Do you have a vegetable garden? It’s time to start thinking about fall harvest crops. In addition to maybe some late summer tomatoes, there are a few other garden crops to consider.
Late Summer Garden Crops
Broccoli
These plants make great midsummer additions to your garden because they acquire their best flavor and quality when harvested in cooler temperatures. Many varieties take 50 to 60 days to harvest and depending on your zone should probably be planted before mid-August. The broccoli plants yield its best produce when the temperatures do not exceed 75°F. The broccoli plants will need 1 to 2 inches of water per week and should be harvested when the buds are still compact and have not flowered or turned yellow.
Radishes
These plants are also good for a cooler harvest and they make great additions to salads and sandwiches. If it’s still considerably warm outside, consider planting summer radishes like White Icicle which usually take 25 to 30 days to harvest. They’ll need full sun to grow, but when exposed to excessive heat they may occasionally need shade. Water your radishes deeply, but not so often to ensure that the roots develop well. You can harvest the radishes when the radish roots are 3/4 to 1 1/4-inches in diameter.
Snap Beans
If you’re partial to snap beans you’ll need to get to work in your garden right away. Mid-July is considered the best time (in terms of flavor) to sow these plants in midsummer. For bush varieties space the plants four to five inches apart in rows. If you plant the pole varieties you’ll need a trellis for the vines. Depending on the variety of beans you plant it may take 50 to 60 days to harvest (the pole varieties usually take longer to mature). They’ll need just the right amount of water, too much or too little can stunt their growth. Lastly, it’s best to harvest the beans while they’re tender.
Leafy Vegetables
Veggies such as lettuces, swiss chard, mustard greens, and kale can be planted every few weeks during summer. These leafy vegetables tend to taste bitter when grown in peak summer heat, so they are ideally grown when temperatures cool down as a late crop.
Depending on which temperature zone you are in, the following are some optimal “windows of time” for fall vegetables. Keep in mind when your first frost usually hit: (Source: East Texas Gardening)
| Beans – 8/1 – 9/1 (lima beans 7/15 – 8/15) | Muskmelon (Cantaloupe) – 7/15 – 8/1 |
| Beets – 9/1 – 10/15 | Mustard – 9/15 – 10/15 |
| Broccoli plants – 8/1 – 9/15 | Parsley – 8/15 – 10/1 |
| Brussels sprouts – 8/1 – 10/1 | Peas, English – 8/15 – 9/15 |
| Cabbage plants – 8/15 – 9/15 | Peas, Southern – 7/1 – 8/1 |
| Carrots – 8/15 – 10/15 | Pepper plants – 7/1 – 8/1 |
| Cauliflower plants – 8/15 – 9/15 | Potatoes, Irish – 8/15 – 9/15 |
| Chard, Swiss – 8/1 – 10/15 | Pumpkin – 7/1 – 8/1 |
| Collard/Kale – 8/15 – 10/1 | Radish – 9/15 – 10/15 |
| Corn, Sweet – 8/1 – 8/15 | Spinach – 9/1 – 10/15 |
| Cucumber – 8/1 – 9/1 | Squash, Summer – 7/15 – 8/15 |
| Eggplant plants – 7/15 – 8/1 | Squash, Winter – 7/1 – 7/15 |
| Garlic – 9/1 – 10/15 | Tomato plants – 7/15 – 8/1 |
| Kohlrabi – 8/15 – 9/15 | Turnips – 10/1 – 11/1 |
| Lettuce (leaf) – 9/15 – 10/15 | Watermelon – 7/1 – 8/1 |