When a crop is finished, rather than leaving the soil bare, why not plant something else? And for those who’ve been too busy to start a vegetable garden this spring, it’s not too late! Whether you already have a vegetable garden or haven’t had time to start one yet, there are a good variety of cold-weather vegetables perfect for an fall or winter garden.
Most of these are leafy vegetables. In fact, with protection, lettuce and other greens can be picked after the snow has fallen. Brassicas, such as broccoli, cabbage and turnips, are also very cold-hardy, and a little frost can even enhance their taste. Chard and beet, carrots and green onions are also cold-hardy vegetables. And we can’t forget early vegetables and varieties: some radishes can be ready to harvest in as little as 3 or 4 weeks!
First Frost Date
So, when should we start our seedlings for a fall harvest? In spring, we use the frost-free date to calculate seed planting; in fall, we use the average first frost date. I found an interactive map on the Climate Atlas of Canada website. It shows the average date between 1976 and 2005, but also the projected date of first frost for the future, between 2021 and 2050, which is probably more accurate.
For our American readers try the National Weather Service.
Since autumn vegetables can withstand a light frost, we can easily add 2 weeks or more to our calculation. Even more if we use a row . So, if you’re in Quebec City, the first frost date would be around October 14. Add 2 weeks, which takes us to October 28. If you’re planting lettuce with a maturation period of 60 days and calculating a germination period of 4 days, you subtract 64 days from this date, which takes you to August 25 at the latest.
In warmer areas, where there’s little or no frost, you can probably grow these vegetables all winter long.
When checking the time to maturity, be sure to check that it’s from sowing and not from transplanting, as this could skew your data by weeks or even months.
List of Vegetables for an Autumn or Winter Harvest
Here’s a list of the approximate number of weeks from sowing to harvest for several cool-weather vegetables, including germination time.
Swiss chard: 8-10 weeks
Beet: 8-10 weeks
Broccoli: 12-14 weeks
Carrot: 10-12 weeks
Cabbage: 12-14 weeks
Brussels sprouts: 14-16 weeks
Cauliflower: 12-14 weeks
Kale: 12-14 weeks
Kohlrabi: 10-12 weeks
Coriander: 4-6 weeks
Spinach: 6-8 weeks
Lettuce: 6-8 weeks
Lamb’s lettuce: 4-6 weeks
Mesclun: 4-6 weeks
Mizuna: 4-6 weeks
Mustard: 10-12 weeks
Turnip: 6-10 weeks
Green onion: 8-10 weeks
Pak-choï: 8-10 weeks
Peas: 10-12 weeks
Radicchio: 12-14 weeks
Radish: 4 to 6 weeks
Tip: some seeds prefer colder conditions for germination. You can keep them indoors in your fridge and transplant them outdoors once germinated.
Here in Montreal, I usually stop sowing beans mi-July to get a late-summer/early fall harvest. Where are you situated?
I’m surprised to see beans off your list. I get a summer and fall crop. Love pile beans.