Fall harvest crops are planted in mid- to late-summer.
These cool-season crops get a quick start from seed or seedling in warm summer
soil and come to maturity in the cool days of autumn.
Leafy cool-weather crops such as lettuce will need
protection if an early fall frost comes. Many fall harvest crops, however, can
be left in the garden into winter, lifted just when you need them for cooking;
these include most of the root crops and some of the cabbage family crops.
Fall harvest vegetable crops are long in old-fashioned,
open-pollinated--meaning you can save the seeds to grow next year--varieties
that have been tested in fall and winter gardens for generations. Here is a
list of fall harvest vegetable varieties that should be easy to get from seed
companies or neighbors:
Arugula: How to Grow Arugula.
•
Rocket
(Sylvetta). 45 days from seed; pungent, short tasty leaves; a wild arugula,
also called Wild Rocket.
Beets: How to Grow Beets.
•
Detroit Dark Red. 55-60 days from seed; 3-inch
blood red globes with red interior for table and canning; sweet and tender with
tasty green tops; introduced in 1892.
• Early Wonder (Greentop). 50-60 days from seed; semi-globe, bright
red with light zoning; smooth-skinned 3-inch-in-diameter roots with flavorful
green tops; introduced in 1911.
• Ruby Queen. 55-60 days from seed; dark blood red round roots;
smooth skin and fine, buttery texture, sweet for eating fresh and canning;
All-American Selection winter in 1957.
Broccoli: How to Grow Broccoli.
• Calabreze Green Sprouting. 60-90 days from transplanting; dark
green plant, 24 to 30-inches tall, with small deep blue-green central head;
once central head is harvested many side shoots produce for several months;
came to America with Italian immigrants in 1880s.
• Purple Sprouting. 60 days from transplanting (120 days or more from
seed); purple-green leaves and deep purple flower buds, very sweet tasting and
turns green when cooked; frost-hardy to 10°F, start in fall for spring harvest;
dates from before 1835.
• Romanesco. 75 to 110 days from transplanting; cauliflower-like pale
green with spiraling 4 to 5 inch buds that come to a point; good texture and
prized flavor for salads and dips; from
Italy, grown since the sixteenth
century.
