Can you feel it? Fall is just around the corner; and so are fresh fall flavors. With temperatures starting to dip a bit and a bit of rainfall coming our way, now’s the time to get a jump on fall veggies in the garden.
It’s a tad bit too warm to start planting transplants of cool season veggies into the garden, as they may succumb to heat stress; but you can start direct seeding many crops outdoors.
Direct seed outdoors now:
Lettuce – seeds need light to germinate, so don’t cover with soil.
Swiss chard – makes for a beautiful edible ornamental.
Dill – give plants room to grow.
Carrots – be prepared to thin out seedlings after they emerge.
Beets – a fast turn crop for many harvests.
Plant transplants or seeds outdoors in a few weeks:
Arugula – add a spicy snap to fall salads with this easy to grow green.
Broccoli – plant 2 or 3 crops throughout fall.
Cabbage – a bit more cold sensitive than broccoli. Be prepared to cover in a frost.
Brussels sprouts – you’ll need to stake them as they grow.
Kale – super easy to grow and packed with nutrients.
Collard greens – the most cold hardy of the bunch; leaves only develop good flavor after first frost.
You can start crops such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and the like indoors right now for transplanting outdoors in about 5- to 6-weeks from seeding. Look for transplants of these crops at your local garden center in a couple of weeks as temperatures cool.
Be sure to check out my feature on more fresh fall edibles in the September print issue of D Home
