Don’t Abandon Your Fall Vegetable Garden

What is a bane to area skiers can be a real boon to backyard food producers.   Winter is starting later and later in the Lehigh Valley, freak Halloween blizzards aside.  Psychologically, so many gardeners call it quits when the leaves change color. But you should take a visit out into your vegetable garden right now and you may be surprised by the quantity and variety of food you still have.

Even if you did nothing to protect your crops and even if you didn’t plan ahead and plant Fall crops, you may find goodies.  In the unprotected parts of my garden, today 11/29, I have plenty of the following: forgotten stray shallots, onions and radishes, cilantro, parsley, fennel, kale and several patches of feral lettuce that seeded itself in August from a rogue plant that went to flower.  In the unprotected herb beds just about everything but the basil is still in harvest condition: sage, oregano, chives, thyme, lovage, and savory.  In my client gardens broccoli that was unprotected through that snow storm is producing beautiful heads this week.  Are you surprised?  After all, we have had at least 10 hard frosts since October.  But all of these crops can handle a frost, and even a quickly melting blanket of snow.   I’d love to hear what surprises you find in your garden tomorrow, and what you’ve cooked with them!

Here are some strategies for next year to help you get the most out of your Fall food production gardens:

*Don’t pull out the tender plants until the frost has taken them.  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, tomatillos, okra and basil will not survive the first real frost.  But generally that doesn’t come until mid to late October.  Resist the temptation to get a jump on garden clean up in September.  Keep harvesting from these plants, even as they begin to die.  Sure, Fall tomatoes are nothing compared to their Summer wonderfulness, but they are still FREE tomatoes in your yard!  Don’t bother trying to save these tender plants with blankets or row covers from the first frosts, there is no saving them.  Instead, watch the weather closely and when the first cold snap is in the forecast harvest EVERYTHING that is on them.  In the case of tomatoes, you can even take the green fruits off and ripen them in the house (or have fried green tomatoes).  Give them away or just work on enjoying them right away.  Usually this late fruit is not suitable for preserving.

*Leave everything else in place, even if it looks a little sad.  Everything except those tenders I just mentioned had the potential to survive well into November, especially if you provide a little frost protection.  And while it is important to remove any large quantities of dead material – especially disease prone tomatoes and eggplants – it is not necessary to completely strip your garden.  Wait until the Spring for that and see what keeps going all winter.

*Visit your Fall and Winter garden at least weekly, when the temperature is above freezing. Lettuce alive on the plant can freeze, thaw and be quite nice still.  But if you harvest it frozen, thaw it and then serve it the results will not be satisfactory.

*Pay special attention to your herbs. All those plants I mentioned above thrive through the late Fall. And remember – herbs are a huge return dollar wise. Fresh cilantro, parsley, thyme and oregano are at your fingertips while your neighbors are running to the store for them! Unlike lettuce, herbs can be harvested frozen and immediately used in recipes.

*Cook with what you have. You can really capitalize on the value of your late garden by planning your meals around what it is still producing for you. Right now all my kale recipes are getting made with chard because I’ve got enough chard to supply everyone reading this article, but no kale.  Save your Wegmans produce budget for January and February when your home garden’s picking are really slim.

*Lower your standards. Late fall and winter harvests will be smaller – enough just for that night’s meal. And you may need to remove some damaged foliage to find good leaves underneath. Nutritious produce doesn’t always look beautiful.

*Plant a Fall Garden in late Summer. Plant lettuce (bibb and leaf, arugula, spring mix, mache, claytonia), your favorite dark greens (kale, chard, mustard,spinach), broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and root vegetables like radish, carrots, turnips and beets in August and September. All of these plants love our new mild Fall weather.  And most of them will keep going through November without even frost protection like row covers.

*For frost insurance, purchase row cover fabric and garden staples and deploy in early October. You can just leave them in place. For a low cost alternative, use old sheets to protect special plants – but these should not be left in place, you will need to watch for cold snaps, deploy them for the night and remove them in the morning.

*Get really ambitious with your four season harvest and build a simple cold frame.  Search online and you’ll find plans and information. Start with some salvaged windows and build your frame to fit them. Plant your cold frames in August and September with cold hardy salad greens and herbs and you will be harvesting from them for Christmas dinner – guaranteed!