Started by Denise Clark
Jul 2, 2025
Jul 2, 2025
0
Time to plant for fall and winter
Jul 2, 2025
The following is written by Debby Hatch/Lopez Island Kitchen Gardens. Debby is not only an accomplished gardener, she's also a big foodie. You can find more gardening tips and recipes on how to use all those veggies on her blog: lopezislandkitchengardens.com
Please go to her site for many photos and inforative links.
Even though summer vegetables I planted in early spring will be ready soon, my focus right now is farther ahead to the next seasons’ meals. What fall and winter vegetables could I skip planting this year and not miss? One of the roots? One of the hardy greens? I can’t think of any one I’d give up. These thoughts are what motivate me in the late June and early July to make another planting list, organize seed packets and work up soil in empty kitchen garden beds. Didn’t I just do this a few months ago? Yes, but it’s time to do it again.
Parsnips: I used to plant them in May, but they get almost too big by fall and winter harvest time, so now I plant them at the end of June, hoping for a few cool days so that they germinate well. By October, they are a perfect size and ready for a frost to sweeten them further. They’ll hold in the ground until spring.
Carrots: While I plant a few rows in spring, my big sowing is in early July so that we’ll have lots of carrots through the winter. Right after I plant the seeds, I cover the bed with Proteknet insect barrier netting to foil carrot rust fly. I’ll keep it on the growing carrots through fall and harvest worm-free carrots all winter.
Beets: I plant more beets than carrots for spring and early summer harvest because they are great in salads, but I’ll plant more in early July because their sweet, earthiness complements other roots in winter roasted root dishes. I’ll cover the plants with Proteknet to keep the leaves free of cabbage moth eggs and leaf miner. Even when the beets reach giant size, they remain sweet and tender through the winter.
Rutabaga and Turnips: I’d miss these two roots very much if I didn’t have them to add to beets, carrots and parsnips in roasted root platters or to boil and mash on their own. I direct seed them around mid-July. They mature by early October, ready for a sweetening frost, and will hold through the winter.
Kale: I harvest kale year-round, picking small, tender new growth leaves from over-wintered plants in early spring, succulent larger leaves from spring planted kale and finally, in fall and through the winter, frost-sweetened leaves from plants I direct seed in mid-July. There’s always kale in the kitchen garden for salads or sautés. I can’t imagine a fall and winter without it.
Chard: Like kale, chard provides meals through the year from new growth on over-wintered plants, to tender young leaves from spring sown plants, to big, floppy leaves for fall and winter harvest from seeds planted in mid-July. I’m always amazed by how cold hardy chard is. If I had to choose between kale and chard, I would probably choose kale, but I’d really miss chard. Best to have both!
Radicchios and Chicories: These bitter, but not really that bitter, greens are fall and winter only crops in my kitchen garden. I start them indoors in mid-July and set them out a month or so later. They grow into big heads that hold well into the winter. They are cold hardy, but outer leaves will rot if exposed to too much rain, so I put a plastic house over them to protect them. I love both the dense, red radicchios and the looser heading chicories and escaroles. Sautéed, grilled or raw in salad, they are winter staple.
Raab: Like radicchios and chicories, broccoli raab has a bitter as well as pungent flavor I really like. I am still learning when it’s best to plant raab for an extended fall and winter crop. I’m aiming for mid-August sowing this year. Uprising seeds has two varieties, Novantina with 40-45 days to harvest and Cima di rapa with 80 days to harvest, so I’m hoping for late September and late October harvests. They are winter hardy, have great side shoot production and some years have survived winter deep cold and regrown in early spring.
Mustard: Another strong-flavored winter green I like is red mustard. I direct seed Red Giant Mustard in mid-to-late August. It grows quickly into large, spicy leaves. It’s a great addition to winter salads, but I like it best sautéed in olive oil and garlic as a side dish with pork or polenta. A few years ago, I didn’t grow it and really missed it.
Arugula: Much as I’d love to harvest arugula year-round, I’ve found that it grows and tastes best in the cooler months. I start planting it in mid-to-late August and continue planting short rows through September. Some years I’ve planted a few rows as late as November. The earlier plantings grow quickly and are ready for early fall salads; the later plantings grow more slowly and hold longer into the winter, often well into spring when it regrows. I’m always amazed by how cold-hardy arugula is and how well it rebounds in the spring.
Cilantro: Like arugula, cilantro planted in late summer grows more slowly and tastes better to me than spring and summer planted cilantro that bolts quickly, sometimes so quickly the flavor suffers. That said, there are still some summer dishes that really benefit from the flavor of cilantro, so I make several small spring and summer plantings and pamper them. Then I grow a big crop for fall and winter and, because cilantro is so winter hardy winter, I don’t need to pamper it beyond covering it if temperatures drop into the teens. I can harvest handfuls to make cilantro pesto, a wonderful flavor and color addition to winter squash.
Mache: The final winter green I grow is mache, also known as corn salad. It’s the hardiest green in the kitchen garden, one that I can harvest even when there’s a dusting of snow on the ground. Some years I plant it in rows and harvest neat rosettes, but other years I simply broadcast it over an empty bed, let it germinate and grow and gradually harvest thinnings, eventually ending up with rosettes. It makes a quick, easy winter salad for us but also for friends who request it for a winter potluck.
There are a few other fall and winter vegetables that are already starting to grow in the kitchen garden, celery root, leeks, Brussels sprouts and over-wintered brassicas. What I’ll be planting in the weeks ahead will join them at the fall and winter table. Soon, though, I’ll return my attention to summer vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans and the meals they offer for this season.
Don't forget Grow a Row always needs your extra veggies on Wednesday mornings 9am to 10:30am. Pick up is 10:30 to 11:30am.
Please go to her site for many photos and inforative links.
Even though summer vegetables I planted in early spring will be ready soon, my focus right now is farther ahead to the next seasons’ meals. What fall and winter vegetables could I skip planting this year and not miss? One of the roots? One of the hardy greens? I can’t think of any one I’d give up. These thoughts are what motivate me in the late June and early July to make another planting list, organize seed packets and work up soil in empty kitchen garden beds. Didn’t I just do this a few months ago? Yes, but it’s time to do it again.
Parsnips: I used to plant them in May, but they get almost too big by fall and winter harvest time, so now I plant them at the end of June, hoping for a few cool days so that they germinate well. By October, they are a perfect size and ready for a frost to sweeten them further. They’ll hold in the ground until spring.
Carrots: While I plant a few rows in spring, my big sowing is in early July so that we’ll have lots of carrots through the winter. Right after I plant the seeds, I cover the bed with Proteknet insect barrier netting to foil carrot rust fly. I’ll keep it on the growing carrots through fall and harvest worm-free carrots all winter.
Beets: I plant more beets than carrots for spring and early summer harvest because they are great in salads, but I’ll plant more in early July because their sweet, earthiness complements other roots in winter roasted root dishes. I’ll cover the plants with Proteknet to keep the leaves free of cabbage moth eggs and leaf miner. Even when the beets reach giant size, they remain sweet and tender through the winter.
Rutabaga and Turnips: I’d miss these two roots very much if I didn’t have them to add to beets, carrots and parsnips in roasted root platters or to boil and mash on their own. I direct seed them around mid-July. They mature by early October, ready for a sweetening frost, and will hold through the winter.
Kale: I harvest kale year-round, picking small, tender new growth leaves from over-wintered plants in early spring, succulent larger leaves from spring planted kale and finally, in fall and through the winter, frost-sweetened leaves from plants I direct seed in mid-July. There’s always kale in the kitchen garden for salads or sautés. I can’t imagine a fall and winter without it.
Chard: Like kale, chard provides meals through the year from new growth on over-wintered plants, to tender young leaves from spring sown plants, to big, floppy leaves for fall and winter harvest from seeds planted in mid-July. I’m always amazed by how cold hardy chard is. If I had to choose between kale and chard, I would probably choose kale, but I’d really miss chard. Best to have both!
Radicchios and Chicories: These bitter, but not really that bitter, greens are fall and winter only crops in my kitchen garden. I start them indoors in mid-July and set them out a month or so later. They grow into big heads that hold well into the winter. They are cold hardy, but outer leaves will rot if exposed to too much rain, so I put a plastic house over them to protect them. I love both the dense, red radicchios and the looser heading chicories and escaroles. Sautéed, grilled or raw in salad, they are winter staple.
Raab: Like radicchios and chicories, broccoli raab has a bitter as well as pungent flavor I really like. I am still learning when it’s best to plant raab for an extended fall and winter crop. I’m aiming for mid-August sowing this year. Uprising seeds has two varieties, Novantina with 40-45 days to harvest and Cima di rapa with 80 days to harvest, so I’m hoping for late September and late October harvests. They are winter hardy, have great side shoot production and some years have survived winter deep cold and regrown in early spring.
Mustard: Another strong-flavored winter green I like is red mustard. I direct seed Red Giant Mustard in mid-to-late August. It grows quickly into large, spicy leaves. It’s a great addition to winter salads, but I like it best sautéed in olive oil and garlic as a side dish with pork or polenta. A few years ago, I didn’t grow it and really missed it.
Arugula: Much as I’d love to harvest arugula year-round, I’ve found that it grows and tastes best in the cooler months. I start planting it in mid-to-late August and continue planting short rows through September. Some years I’ve planted a few rows as late as November. The earlier plantings grow quickly and are ready for early fall salads; the later plantings grow more slowly and hold longer into the winter, often well into spring when it regrows. I’m always amazed by how cold-hardy arugula is and how well it rebounds in the spring.
Cilantro: Like arugula, cilantro planted in late summer grows more slowly and tastes better to me than spring and summer planted cilantro that bolts quickly, sometimes so quickly the flavor suffers. That said, there are still some summer dishes that really benefit from the flavor of cilantro, so I make several small spring and summer plantings and pamper them. Then I grow a big crop for fall and winter and, because cilantro is so winter hardy winter, I don’t need to pamper it beyond covering it if temperatures drop into the teens. I can harvest handfuls to make cilantro pesto, a wonderful flavor and color addition to winter squash.
Mache: The final winter green I grow is mache, also known as corn salad. It’s the hardiest green in the kitchen garden, one that I can harvest even when there’s a dusting of snow on the ground. Some years I plant it in rows and harvest neat rosettes, but other years I simply broadcast it over an empty bed, let it germinate and grow and gradually harvest thinnings, eventually ending up with rosettes. It makes a quick, easy winter salad for us but also for friends who request it for a winter potluck.
There are a few other fall and winter vegetables that are already starting to grow in the kitchen garden, celery root, leeks, Brussels sprouts and over-wintered brassicas. What I’ll be planting in the weeks ahead will join them at the fall and winter table. Soon, though, I’ll return my attention to summer vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans and the meals they offer for this season.
Don't forget Grow a Row always needs your extra veggies on Wednesday mornings 9am to 10:30am. Pick up is 10:30 to 11:30am.