Cool-Season Vegetable Varieties

This is Part III of a four part series; see series list below.

Below is a list of cool-weather vegetable varieties for your garden.

Select plant varieties that are suited for cool weather or that come to harvest quickly when planting cool-season gardens. Cool-season plant varieties are best suited for planting the kitchen garden in early spring or in late summer, autumn, and winter.

Check the seed packet or the plant marker that comes with vegetable starts to see how many days the seed or plant requires to reach maturity.

Planting the Autumn, Winter, and Spring Garden

Cool-season crops are best suited for planting in autumn, winter and spring. In spring, cool-season crops can be planted just before or just after the last frost. Planting cool-seaon crops in autumn and winter takes a bit more planning.

To plan and plant your autumn and winter garden follow these steps:

Step 1. Start with the number of days it takes the crop you are planting to grow to maturity and harvest. Days to maturity will be listed on the seed package. (If you are transplanting vegetable starts from the garden center, the days to maturity from transplanting are usually listed on the plant marker.)

Cool-Season and Warm-Season Crops

The time for sowing depends upon where you live. What to plant depends upon the season and weather.

Vegetables are generally divided into two categories: cool-season crops and warm-season crops.

Cool-season crops should be planted so that they mature when the weather is cool, either in spring or early summer or in autumn or winter. Cool-season crops come to harvest in cool weather, either in spring or fall or winter. Cool-season crops can be planted when the soil and air tempertures are cool, as low as 40ºF (5ºC). Mature cool-season crops can survive in temperatures near freezing without protection. Cool-season crops do not do well in the warmest summer temperatures.

Cool Season Kitchen Gardening: A Series

The end of August and the beginning of September is a time of planning and planting in the ktichen garden. In the northern hemisphere, summer is giving way to autumn and winter will soon follow. In the southern henisphere, winter is giving way to spring.

Wherever you live–except in the tropics–this is a time for planting cool-weather plants. If your transition is from winter to spring and the garden is nearly empty (in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and South Africa) then now is the time to sow or soon sow cool-weather spring crops in the cold frame or directly into the garden. If you live in the northern hemisphere (North America, Europe, Russia, China and temperate Asia), where the garden is still full of summer crops, the transition from warm-weather crops to cool-weather autumn and winter crops is a feat of spacing and timing.

Mid Season Tomato Checklist

Flavor is probably the best reason for selecting a tomato for kitchen garden growing. Once you have identified your favorite tomato (or tomatoes), the memory of that fruit’s flavor will easily get you started in spring and keep you going until harvest year after year. Getting to know new tomatoes and their tastes will bring added pleasure to kitchen gardening. Visiting farm markets and tasting peak-season, just-picked tomatoes each summer is the best way to come up with your short list of tomatoes to grow next year.

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