I know! I know it is hard to even think about winter when the days are starting at 4 and lasting until 10 pm and frankly, after last winter, I would rather not think about winter again for a long time. But alas, it is time to plan and plant for Fall and Winter if you want to maximize your harvests throughout the year.

There are several things to keep in mind. Soil building and health is on top of the list of what needs to be understood for success generally, but especially now as you plan your garden beds for the rest of the year. Some of your garden you will likely want to plant a cover crop in, other beds you may want to lay down leaves, compost, organic matter, and other beds be in production. Keep in mind, things slow to a snails pace in winter. So, keep in mind that some of what you are doing now and in the fall is getting a jump start on spring. Generally, plants of the same family, for example, Brassicacae, (cabbage family) attract the same pests, (cabbage butterfly, root maggot, club root, etc) and can all be protected under FRC (floating row cover material like Remay) They also all need a fair amount of nitrogen. In order to avoid propagating pest problems, rotations, rotations, rotations.

Now for the fun part... Here are just a few things that you will easily have success with for late gardening abundance.


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Beans- fabaceae or legume
Bush beans can be planted until late July and usually produce a good crop before frost. The bean plants develop more rapidly in the warm summer months than in early spring. Pole beans require more time to develop and should be planted the second week of June for November harvest.
Beets- Chenopodiaceae
Beets can be planted until about August 1 at the latest really. If you want just the tops, you can plant them later, but the beet root won’t amount to much. I’ve had good success with Lutz or Winterkeeper for winter varieties.

Broccoli- Brassicaceae or Cruciferae
Broccoli can be direct seeded until mid-July and transplanted until mid-August. A fall broccoli crop will usually continue to produce December. Keep slicing off the side shoots and they will produce, slowly but surely, through to Spring.

Carrots- umbelliferae
Fall carrots can be stored in the garden. Handy. Plant carrots by mid-July for fall and winter harvest. Grow under floating row covers (Remay) if carrot rustfly troubled by rustfly.

Chard- Chenopodiaceae
Generally the same as beets but a little more giving as you are not looking for a large root to get established before the days are cut short.


Salad Greens: Asteraceae or Compositae
Sow salad greens one more time. Through July is fine. Winter greens in the Brassicasea family should not be continuously grown in the same bed in order to prevent the nasty clubroot disease.
Garlic- Allium
There is an old Farmers Almanac type saying about garlic, plant on the shortest day, and harvest on the longest. Well... that doesn’t quite work here. Planting before the first serious frost and harvest in mid summer when the tops start to die off. November first is a good day to shoot for.

Kale- Brassica
Dinosaur Kale and collards are terrific fall and winter vegetables. Plant seeds in July and transplant until mid-August. Frost may cause sweetens many members of the Brassicasae family, as well as Beets and Chard.