Cool Weather Vegetables

 

Asparagus
Perhaps the ultimate gourmet vegetable, asparagus spears are at their best when freshly harvested.  Plant asparagus roots in the spring.  As a rough guide, ten well-established plants should yield about 7 pounds of spears each season.  Learn more about asparagus here: Asparagus


Beets
Beets are one of the easiest crops to grow.  The large seeds are easy to handle, making it a fun crop for kids too.  Beets will store in the ground well until you are ready to use them.  Sow seeds in early spring for a early summer crop.


Broccoli
Broccoli is an unusual crop because you actually eat the immature flower buds.  If you leave one unpicked it will burst into a mass of bright yellow flowers.  Broccoli is packed with vitamins and nurtrients, which are claimed to help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Carrots
Carrots are a trouble-freebackyard crop, as long as the soil conditions are right.  Sow seeds in early spring or fall.  Carrots store in the ground well, but if you remove them from the ground cut away the stems right away.  Learn more about carrots here:Carrots

Lettuce
Lettuce is the mainstay of a good salad, and growing your own allows you to appreciate it at its freshest.  There are many very different kinds of lettuce and you will have to find your favorite.  Lettuce can be divided into two main catagories head and loose-leaf.  All can be planted in fall or spring, you will want to harvest before the summer heat.






Cabbage
Cabbage takes up plenty of space so give it some room.  It is a cool-weather crop, but you will love to cook with fresh cabbage out of your garden.  


Cauliflower
Growing cauliflower can be very rewarding.  The sweet, white curds taste much better straight from the garden.  Plant this vegetable after the danger of frost.  Protect cauliflower from bugs using organic bug sprays.  


Peas
The best tasting peas are straight off the vine.  Many peas have edible pods that are just as tasty as the peas themselves.  These can be planted in the spring or the fall.  Not only are the peas great but the flowers are nice to look at.


Chives
One of the easiest herbs to grow, chives have edible hollow leaves and pretty mauve flowers, which also can be eaten. 


Garlic
Garlic is unique among vegetables.  It never produces seeds, so the only way to propagate it is by saving cloves.  Fortunately, each clove you plant divides into a bulb containing 12-15 new ones.  This vegetable is very easy to grow, making it a favorite of those who love to cook.


Onions
Onions can easily be grown from seed or sets.  Onion sets are the small babies that onions produce.  Growing your own onions will provide you with onions year around.  Unused onions are easy to dry and store for later use.  The best part may be that onions do not need much room.


Radishes
Radishes are so quick and easy to grow that you can enjoy several crops through the year.  Because they take up little space, radishes are the perfect fill-in crop.  You can fit them in between large or slower-growing vegetables.  The pods on radishes are edible too, and they can add a hot crunch to your salad.


Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable that you can use to make sweet dishes.  This vegetable likes to take up space, so give it some room.  Rhubarb is one of the lowest maintenance vegetables making it easy to grow for the novice gardener.  


Scallions
Scallions or green onions are quick and easy crops that you can fit in any spare ground.  These vegetables grow quickly so sow several crops through year to give you plenty of supply.


Turnips
Turnips are another quick and easy crop to grow.  They make a great fill-in crop around cabbage and lettuce.  You can grow them in the spring or the fall.