Leafy greens, root vegetables, and members of the cabbage
family are good fall harvest crops. These crops can be planted in mid- to
late-summer for fall harvest.
Fall harvest crops are generally cool-weather crops, the
same ones commonly planted in late winter or early spring for late spring or
early summer harvest. Where autumn weather tends to be warm, some fast-maturing
warm-weather crops such as snap beans, summer squash, and even quick-maturing
tomatoes also can be planted in late summer for fall harvest.
Leaf lettuce, spinach, mustard, Oriental greens, arugula,
cress, sorrel, and kale make good fall crops. Beets, carrots, radishes, and
turnips are also good fall harvest crops. All of these crops can be direct sown
in the garden in mid- to late-summer.
Summer cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,
Florence fennel, endive, escarole, and collard greens are crops for fall
harvest that are best started indoors and later transplanted out into the
garden. Start these crops indoors in early summer for mid- to late-summer transplanting
into the garden. (These crops can also be purchased as starts from a local
nursery.)
Cool-weather crops sown in summer for fall harvest often
perform better than when planted in spring. In mid- to late-summer, garden soil
is already warm--not warming as in spring--and seeds germinate more readily. As
well, transplants get a faster start in the warm season than in the colder part
of the year. Cool-weather crops prefer to mature in cool weather; cool-weather
crops planted in spring often come to maturity as the weather is warming, not
cooling.
