraut making! AAS Winner Katarina is ready to harvest just 55 days after sowing. It has a perfect smaller head size (4”) and shape to be grown successfully in containers on patios, decks or in-ground beds.  Perfect for any fall garden! An old farmer’s tale says that carrots grown in the fall and early winter are sweeter than those grown in spring! Give AAS Winner Purple Haze Carrot a try this fall, it is ready to harvest after 70 days and is a show-stopping purple exterior with an orange interior.

Enjoy beets greens and roots this fall when you plant this cold-weather crop.  AAS Winner Avalanche is a new white beet that can be harvested 50 days from seed and presents a mild, sweet taste, delicious raw or roasted. Add radishes to the list of delicious fall crops this year.  Radishes like AAS Winner Roxanne can be started from seed now in your garden and you will be enjoying the harvest 27 days later!

Don’t forget those leafy greens like Kale, Lettuce, Spinach and Swiss Chard, they love the cool weather of Fall! Prizm Kale, AAS Winner, produces attractive short, tight ruffle-edged leaves that are content to be grown in containers as well as in-ground beds and are ready to be picked in 50 – 60 days. AAS Winner Sandy is one lettuce that is so pretty that you can plant it alongside your cool season flowers for added interest as well as edible enjoyment!

For much of the country, Garlic is planted in the fall for harvest the following summer, usually in late July. Garlic planting should occur about four to six weeks before the ground freezes. Peas are an excellent and tasty crop to plant this fall! Peas are rich in vitamins and minerals, proving a delicious treat either raw or cooked. With so many different varieties and types to choose from, it will be hard to select just one!