Fall Gardening Can Produce Delicious Vegetables For You

Many gardeners do not even consider fall gardens because of the potential of early frosts. But their is no reason to worry about early frosts if you pick out the right vegetables to plant and mulch heavily if you know there is about to be a frost or freeze. I have quite often found that vegetables grown in the fall and early winter are sweeter than those that are produced in the summer months.

There are all kinds of delicious greens , carrots , radishes , and etc. that you can grow in a fall garden and if you mulch heavily you should have delicious vegetables even into the early part of winter. You can basically grow anything in a fall garden that you can grow in a early spring garden. You will probably want to purchase the seeds you plan to plant in your fall garden in the early spring because you probably won't find seeds available in the fall.

I like to mix kale , turnip greens , and mustard greens and plant them in a fall garden. You will find that this combination of greens makes for a delightful tasty mixture. Cut your greens off carefully with scissors and your greens will keep right on growing. If you know there is a heavy frost or freeze coming cover your green patch with a canvas tarp just after dark and remove it the next morning just after sun up. This way you can extend your growing season on into early winter.

Radishes and onions will grow in fall and early winter gardens and you can mulch them heavily if you know their is a frost or freeze coming. Straw or even fallen leafs make great mulch for your radishes and onions.

Cabbage and Collards are two vegetables that will do very well in a fall garden. You can easily mulch your cabbage and extend their growing season on into early winter. And fried cabbage fresh from your garden is oh so delicious in early winter. Collards can stand light frost and if you know a heavy frost is coming cover your collards for the night with a plastic tarp but be sure to get it off your collards as soon as the sun comes up the next morning. In most southern states in the United States you can grow collards into early winter this way. I have quite often picked collards out of the snow in the mountains of North Carolina this way.

Two more great vegetables for your fall garden are lettuce and spinach and the lettuce and spinach grown in a fall or early winter garden will have a much better flavor than lettuce or spinach grown in the spring or summer. I like to grow a couple of rows of spinach in my fall garden and I only rarely have to cover up my spinach. Lettuce and spinach grown in cooler weather will be more tender and sweeter than if it was grown at any other time of the year.

And if you want to extend your growing season on into early winter consider using cold frames in your garden and you won't have to worry at all about frost. Add heat tapes to the soil and you can really grow some delicious fall and winter vegetables. Try to place your cold frames so they will get the early morning sun in winter and you will produce more vegetables.

You can even grow hanging baskets of cherry tomatoes indoors in front of southern facing windows. And they really are worth the extra effort it will take to grow cherry tomatoes in the winter. Set your hanging baskets in your bathtub to water them and add a grow light if you think your cherry tomatoes aren't getting enough sun.

I have also grown radishes and herbs indoors in front of southern facing windows and really enjoyed the radishes and fresh herbs all winter long. If you plan carefully there is no reason you can't enjoy fresh vegetables all year long.

You can grow chives in a kitchen window even in the deepest part of winter and there is nothing as good as fresh chopped chives in a baked potato with butter and sour cream.

So why not plan what your going to grow this fall and winter and enjoy some delicious vegetables this fall and winter.

Have you had luck growing vegetables in the fall and winter. Why not tell us all about it in the comment section below. If you have questions feel free to ask. And thanks for taking the time to read my hub page on fall gardening.