Hey ladies and gents! If you’re wondering how to implement more in-season veggies into your life, I’d like to give you a hand! As we move into Fall and out of the Summer heat here in the Northeast, fewer things become available to harvest. There is still a lot of options for you though! Let’s check some of them out, shall we?
What Are Cole Crops Again?
We talked a little bit about “cole crops” in the last post, but I’ll provide a quick refresher if you missed it! Cole crops are perfect to plant when the Summer growing season is winding down and the cool, crisp air is picking up. They provide a great option to keep your gardening hands busy and to embrace some serious sweater weather! Cole crop are those which are in the Cruciferous family, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, brussel sprouts, kolhrabi, and kale. When I first started gardening several years ago, I didn’t like most of these. I “icked” at them as a teen and a child, and definitely didn’t feel like going anywhere near them as an adult. But then as I found out how fun they were to grow, (especially during my favorite time of year!), and how little work they required unlike other crops, I began to fall in love with tending to them and with finding new recipes to make them delicious. Even though I’ve gone through a ton of recipes over the years however with adjusting tastes and trying new cooking methods with these veggies, one thing has stuck true. They’re best, in my opinion, with plain old extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper, baked in the oven. Try it sometime! It’s super easy to throw them in a baking dish, toss some oil on them and pop them in. Less is more, people! Related: How Gardening Is Good For Your Soul
What Garden Zone Do You Fall In?
Of course your location will play a big part in knowing when is best to plant these crops. Check out which Zone you’re in to determine a best date! This website will let you simply plug in your zip code and find out within seconds! Hooray for the internet! Once you find out which Zone you’re in, you can then determine which seeds or seedlings, or starter plants to invest in. I recommend going to local farmer markets to find some quality ones or if you’d like to stay home and enjoy your newest crocheted sweater indoors, then check out this top list of 2023 online to have them shipped to your door! After you have what you need from shopping online or locally, you can dig in. Literally! You can head outdoors with your gardening tools and your new plants or seeds and get ready. From our experience, we’ve had the best luck with rototilling in the Fall again, before planting our new cold season crops. This allows the ground to be broken up a little more after pulling all of the old crops out, and also gets anything leftover mixed into the soil again. (Here’s where we find our free tomatoes the year after! From mixing up the garden, many seeds that dropped along the way will find their way back upwards next season. Replant those suckers! Save their little plant lives and save some moolah at the same time! Related: Working Through Self Expectations & Limitations
How to Plant and Grow Garlic In-Season
Another popular crop to plant in the Fall, and particularly one of my favorites, happens to be garlic from the Allium family. Garlic is one of the simplest crops to grow as a “set it and forget it” type plant. This is something we’ll be working on quite soon since our best time is to plant in the September/October time frame! If you have garlic bulbs leftover from the year before, simply break those bulbs into cloves. Someone long ago taught me that using the bottom of the palm of your hand on the head of garlic can crush it just enough to make the cloves come off way easier. I still use that trick and highly recommend it! Keep the papery covering on the garlic cloves and then follow these instructions! Make sure your cloves are planted approximately 3-4″ deep. Always ensure that the pointy end is facing upwards! You’ll want to water just enough to let the soil settle around the cloves, then simply cover them up with 4-6″ of leftover Fall leaves or straw from your Halloween haybales! There are lots of ways people go about caring for and harvesting garlic, but we like to keep it simple and usually come out on top with a pretty hefty harvest. After planting, we just wait. When the garlic is ready, it’ll tell you!- Side Note! Snip of the heads when they get curly, use these as garlic as well for an extra helping!
Implement More In-Season Veggies This Fall
Between pulling old crops, rototilling, and planting new ones again, we know we’ll have a busy next few weeks! How do you plan your Fall planting? Do you prefer to end after Summer and look forward to next year? Or do you prefer to maximize your growing season with cole crops?! Let us hear about your gardening journey in the comments below! Happy planting!
