by Connie Oswald Stofko
There’s a whole group of herbs and vegetables that you can grow now–from seed!
These herbs and vegetables may take a month or two–even three months– to reach maturity. By then the weather will be cool, cold or freezing, but these plants like it that way.
If you’ve never tried planting a crop of vegetables that you harvest in autumn or winter, try it this year. There are so many cool weather herbs and vegetables to choose from: basil, carrots, collard greens, lettuce, peas, radishes and more.
The most challenging part is figuring out when exactly to plant, but Patti Jablonski-Dopkin, general manager at Urban Roots Cooperative Garden Market, laid it all out in our previous article.
See the previous article here.
Bonus tip: Last year I planted peas in my garden bed and had a problem with rabbits. I used bird netting over the plants, but the rabbits were able to find their way in. This spring I planted my first crop of peas in window boxes hanging from my porch railing. Small trellises in the window boxes offered support. The rabbits couldn’t touch the peas! I’m ready to plant my second crop.
Hi Jamie, this article links to “How to get a second crop of vegetables & herbs this year.” Examine the chart in that article. Radishes take only 30-60 days to mature, and you can harvest them until the soil freezes. Other crops take longer and/or are killed by frost. Look through the chart to see what you want to grow and figure out whether you have enough time where you live. I hope that helps.
How late is too late? I’ve only started considering a fall garden recently, but is it way too late to even bother this year?
Hi Marci, you are dashing all my hopes! Maybe the rabbits don’t bother with peas on my porch railing because they have such a feast in the backyard. But I’d rather they ate the 37 peas I grew and not the three pepper plants and four tomato plants. Thanks for your comment!
I planted a lettuce mix in planter on my porch railing. Something can up on porch and up on railing and ate it all! Don’t know how they got up there!
Hi Dee, oh noooooo! The rabbits have nearly demolished the tomatoes and peppers that were in big pots in my backyard. The only things they didn’t get at were the peas in the window boxes on the porch. I hope I can depend on that one little area that they can’t demolish.
I enjoyed hearing that your rabbits couldn’t touch your peas this spring.
As I was planting my window boxes this year, I found a nest of baby rabbits all nestled in the fresh soil. Mama removed them after a few days but it sure surprised me.! The box is 3 feet. Off the ground!