Reminder: Plant now for fall, winter crops

by Connie Oswald Stofko

You can plant a second crop of cool weather vegetables now in Western New York.

As the name implies, cool weather vegetables actually like cooler temperatures. Cool weather vegetables include basil, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, peas, radishes and spinach.

Here are some reasons why you should try planting cool weather vegetables now:

• Plants such as lettuce won’t bolt in the autumn like they do when temperatures get warm in spring.
• Basil likes warm night temperatures and is killed by frost, but it takes only 30 to 60 days to mature.
• Peas planted now will give you a longer harvest time than if you planted them in the spring.
• Brussels sprouts can take three months to mature, but it survives to 20 degrees Fahrenheit, so you could harvest it fresh for Thanksgiving.

In our previous article, Patti Jablonski-Dopkin, general manager at Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market explains what to plant and when to plant.

Get all the details here.