What I planted for our fall and winter edible garden

Recently started lettuce in re-used lettuce container

Monday, September 20, 2021

The great thing about fall and winter edible gardens is little to no pests!  The insects die off in fall so your harvest is safe from pest destruction.  Once you have spent the effort to get the plants established and cool weather is here, fall and winter gardening is very low maintenance.  As it gets cooler, the veggies will get sweeter, too.

For this season, I planted lettuce, spinach, cabbage, tyfon, and snow peas.  I started the greens in shallow pots and re-used lettuce containers outdoors.  The peas I started in their final pots.  It is still warm enough that most should be up in the next week.  It is cool enough that even the lettuce should be able to germinate outdoors.  Lettuce doesn't sprout well above 70F soil temperature.  Outdoor seed starting tips

Lettuce varieties-Yedikule, Rouge d'Hiver, Landis Winter, Tango, Winter Crop, Royal Oak Leaf, Red Romaine, Tom Thumb, Continuity, Salad Bowl, Brunia, Craquerelle du Midi, Forellenschluss, Little Gem, Rosalita

Spinach-Giant Winter

Chinese Cabbage-Hilton and Scarlette F1.  Leaves grow large so can use as a bread substitute.  Taste is sweet so can also be used in salads.

Snow peas-Oregon Sugar Pod II that grows to 28", Avalanche that grows to 30", and Little Snowpea Purple that grows to 24".

Other greens-Roquette arugula, corn salad, Treviso radicchio, Broadleaf Batavin endive, Dark Green Italian parsley, tyfon, and chervil.

I had a lot of cultivated dandelions, sprouting broccoli, carrots and celery that self seeded.  They should do well all the way to spring.

Perennials already established like chives, oregano, tarragon, onions will keep harvestable through winter in the garden bed.

Fall and winter crops move from the fruits of summer to root crops and greens.  If you like beets, turnips and carrots, now is a great time to get them going in the garden.