We tend to think of the summer months as our prime gardening season, here in the northeast, and while that is true for some crops, fall can be the perfect time to plant certain greens and root vegetables.

To me, there is nothing like a salad made with fresh greens from the garden. Because leafy greens like Kale, Spinach and Lettuce like cooler growing temperatures, you can easily get in a spring and fall crop of each. For salad greens that can potentially last into October, plant in late August or early September. With a germination period of 5 - 10 days, once these plants are up they leaf out quickly. While frost is not their friend, I’ve had my greens survive mild frost and still be edible.

Root vegetables also do well in the cooler climate of the northeast. While it’s good to get them in the soil while it’s still relatively warm, veggies such as beets, carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic all continue to grow as the soil cools down in the fall. Planting in late August or early September, and harvesting in September and October, these veggies will last well into early winter in a refrigerated setting or a cool “root” cellar.

So just because the sun is going down a little sooner, and the kiddos are going back to school, you still have plenty of time for growing fresh vegetables to enjoy this fall and winter!