Growing Vegetables in Your Garden During Autumn and Winter
Spring and summer may be the best months to grow vegetables, but they are not the only months! In fact, there is a selection of veggies that you can grow as the weather begins to get colder. It never hurts to talk to a professional who works in a nursery or greenhouse to verify which vegetables work best in your region before you plunge ahead.
Escarole is a cold and hardy green that is an excellent choice for growing in the garden during the cold months, as are carrots and other types of root crops. The decision of what to plant in your fall and winter garden is connected with where you live. For example, if you tend to have wet and cooler temperatures in the autumn, then you need to be careful with your vegetable choices, as these weather conditions can lead to diseases and pests.
This also holds true for places that experience extreme cold during the wintertime. In these areas, growing vegetables in a temperature controlled greenhouse might be the only option. Some vegetables are strong and resilient enough to handle the cold, some plants cannot.
If a high amount of rainfall is common in wintertime where you live, then raising the beds for your plants is a means of controlling the moisture level in the soil. If your beds are raised or if you choose to grow your plants in containers, then the soil will dry out faster, which is what you want. During the days when the temperature dips the lowest you might even want to cover your plants to protect them as best as you can.
Pumpkins and a selection of winter squash can be planted in the autumn and will be ready for harvest later in the season and into the winter. Hot chile peppers are also a later season plant, as is rhubarb which can be grown in the months of October and November.
Bear in mind as previously mentioned that the area you live in and the temperatures you have play a role in what you can plant. Here are some of the best fall/winter vegetables to plant:
• Collards
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Arugula
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Turnip
• Lettuce
• Leeks
• Mustard
• Rutabagas
• Spinach
• Artichokes
