Taking advantage of short season crops for Fall Planting

Written By Colleen Sanders

Radishes are the star of our short season list, coming in at around 25-35 days after sowing.

To know when to plant for Fall, you first have to know your ideal planting date. For myself and my clients in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, in the Bay Area, my ideal planting date is September 15th. If you're not in Marin County, don't worry! If your ideal planting date is from mid September to October, most places around the country have nearly two months until their first frost date, which is plenty of time to get in your SHORT SEASON CROPS and take advantage of the waning sunlight.

GOING SUPER GREEN WITH SHORT SEASON CROPS

I love Fall gardening because you can pack in SO MUCH FOOD. Fall greens are smaller, require less sunlight and heat, are harvested often and can be succession sown for continuous growth. Plus, in northern California, we see the return of rain and the lushness of rain and bright greens growing quickly brings a sigh of relief from our dry season.

All these foods are great in soups, stews, ramen and warming comfort food for colder, darker, winter days. AND it brings my butt outside to check on the garden when I just can't get motivated in colder morning and longer nights, and I'd rather stay bundled and vegged out on the couch.

FALL CROPS THAT TAKE 30-60 DAYS TO HARVEST (SHORT SEASON)

  • Arugula

  • Spinach

  • Lettuce

  • Kale

  • Rainbow Chard

  • Cilantro

  • Basil

  • Parsley

  • Tarragon

  • Kale

  • Dandelion Greens

  • Bok Choy

  • Tatsoi

  • Joy Choy

  • Komatsuna

  • Mustard Greens

  • Snap Peas

  • Bush Beans

Fresh Fall greens at 6 weeks of growth

Even in winter climates, just look at all that food you can be growing- even when most people are talking about the "end of the growing season" or cover cropping and shutting it down.

Give your bodies the boost of garden activity, keep your mind active, bring on all the vitamin D, and load up on healthy greens to bulk up your gut health and immunity needed to fight the Winter blues.

Colleen Sanders