By Cecille Jones, Monroe Master Gardener Volunteer

This article appeared in the August 2021 Issue of Gardening in Orange County.

If you have been enjoying your summer vegetable harvest, there is no reason why you can’t extend your growing season through the fall and winter.

Those of us who live in Orange County, NY, are in planting USDA Hardiness Zone 6A/6B and can expect the first frost to arrive on or around October 15.  Since planting for a good fall harvest starts six to eight weeks before the first anticipated frost date, the dog days of August are a good time to start.

Here are seven crops good for Zones 5 – 7 that you can plant this month for nutritious edibles on your dinner table.

Brassica or Cole Crops

What could be more delicious than garden fresh broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts?  This family of plants are perfect crops to harvest come fall.  Plant them as seedlings or starters from your local nursery, not as seeds.  Put the starters in the ground six weeks before the first frost and plan on protecting them late in the season with a fabric row cover or a hoop house.  If you want to plant from seeds, June of next year is the time to start.

Kale

All types of kale also belong to the Brassica family, but kale can be planted by seed or seedling all through August.  If you are short on time by a couple of weeks, you can always harvest baby kale, something the supermarket sells at a premium.  As this plant matures, frost and even freezing temperatures sweeten them.  To overwinter kale, protect them with a piece of heavy row cover.

Lettuce

Summer heat can burn lettuce leaf tips and cause it to get bitter, but not so for lettuce planted through August and harvested in the fall and early winter.  Despite its appearance, lettuce leaves are hardy and can easily tolerate cold night temperatures and moderate frost.  You can plant seeds 8 weeks before the first frost.  If you want to harvest baby greens, you can plant as late as two weeks before Jack Frost makes his entrance.  To get a good start on early spring lettuce next year, you can overwinter lettuce in a cold frame.

Asian Greens

Also, part of the Brassica family, Chinese greens like pak choi and tatsoi are quite hardy and grow well in the fall.  You can plant these from seed eight weeks before October 15.  If you want an earlier harvest, start them indoors and then tuck them in your garden as spots start to clear out in August.

Spinach

For a long harvest, plant the amazing spinach.  If you start in August, you will be enjoying this vegetable by mid-October.  Use protection from a hoop house or cold frame and you can continue harvesting small amounts all winter long.  When spring arrives, this plant will take off again and yield a great harvest until May.

Beets

You cannot go wrong with planting beets.  To harvest the root crop, you need to plant eight weeks before the first frost, but do not let the calendar stop you.  Anything planted after six weeks before the frost will yield tasty tops, which you can add to your fall salads.  Sadly, beets are not hardy enough to survive the winter.

Carrots

Carrots make a great fall and winter treat.  With colder temperatures, the starches turn to sugars, making carrots sweet and delicious.  Give your carrot seeds a good, healthy start by watering the seedbed once or even twice daily.  When the weather starts to get colder in December, use a hoop house, cold frame or straw cover.  You might also want to pick a variety that has a short maturity date so they can get ready by winter.

There are many other crops you can plant in August.  Think arugula, radish, and leeks.  Whatever you decide to plant, here is to a bountiful fall harvest and bon appetit.

(Special thanks to Master Gardener Sabrina Conti for sharing information on fall harvesting.)