One of the best ways to extend your harvest is by planting a second crop to harvest at the very end of the growing season. Many vegetables thrive in the cooler temperatures of early Fall and will perform even better than if they had been planted in the Spring.
Fall Vegetables
What are the best choices for a Fall crop? Salad greens and spinach plants are fast-growing and thrive in cooler temperatures. You can even try planting these well into Fall, protected by a plastic tunnel. Spinach is so hardy it may produce well into winter!
Spinach
Turnips and radishes will be ready in less than a month and are another great choice for second plantings. Beets, carrots, green onions, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower are all ideal candidates. They will tolerate a light frost, which actually makes them even sweeter!
Broccoli
How will you know when to plant a Fall crop? The easiest method to use is to figure out your region’s first frost date. Then check the back of the seed packet to see how many days that plant will take to reach maturity. Subtract that many days from the first frost date, and then subtract another 2 weeks just to be safe. That’s the date you should plant your Fall crop.
For example, Bloomsdale Spinach takes 45 days to harvest. If your last frost date is September 15th, you’ll count back 45 days to August 1st. If you add a 2-week buffer, that gives you a planting date of July 22nd.
Fall crops will make the most of your growing space by giving you two harvesting seasons. After your tomatoes, peas and other summer crops have finished producing, you can pull them out and use the same space for the next planting of Fall crops. Don’t forget to mulch and water as needed, and you’ll enjoy a bounty of fresh produce when your neighbor’s garden is long gone!
Copyright 2018, Everwilde Farms