The next few weeks are the perfect time to sow arugula, beets, small carrots, lettuce, kale, radish, and more!
You’re looking to sow veggies that will be harvestable before our first big frosts – often in early October.
We’re proud to bring you seeds from Botanical Interests. They say, “Nurturing seeds in the garden slows us down to reconnect to nature and earth, develops bonds in a community, and creates family traditions and memories. We’re so happy to be a part of that!” And we are, too!
Crops that require sixty days until maturity, and which are planted in August will mature in late September or early October as weather is cooling. Many leafy greens and radishes mature in far less time. And by employing Row-Cover fabric, creating plastic-covered tunnels or using cold-frames, crops like Spinach, Swiss Chard, Kale, Lettuce and Arugula can continue to produce well into winter.
Here is a list of the seed varieties we have.
Arugula: Plant this month and you’ll have baby arugula leaves for your fall salads. Arugula often overwinters, and is one of the first spring crops you’ll get as a bonus for planting them this fall.
Arugula Rocket Astro – Organic
Arugula Wild Rocket Rocky – Organic
Beets: Beets are one of the most foolproof fall veggies you can plant. Get them into the ground the first two weeks of August, and you’ll have beet greens and baby beets by the end of September. They can take a frost (but not a freeze) so you could be harvesting into October.
Beet (gold) Touchstone Gold
Beet (red) Early Wonder – Organic
Beet Gourmet Blend – Organic
Cabbage Red Acre – Org. This quick-growing cabbage needs to be planted now for a fall crop!
Carrots: Want to test your gardening chops? Try seeding these shorter sized and shorter season carrots for a fall or even early spring crop (they can overwinter in the ground). Seeds are small and take up to 28 days to germinate, so they do need to go into the ground right away. Be sure to keep the seedbed moist until the carrots germinate as drying out is the most common way carrots fail to thrive.
Carrot (Blend) Carnival – Organic
Carrot (Orange) Danvers – Organic
Carrot (Orange) Little Finger
Carrot (Orange) Scarlet Nantes
Lacinato Kale
Kale: You can’t go wrong with any of these delicious, strong varieties. Plant now for harvests in late September and possibly through the winter. These Kales can take frost, and even a light freeze. They taste sweeter after the first frosts.
Kale Dwarf Blue Curled – Organic
Kale Italian Lacinato Dinosaur
Kale Red Russian – Organic
Lettuce: plant any of these lettuces in early-mid August for late September, early October harvest. Keep seedbed moist until germination, and shade, if possible, during the hottest days of August. Keep an eye on the weather reports – harvest it all before a heavy freeze.
Lettuce Butterhead Buttercrunch
Lettuce Leaf Black Seeded Simpson
Lettuce Mesclun Chef’s Medley
Lettuce Mesclun Gourmet Baby – Organic
Lettuce Romaine Little Gem
Lettuce Romaine Rouge d’Hiver
Radish Cherry Belle – Organic. Plant late in August when we’ve cooled down a bit for a late September harvest.
Radish Daikon (white) – Organic. Plant in early August for harvests this fall. Soil-building tip: you can plant daikon as a cover crop, leaving the roots to decay all winter. This will loosen up your soil and leave spaces for spring water absorption.
Radish Easter Egg Blend – Organic. Plant every two weeks in August for harvests through September.
Spinach Bloomsdale – Organic. This spinach is delicious, and can take a minor frost. Protect it from the highest August temperatures by shading, if possible.
Cilantro, photo courtesy Kripalu Yoga
Cilantro/Coriander Santo – Organic. Plant every two weeks in August for late September harvest!
Parsley Flat Leaf – Organic. The old-time parsley flavor can’t be beat. Plant early in August to be sure to get harvestable herbs this season. Note, in many places, parsley will overwinter, giving you a second early-spring harvest before this biannual goes to seed next summer.
Cover Crop Buckwheat – Organic. If you’ve decided not to succession plant a bed, the best thing you can do for soil health is plant a cover crop. Plant buckwheat before September, and the plants will die back after a freeze. Till under in the spring.