In the Garden: Plant now for a winter harvest

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Most gardeners think about planting their vegetable garden in early spring.

It’s a natural response to the return of the sun when we see winter starting to lose its grip and when we feel brighter, warmer days are on the way. Our thoughts naturally turn to wanting to start planting.

But there is a relatively new approach to vegetable gardening here on the mild West Coast that recognizes we have the ability to grow vegetables pretty much all year round if we play it smart and learn to take advantage of all the seasons.

This is not something gardeners can do on the Prairies or in Ontario and other eastern parts where it is just too cold in winter to grow any vegetables in the garden.

But in the Pacific Northwest, the climate allows us to plant vegetables in July and August that will continue growing into fall and produce a bountiful harvest in winter, and even allows us to grow a few crops that can overwinter and be harvested in spring and summer next year.

Mark Macdonald of West Coast Seeds is an enthusiastic advocate of midsummer vegetable planting for fall and winter harvests.

“We enjoy this incredible mild winter here on the coast. I almost feel we should be compelled to take advantage of it,” he says.

“If we plant correctly now, we can grow incredible vegetables for fall and winter harvesting.”

Many gardeners today are looking for ways to be more self-sufficient, without relying on vegetables in winter that are trucked in from California and Mexico, says Macdonald.

“We can go out into our own back yard and harvest carrots and lettuce and salad greens and all sorts of incredible things.”

July is the perfect time to rip out the old rows of lettuce and salad greens that are likely to bolt (go quickly to seed) in the hottest days of summer, and plant new root crops and brassicas (cabbage, kale, broccoli, mustard greens, cauliflower) that can be harvested in fall and winter.

Root vegetables such as beets, carrots, turnips, rutabaga and parsnips can be planted right now, Macdonald says. Parsnips need to be done quickly because they take longer to mature.

West Coast Seeds has produced a helpful and comprehensive free Planting Guide for Fall & Winter Harvests, naming dozens of varieties ideal for this purpose.

“We carry at least 26 kinds of carrots, for example, but we only recommend three kinds for planting for fall-winter harvesting – Autumn King, Napoli and Yellowstone,” says Macdonald.

“Crops like kale and carrots actually get better when the days start to get cooler in fall.

“They start to convert starches to sugars as a kind of antifreeze, and this makes them sweeter and more flavourful.”

Macdonald recommends 14 kinds of kale for summer planting, but says Redbor and Scarlet are particularly outstanding because the leaves turn a beautiful purple when the days start to cool down.

At least two dozen kinds of vegetables can be planted in July and August for fall and winter harvest. These include arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, peas, kale, kohlrabi, pak choi, parsnips, radish, rutabaga, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips.

The cool nights we generally get on the coast in summer are also a positive factor, making it even better for growing lettuce, mescluns (salad mixes) and mustards.

“Nights in the east are almost just as warm as the day, which makes it perfect for growing tomatoes, peppers, soybeans, corn and cantaloupe, but our cooler nights allow us to grow new crops of lettuce and mustards, mesclun mixes and other leafy greens,” says Macdonald.

“We can start Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower right now and transplant them at the end of August.

“The idea is these plants enter winter as teenagers – not mature plants but they have enough growth on them to withstand the threat of frost and they will become mature during the winter.

With Brussels sprouts, if you time it correctly there’s no reason you can’t have fresh sprouts for your Christmas dinner.”

The concept of summer vegetable planting also goes hand-in-hand with the idea of “overwintering,” which means planting now what will be harvested next spring or summer.

“This is precisely what you do with purple sprouting broccoli, Galleon cauliflower and garlic,” says Macdonald. “You plant this year and harvest next year.

“Since these plants require a long time to mature, we can take advantage of our mild winter months and grow them for next year.”

Walla Walla onions are a good example. They are sowed directly into the ground in August, but won’t be ready to harvest until next June by which time they will have transformed into huge bulbs.

Garlic is another crop that gets planted in the fall and harvested the following year. Top varieties include Red Russian, Music and Purple Softneck.

“To get going, you should start with your root crops right now — beets, rutabaga (swedes), parsnips, turnips and carrots,” says Macdonald.

“Plant your leafy greens in August and September. They will just keep chugging along in the winter and you can harvest them as you please.”

Detailed instructions on what to plant, when and how are contained in the West Coast Seeds guide, available at most garden centres or online at westcoastseeds.com. The online version also contains more photographs, as well as recipes.

Decide what you want to grow, and then follow the clear planting instructions for success.

Apartment and small-space gardeners who use containers will do well with mustard greens, spinach, pak choi, mescluns and lettuce as well as herbs like chives, cilantro and parsley, says Macdonald.

swhysall@postmedia.com

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