The Ultimate Guide to Season Extension – Growing Vegetables Year-Round
As gardeners prepare and protect their harvests for fall and winter harvesting, their gardeners can extend harvest periods using row covers and low tunnels, storing produce to sell off-season, as well as perennial crops such as asparagus. This month’s Good Growing article provides many strategies for season extension, including using row cover or low tunnels, preserving produce, and growing perennials such as asparagus.
Short-season crops, such as arugula, cilantro, lettuce, and radishes, typically take half the time it would generally take to mature in a regular growing season to reach maturity.
Start Early
Farming vegetables year-round reduces your dependence on grocery stores while giving you fresh, nutritious produce all year. Simple season extension techniques like mulching, creating microclimates, and using cloches can add several weeks of harvesting time in spring and fall.
Start early for maximum success when it comes to season extension: sow seeds of quick-maturing varieties in late summer (or earlier, depending on the climate of your area) that will develop and harvest before frost, giving you access to leafy greens, peas, radishes, and bush beans throughout autumn and winter.
When starting seeds, ensure they’re planted in a sunny location with well-drained soil. Most vegetables require at least six to eight hours of daily sunlight; sun-loving crops may not do well under shaded areas, so remove any nearby trees, hedges, or fences before planting. Heirloom varieties with open pollination have proven more suited to local conditions and have superior flavor profiles.
Create microclimates to extend the growing season during late spring and fall by covering beds with mulch or cloches, which will moderate weather extremes while protecting crops from bolting or becoming bitter and speeding the germination of cool-weather seeds.
To maximize vegetable growth during midsummer heat waves, shade a bed of vegetables by creating a calm and humid microclimate with a tarp or cardboard covering. This will prevent heat-sensitive crops such as lettuce and spinach from bolting or becoming bitter in hot weather while helping keep temperatures down enough to prevent tomatoes from ripening too quickly.
As temperatures cool off in autumn, sow another crop of fast-maturing vegetables that will mature and be ready to harvest before frost arrives, such as kale, winter lettuce varieties (such as Mache and Winter Density), Swiss chard, radish, and peas. You could also sow cold-hardy root crops such as carrots, beets, turnips, and kohlrabi cabbage (from sets). Be sure to protect these beds with mulch or cloches when night falls to prevent frost hedging!
Sow Under Cover
Sowing under cover extends your season for vegetables that need additional warmth by several weeks, such as tomatoes. Using various techniques, including greenhouses, hoop houses, low tunnels, gardens, cloches, or polythene sheets over soil beds.
Some vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, and leeks, must be grown in an ideal environment to thrive; others, like lettuce and radishes, can be started under cover in spring before being transplanted outside later. Sowing under cover also expedites seed germination of crops like onions, cabbage, and chard that cannot be directly planted outdoors during spring sowing periods.
Placement of soil covers on areas receiving plenty of sun during the day can help increase soil temperatures by several degrees, particularly for sandy soils that warm up in springtime.
As it’s essential to regularly assess trays and pots for moisture levels, lifting their covers or cloches and inspecting the soil is the easiest way to determine its status; if it appears dry, it may require watering.
An array of covers is designed for sowing under, such as horticultural fleece, plastic sheeting, and panes of glass, which are available to sow seeds under. Each method provides its benefits but allows crops to be planted in shoulder seasons, stagger harvests, and improve quality while decreasing pest pressure.
Many cool-season vegetables, such as peas, broad beans, and brassicas, can be planted by late March when undercover. Tomatoes should also be started undercover in late March or April for harvest in May. Suppose you plan to cultivate a winter salad mix by seeding quick-maturing varieties in June and July. In that case, an uninterrupted supply of fresh greens can be maintained throughout autumn and winter until late August, when additional planting will provide another quick harvest crop before winter sowing.
Harvest Early
An effective planting calendar helps gardeners plan for year-round harvests. Knowing which vegetables can be planted and harvested at specific times throughout the year and which climate conditions suit which species is critical to ensuring every season lasts as long as possible.
Cultivar selection is another crucial strategy to extend the growing season. Harvest times vary considerably among cultivars, so choosing ones with faster germination times in excellent soil and shorter “days to maturity” can drastically expand your growing season for particular crops. You can find these varieties either online or at local garden centers.
Successive sowings are another effective strategy to extend gardening seasons. By sowing quick-maturing crops frequently from spring through summer, gardeners can enjoy an uninterrupted supply of fresh produce ranging from early-spring radishes to late-summer strawberries.
Protective structures like row covers and low-cost hoop houses can extend harvest season for plants susceptible to frost or freeze temperatures, providing warmer microclimates that allow plants to tolerate colder temps and extend the growing season. Gardeners using protective structures can successfully grow broccoli and cabbage into fall and winter crops and perennial harvests such as asparagus and rhubarb harvests using such structures.
Early spring can be challenging for year-round gardeners as the previous season’s crops come to fruition while new sowings take time to come into fruition. But careful planning can ensure there’s enough fresh produce available at this crucial period – for instance, sowing. Provider dark-seeded bush beans will ensure plenty to harvest at this often lean time.
Numerous winter vegetables can thrive without additional protection in the southern portion of North Carolina, such as carrots, kale, and leafy greens such as mizuna; root vegetables such as beets and parsnips; gardeners can extend their vegetable gardens into winter by planting winter squash and kohlrabi crops – for more information about season extension techniques refer to SARE’s online resource library in its Season Extending Techniques topic room.
Harvest Late
Cool temperatures of late summer and fall provide ideal conditions for harvesting delectable veggies before the first frost arrives. Choose leafy greens like kale, chard, and Swiss chard and quick-growing favorites such as beans and peas for maximum harvest yield. Also, consider root vegetables such as turnips, kohlrabi, winter squashes, and pumpkins when planning your autumn harvest.
Expand your crops more widely than regular rows allow to extend your harvest season. This allows the plants to soak in more sunlight and provides space for proper growth and development of each plant. Also, ensure your soil stays healthy by regularly adding compost or well-rotted manure.
Conserving crops with cloches, cold frames, or polytunnels is another excellent way to extend the growing season. These simple tools create a microclimate above garden beds and trap warm air over crops for warmth and protection from frost damage caused by wind and rain.
Succession planting is an age-old strategy to maximize yield in any vegetable garden. By staggered planting dates for all your crops, succession planting allows you to harvest fresh veggies throughout the year as one crop nears maturity and another is ready to replace it – providing a constant source of fresh veggies!
Utilizing heat-tolerant cultivars is another proven strategy for season extension. Different vegetables require different numbers of growing degree days (GDDs) before reaching maturity; early maturing, heat-tolerant varieties could cut this number in half for some crops.
Select cultivars that mature within 70-80 GDDs for optimal harvest results in Southeastern North Carolina. This way, you can enjoy locally grown salad all winter long!
As gardeners prepare and protect their harvests for fall and winter harvesting, their gardeners can extend harvest periods using row covers and low tunnels, storing produce to sell off-season, as well as perennial crops such as asparagus. This month’s Good Growing article provides many strategies for season extension, including using row cover or low tunnels, preserving produce, and growing perennials such as asparagus.
Short-season crops, such as arugula, cilantro, lettuce, and radishes, typically take half the time it would generally take to mature in a regular growing season to reach maturity.
Start Early
Farming vegetables year-round reduces your dependence on grocery stores while giving you fresh, nutritious produce all year. Simple season extension techniques like mulching, creating microclimates, and using cloches can add several weeks of harvesting time in spring and fall.
Start early for maximum success when it comes to season extension: sow seeds of quick-maturing varieties in late summer (or earlier, depending on the climate of your area) that will develop and harvest before frost, giving you access to leafy greens, peas, radishes, and bush beans throughout autumn and winter.
When starting seeds, ensure they’re planted in a sunny location with well-drained soil. Most vegetables require at least six to eight hours of daily sunlight; sun-loving crops may not do well under shaded areas, so remove any nearby trees, hedges, or fences before planting. Heirloom varieties with open pollination have proven more suited to local conditions and have superior flavor profiles.
Create microclimates to extend the growing season during late spring and fall by covering beds with mulch or cloches. This will moderate weather extremes while protecting crops from bolting or becoming bitter and speeding the germination of cool-weather seeds.
To maximize vegetable growth during midsummer heat waves, shade a bed of vegetables by creating a calm and humid microclimate with a tarp or cardboard covering. This will prevent heat-sensitive crops such as lettuce and spinach from bolting or becoming bitter in hot weather while helping keep temperatures down enough to prevent tomatoes from ripening too quickly.
As temperatures cool off in autumn, sow another crop of fast-maturing vegetables that will mature and be ready to harvest before frost arrives, such as kale, winter lettuce varieties (such as Mache and Winter Density), Swiss chard, radish, and peas. You could also sow cold-hardy root crops such as carrots, beets, turnips, and kohlrabi cabbage (from sets). Be sure to protect these beds with mulch or cloches when night falls to prevent frost hedging!
Sow Under Cover
Sowing under cover extends your season for vegetables that need additional warmth by several weeks, such as tomatoes. Using various techniques, including greenhouses, hoop houses, low tunnels, gardens, cloches, or polythene sheets over soil beds.
Some vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, and leeks, must be grown in an ideal environment to thrive; others, like lettuce and radishes, can be started under cover in spring before being transplanted outside later. Sowing under cover also expedites seed germination of crops like onions, cabbage, and chard that cannot be directly planted outdoors during spring sowing periods.
Placement of soil covers on areas receiving plenty of sun during the day can help increase soil temperatures by several degrees, particularly for sandy soils that warm up in springtime.
As it’s essential to regularly assess trays and pots for moisture levels, lifting their covers or cloches and inspecting the soil is the easiest way to determine its status; if it appears dry, it may require watering.
An array of covers is designed for sowing under, such as horticultural fleece, plastic sheeting, and panes of glass, which are available to sow seeds under. Each method provides its benefits but allows crops to be planted in shoulder seasons, stagger harvests, and improve quality while decreasing pest pressure.
Many cool-season vegetables, such as peas, broad beans, and brassicas, can be planted by late March when undercover. Tomatoes should also be started undercover in late March or April for harvest in May. Suppose you plan to cultivate a winter salad mix by seeding quick-maturing varieties in June and July. In that case, an uninterrupted supply of fresh greens can be maintained throughout autumn and winter until late August, when additional planting will provide another quick harvest crop before winter sowing.
Harvest Early
An effective planting calendar helps gardeners plan for year-round harvests. Knowing which vegetables can be planted and harvested at specific times throughout the year and which climate conditions suit which species is critical to ensuring every season lasts as long as possible.
Cultivar selection is another crucial strategy to extend the growing season. Harvest times vary considerably among cultivars, so choosing ones with faster germination times in excellent soil and shorter “days to maturity” can drastically expand your growing season for particular crops. You can find these varieties either online or at local garden centers.
Successive sowings are another effective strategy to extend gardening seasons. By sowing quick-maturing crops frequently from spring through summer, gardeners can enjoy an uninterrupted supply of fresh produce ranging from early-spring radishes to late-summer strawberries.
Protective structures like row covers and low-cost hoop houses can extend harvest season for plants susceptible to frost or freeze temperatures, providing warmer microclimates that allow plants to tolerate colder temps and extend the growing season. Gardeners using protective structures can successfully grow broccoli and cabbage into fall and winter crops and perennial harvests such as asparagus and rhubarb harvests using such structures.
Early spring can be challenging for year-round gardeners as the previous season’s crops come to fruition while new sowings take time to come into fruition. But careful planning can ensure there’s enough fresh produce available at this crucial period – for instance, sowing. Provider dark-seeded bush beans will ensure plenty to harvest at this often lean time.
Numerous winter vegetables can thrive without additional protection in the southern portion of North Carolina, such as carrots, kale, and leafy greens such as mizuna; root vegetables such as beets and parsnips; gardeners can extend their vegetable gardens into winter by planting winter squash and kohlrabi crops – for more information about season extension techniques refer to SARE’s online resource library in its Season Extending Techniques topic room.
Harvest Late
Cool temperatures of late summer and fall provide ideal conditions for harvesting delectable veggies before the first frost arrives. Choose leafy greens like kale, chard, and Swiss chard and quick-growing favorites such as beans and peas for maximum harvest yield. Also, consider root vegetables such as turnips, kohlrabi, winter squashes, and pumpkins when planning your autumn harvest.
Expand your crops more widely than regular rows allow to extend your harvest season. This allows the plants to soak in more sunlight and provides space for proper growth and development of each plant. Also, ensure your soil stays healthy by regularly adding compost or well-rotted manure.
Conserving crops with cloches, cold frames, or polytunnels is another excellent way to extend the growing season. These simple tools create a microclimate above garden beds and trap warm air over crops for warmth and protection from frost damage caused by wind and rain.
Succession planting is an age-old strategy to maximize yield in any vegetable garden. By staggered planting dates for all your crops, succession planting allows you to harvest fresh veggies throughout the year as one crop nears maturity and another is ready to replace it – providing a constant source of fresh veggies!
Utilizing heat-tolerant cultivars is another proven strategy for season extension. Different vegetables require different numbers of growing degree days (GDDs) before reaching maturity; early maturing, heat-tolerant varieties could cut this number in half for some crops.
Select cultivars that mature within 70-80 GDDs for optimal harvest results in Southeastern North Carolina. This way, you can enjoy locally grown salad all winter long!