Plant Vegetables for Late Summer, Fall and Winter Harvest

Many vegetables can be planted in July for harvest in late summer, fall and winter.

Radishes mature in about 3 weeks. By repeat planting every 2 weeks, you have fresh radishes all summer. A planting of carrots in mid July will be ready in late September. Carrots can be wintered over in the ground for harvest all winter long.

Turnips, rutabagas and parsnips are best if they have had some frost before harvest. Planting in July is the best timing for fall harvest. I make repeat sowings of green onions or scallions at about 3 week intervals. They can be harvested until well into November.

Spring planted lettuce and spinach usually bolt and go to seed by mid to late July. Planting now will give you fresh greens for summer and fall harvest. You can begin picking leaf lettuce and spinach in about 30 to 40 days after seeding. Other leaf vegetables which can be harvested in 30 to 40 days include Swiss chard, mustard, collards and kale. All of these leaf vegetables can be cut leaving one inch of stem and will grow new leaves for repeat harvesting.

About 25 vegetables can be planted from mid-summer to fall for winter harvest. Most root and leaf vegetables are frost hardy. Territorial Seed Company (territorialseed.com) has a separate catalog especially for winter gardens. Included in this catalog is a list of planting times. The catalog contains varieties which have been specially selected for winter gardening.