Enjoy an abundant harvest through Fall and Winter with these cold-hardy vegetables!
We’ve been stoked about the potential of Fall and Winter harvest for some time, and hope you’re getting excited about the possibilities too! Making the most of our annual precipitation is just one really important consideration to entertain.
This planting information is for the Salt Lake City, Utah region, Hardiness Zones 6b-7a.
If you are in a different Zone of our region, please check out our Planting Guides page to find an option that applies!
Planting environments in the Intermountain West vary greatly including Arid High Desert, Urban, and High Mountain regions. Be sure to check your Plant Hardiness Zone, THEN watch the weather forecast carefully. Extreme weather, such as high heat, windy conditions, temperature swings, and wildfire smoke, will affect the seeds’ ability to germinate and their days to maturity. Gardening should be considered an adapting practice so try different strategies such as starting seeds at different times, or succession planting (more on that below).
If this is your first gardening year, consider starting small enough that you can quickly provide shade for plants that need to be protected in the event of high heat. Using shade cloth, or a spare sheet, supported, and sprayed with a hose for cool air works well!
Row cover can be used to extend a growing season up to an additional two weeks in the fall. For more support, try using cold frames (walled outdoor frames that protect plants from the cold while allowing sun exposure). These can be constructed using straw bales with a transparent top. They also come pre-built with rigid plastic siding and a top. As the seasons shift, be sure to watch your frost dates and watch the weather forecasts carefully! Your local nursery is a great resource for helping you successfully plan for cold snaps.
Planting Tips:
- Read the seed packet! Keep seeds moist as they are germinating, start indoors where indicated, and transplant out just as soon as they are big enough to hold their own.
- Add about 30% to the “days to maturity” for crops you’re sowing after the summer solstice. The shortening days can increase the growing time needed. You’ll generally want to start crops earlier than you might think to get a successful fall and winter crop.
- Allow some of your spring-sown veggies to go to seed in the summer! They will re-seed themselves and grow in the fall with minimal help! Parsnips, greens, Radishes, and Pac Choi work well this way!
Season Extension:
Row cover can be used to extend a growing season up to an additional two weeks in the fall. For more support, try using cold frames (walled outdoor frames that protect plants from the cold while allowing sun exposure). These can be constructed using straw bales with a transparent top. They also come pre-built with rigid plastic siding and a top. In the fall be sure to watch your frost dates and watch the weather forecasts carefully! Your local nursery is a great resource for helping you successfully plan for cold snaps.
Succession Planting:
You can increase your chances of harvesting later in the season by successively planting at timed intervals, rather than all at once. The plants will mature at staggered dates, establishing an ongoing harvest over the coming months! This is a common approach for lettuce, salad greens, and radishes that have shorter growing times to reach maturity. Succession planting is the best way to prevent the problem of having too much lettuce all at once! (We’ve all been there!)
Next Level Gardening:
Due to increasing climate challenges some gardeners are starting seeds indoors through the season in order to have back-up starts in the event of a crop loss. Having protected plant starts ready to transplant when a crop comes out is also a good method for intensive food growing, and provides consistent soil cover.
Planting Mustard Greens, or Arugula, after or with any crop can serve to deter pests, generating some biomass, and offering an opportunity for green manure—the leaves are edible too!
