For cooks and gardeners, colder weather is something of a second spring. Here are seven of our favorite autumn vegetables to grow (and eat) now.
Photography by Marie Viljoen.
Spotted Trout Lettuce
Thanks to heirloom seed saving and clever breeding, lettuce is no longer just lettuce. There are dozens of cultivars from which to choose.
A packet of Organic Arugula Rocket Seeds is $1.89 from Botanical Interests via Amazon.
Arugula
Microgreens
A microgreen is the immature form of any edible leaf, snipped while it has just two cotyledons or the first two true leaves to its name.
Dwarf Kale
Dwarf kale is a container gardener’s delight, providing the full kale taste and health experience packed into a small and sturdy leaf which is mature before its full-size cousins.
If you plant it in full sun, you might be lucky enough to be eating your crop well into the frosty weather–I have seen the plants withstand inches of snow and become sweeter in the process.
Rainbow Chard
Rainbow chard may taste the same as regular chard, but its prettiness factor is so high that it can be included as a fall crop for aesthetic pleasure alone.
A 1-ounce packet of organic Green Arrow Shell Pea seeds is $2.95 from High Mowing Seeds. Pinch out the tender growing stems as soon as the plants are about four inches tall, and keep picking until successive frosts close your pea season.
Shell Peas
Fava Beans
This is one bean that loves the cold. The autumn crop is grown for the tender leaves and stems only, and these can be harvested about three weeks after planting and for a month or more beyond.
Parsnips
This root vegetable works while the winter world sleeps. Their leaves will appear before winter, and over several months the sweet tap roots will grow fat for harvest.
Cilantro
It is ironic that the herb so closely associated with hot climates and spicy food evolved in cool Europe, where it was largely shunned. Looking for recipes to make the most of your fall harvest?