Growing Greens in Fall is Easy to do!

Growing greens in fall is easy to do because they don’t need a lot of time from seed to harvest and the cooler weather is actually a better growing environment. Not only do the greens grow better in the fall, but everything from temperature to the amount of sunlight greens get change the way they taste, so fall and spring greens taste the best. A bumper crop of greens means you get more out of your garden and the variety of plants is actually healthy for the garden soil.

Growing Greens in Fall is Easy to do!

Try these greens in your vegetable garden during the fall months.

Cabbage
Cabbage loves growing in cool temperatures and it grows fast enough that you can harvest it before winter and still have a decent head of greens. Sow seeds directly into your garden soil and thin out the seedlings as they come in, but after that, very little care is needed outside of a heavy layer of mulch added around them and regular watering. Before you choose a type of cabbage to grow, make sure you can meet all of its needs in the fall garden spot you have available. Cabbage needs well drained soil and full sun in order to reach maturity and really give you a head of cabbage worth harvesting.

Spinach
Spinach is one of the greens that tastes better when it is grown in cold temperatures versus the heat of summer, making fall a great time to get this green in the garden. Spinach needs to be grown in compost rich soil, but it needs to be loose and not compact otherwise the spinach roots are not able to thrive. The sooner you harvest the spinach leaves the more tender and better tasting they are so feel free to harvest as needed once the leaves have started forming.

Mustard Greens
Mustard greens are one of the hardiest greens, even being able to grow through the winter months when little else grows. The key to growing these leafy greens is to keep the soil watered constantly because otherwise they begin to wilt with just a couple days without watering. Also best sown directly into the ground, mustard greens need to be aggressively thinned out in order to give the best seedlings the chance to produce the best greens.

Kale
Kale is a great cool weather green to add to the garden, its tough and hardy leaves are able to handle windier locations where the cold weather moves in faster. The cooler the temperatures the better tasting the leaves are and you won’t have to blanch them or take any extra steps to improve taste when cooking. Plant in well drained soil that gets full sun, and remember that they make great margin space growers so you don’t need a lot of space to dedicate to their growth.

Collard Greens
These greens are not as common or popular, but they are a great green option for home vegetable gardeners. Plants will grow up and out so make sure that every plant has plenty of space and that the garden you plant them in is able to handle their size. The cooler temps gives collard greens a sweet taste, which can really change the flavor of any dish they are added to and only two or three plants is enough to provide greens for the family’s favorite dishes.