We’ve been planting, watering and weeding all your future fall crops for the past several months, and we’re excited to finally serve them up! Planning for a fall garden is very different than a spring or summer garden. Since the temps and light levels are so low, you can’t squeeze in multiple successions in the fall, only getting one shot at each crop.
From years of trial and error we’ve honed our fall planting dates to best guarantee that our crops are mature around Oct 1, just in time for your first share. Onions, leeks and shallots get seeded in Feb, winter squash and potatoes in May; brussels, parsnips and cabbage in June; broccoli, cauliflower, kale, carrots, beets and chicories in July; spinach, bok choi, radishes, turnips and mache in Aug; and finally quick greens like arugula, tatsoi or mustards in Sept.
Things always mature a bit ahead of or behind schedule, depending on the how warm the summer is. Broccoli and cauliflower are the trickiest to time correctly, as they head up quickly and then become very susceptible to damage from frost, rain, rodents and disease. The majority of fall crops, however, are adapted to hold well in the field through relatively long periods of inclement weather, giving us several weeks of harvest flexibility.
Storage crops like garlic, onions and winter squash, are harvested in Sept, allowed to cure for several weeks and then stored in our temperature-controlled barn room until it’s their CSA week. Many items like carrots, beets, cabbage and brussels CAN be washed and stored in a cooler for many weeks (safe from freezing weather and voles), but we don’t have enough space in the walk-in to do so.
Check out our Fall Planting Calendar!