Extensive Variety of Spring Vegetables that Continue Yielding into Autumn
Tired of waiting a few short weeks for your garden harvest? Embrace vegetables with extended seasons and savor more than just summer’s bounty. These hardy plants thrive from spring into fall, offering mouth-watering produce for months on end. Plus, many of these crops enhance in flavor after a light frost!
Say goodbye to scarcity, because these veggie heavyweights are here to deliver.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is the rockstar of long-season veggies! It 🌺sprouts up in early spring and can grow strong as ever after multiple fall frosts. The vibrant stems on varieties like 'Bright Lights' add a pop of color to your garden, while providing endless harvests.
Keep snipping the outer leaves as needed, leaving the center to continue producing for months on end. High in vitamins A, C, and K, Swiss chard is also rich in minerals like magnesium and potassium. Use young leaves in salads, sauté mature ones as you would spinach—it's that versatile!
Kale and Collard Greens
Kale and collards may just be superheroes of the garden world. Kale has an incredible ability to withstand cold temperatures and deliver fresh greens even in the face of snow. Varieties such as 'Lacinato' (also known as dinosaur kale) and 'Red Russian' become even sweeter after a light frost.
Collards offer a milder flavor many people prefer. They're speedy growers in spring and maintain large, harvestable leaves throughout multiple seasons. The 'Champion' variety is known for especially long production periods. Bonus: kale and collards both improve after frost exposure, developing sweeter notes as temperatures drop. A perfect, leafy treat for three seasons!
Green Beans
For extended bean harvest without the constant replanting, choose pole beans like 'Kentucky Wonder' or 'Fortex.' These vertical giants start producing in early summer and continue until frost. The secret to continuous production? Regular pickings! Pole beans can yield up to three times the amount of bush beans in the same area.
Hot and Sweet Peppers
Hot peppers are all about heat, but they keep setting fruit long beyond summer's end. Whether you're after jalapeños, serranos, or cayenne peppers, leave no chill unfulfilled. Varieties like these prove reliable long-season producers. Fruits actually ripen faster once the weather cools, so late-season peppers can be fiery and flavorful.
Sweet bell peppers, banana peppers, and Italian roasting types all share the same long-season tendencies as their spicy companions. Savor these beloved flavors as they ripen through summer and into autumn.
Cherry Tomatoes
Yellow, red, or bi-color, cherry tomatoes delight in defying theclock, often continuing to yield sweet, juicy fruit well into November. Choose indeterminate varieties like 'Sun Gold' and 'Sweet 100' for the longest possible harvest, and till the winter chill hits.
Eggplant and Okra
Small-fruited eggplant varieties like 'Fairy Tale' and 'Ping Tung Long' continue producing deep into autumn, and okra plants can handle the heat all the way through fall harvest. Regular harvesting is key to keeping these plants productive: don't leave okra pods too long or they'll become tough.
Cucumbers & Summer Squash
Make the most of your warm-weather veggies by embracing long-season cucumber and squash varieties such as 'Marketmore 76,' 'Suyo Long,' zucchini, yellow squash, and patty pan. Regular harvesting is crucial in these cases, as well—harvest young and often to enjoy the longest possible harvest period.
Parsley and Scallions
These herbaceous garden allies provide steady harvests from spring through winter, depending on your climate. Parsley and scallions remain steadfast, growing and re-growing with minimal effort.
In your extended harvest garden, these champion crops will help you enjoy stunning flavors and fresh produce for most of the year!
- Swiss chard, with its vibrant stems, is a long-season vegetable that thrives in early spring and grows robustly even after multiple fall frosts, providing endless harvests.
- Kale and collard greens, especially varieties like 'Lacinato' and 'Red Russian kale' and the 'Champion' collard variety, are known for their ability to withstand cold temperatures and deliver fresh greens, even in snow, and become even sweeter after a light frost.
- Pole beans like 'Kentucky Wonder' or 'Fortex' can provide an extended bean harvest without the constant replanting, as they start producing in early summer and continue until frost, with regular pickings ensuring continuous production.
- Hot and sweet peppers, such as jalapeños, serranos, cayenne peppers, bell peppers, banana peppers, and Italian roasting types, have a long-season habit, with fruits ripening faster as the weather cools, making late-season peppers both fiery and flavorful.
