MINTER: Planting now for an autumn harvest

Now is the perfect time to plan the vegetable selections that you want to harvest and enjoy this coming fall and even well into winter. Timing is always a very important component of gardening, and mid to late June is one of the best times to begin planting for fall harvests.

Brussel sprouts, kale, late broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower can all be started now, either from seed or transplants, to harvest in September through October and beyond. Make sure, however, that you plant ‘late’ varieties because they have been bred to tolerate summer heat and to mature during cooler weather.

Root crops, like carrots, beets, parsnips and turnips, should also be planted now for late harvests. The beauty of root crops is the fact that they can stay in the ground until cold weather and be harvested as needed.

Winter squash can also be set out for late harvesting. If you can find a good storage area, they can be kept all through the winter until spring. The most popular winter squash are the smaller varieties, like acorn, buttercup, butternut and kabocha or Sweet Mama squash.

Acorn squash has really evolved into a number of unique varieties, each one having unique characteristics. For example, Mashed Potato acorn squash has whitish flesh – yes, it looks very similarto mashed potatoes. Autumn Frost has attractive dark tan skin with the rich flavour of butternut squash, and Celebration squash has multi-coloured skin and deliciously flavoured flesh.

Pumpkins, too, can still be planted, both for the kids’ enjoyment and for fall décor, including all the new designer colours of soft blue, pink, yellow, dark greenish black, shades of tan and, of course, the white varieties that will be the highlights of your front porch display this coming Halloween. At this point, it is probably best to use pre-started pumpkin plants in order to have them mature on time for the autumn decorating season. Gourds, too, can still be planted for novel fall décor.

As many of your early vegetables finish, keep replanting lettuce, beans, heat-tolerant peas and virtually everything else that you love to grow in your veggie patch.

This is the time of year when our vegetable gardens really pay dividends by supplying a wide variety of fresh food. Many folks don’t realize that we can keep that food production going well into fall and winter, both in containers and as garden plants. So, take advantage of our warm summer weather to start some of these wonderful varieties now.