It’s January & I know it’s early…. Like, really early to be thinking about planting but I just got my seed catalog in the mail! Short season crops are my new obsession. That and dwarf varieties…
Short season crops are great because they are mostly cold hearty and are ready for harvest in 65 days or less. You can grow pretty much all of them in pots as well, which is extra great if you are limited on space!
Another benefit of short season crops is, if you’re not super limited on space, you can grow a ton of food and get multiple harvests in a season. How much you grow depends on what you plan to do with all that bounty. You can sell it at your local farmer’s market, freeze it, dry it, dehydrate it or just eat it before it gets inside! (I do a lot of “snacking” while weeding). The possibilities are endless!
Here’s a quick list of short season crops :
- lettuce
- beets
- radishes
- bunching onions
- turnips
- chard
- kale
- green beans/wax beans
- snap peas
- spinach
I am especially fond of heirloom varieties. They have history & cool back stories. They are also more colorful and nutritionally dense than the usual offerings at the grocery store.
Check out you’re growing zone —-> https://plants.usda.gov/hardiness.html
Most of the veggies mentioned above are cold hardy so you can start seeds outdoors when the day time temperature is 55-60 degrees or you can start seeds in pots indoors whenever you like if you have ample space and sunlight!
Nomadic Farmer 