Growing vegetables in cooler weather is not easy but well worth the effort. Unlike the spring or summer vegetables growing season, you do not have the sun warming your soil nor enticing your seeds to reach higher in their growing pattern.
You must choose seeds or plants that will grow in a colder climate, such as cabbage, radishes, spinach, carrots and turnips. While most of these plants are not on most people’s favorite vegetable list, they are rich in nutriments and provide much needed benefits for our own winter health needs.
By choosing the right plants that thrive in a shorter cooler growing season, you can enhance your own meals, cut cost in your food budget and give your body a much needed vitamin boost for the slower winter months.
Turnips are among the best cooler weather vegetable to grow. You can use it’s green leafy top in salads or as a stand along side dish, by steaming and adding a dash of vinegar for extra zip.
The white or purple bulb can be boiled until soft, then added to mashed potatoes for a surprisingly delightful dish.
A Radish has the shortest growing season of most vegetables. They will enhance your salads by adding a crunchy texture and bright color plus a flavorful taste of mild heat on a cold day.
It would be hard for me to choose my favorite cool weather vegetable as I like all that I mentioned but if you forced me to, it would be cabbage. I can eat cabbage everyday of the week in one form or another. I like it steamed, boiled, raw and the in-between forms such as grilled.
Cabbage is a full robust hardy vegetable that can stand alone but still goes well with other cool weather vegetables.
When planning a garden, don’t just make it a spring and summer one. Stretch your calendar and plan for a fall adventure of growing an array of cool weather vegetables.
