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What a wonderful notion, to be able to eat from the garden throughout the year. And as more gardeners become interested in eating locally and seasonally – not to mention saving money on grocery bills – growing edibles in the garden year-round just makes sense.
 After your early lettuce, beet, carrot and cabbage crops are harvested in spring, beans, tomatoes and other summer crops can be grown in their place. Photo Credit: Mark A. Miller
 Plant potatoes in spring, and a few months later they’ll be ready to be dug and enjoyed (or stored for later use). Photo Credit: Stocksnapper/Fotolia.com
 Squash are incredibly easy to grow and can be eaten in late summer or stored in your kitchen for months to enjoy with holiday meals. Photo Credit: Waldemar/Fotolia.com
 Stored correctly, apples are just one of the dozens of different types of fruits you can grow in your garden and still enjoy months after harvest. Photo Credit: Dendron/Fotolia.com
With surprisingly little space, you can have something to eat out of your garden every month of the year. Here’s a general listing of what you can be harvesting from your garden each season:
Harvests From Cool-Season Gardens
(USDA hardiness zones 3-7)
Early Spring
- Asparagus, a perennial
- Chives, a perennial
- Lettuces and spinach, planted from seed as soon as the ground can be worked
- Radishes, also planted from seed once the ground can be worked
- Rhubarb, a perennial
Late Spring
- Broccoli, planted from seedlings in early spring
- Cilantro, planted as a seedlings in early spring
- Collard and beet greens
- Green, snap and snow peas, started from seed as soon as the ground can be worked
- Lettuces and radishes from earlier plantings
- Mint, a perennial
- Oregano, a perennial
- Parsley, planted as a seedlings in early spring
- Rosemary, a perennial in warmer regions of the country
- Sage, a perennial
- Thyme, a perennial
Early to Midsummer
- All the perennial herbs listed for spring
- Basil, planted from seedlings after all danger of frost has passed
- Beets, planted from seed in spring
- Blueberries, bush fruit
- Cantaloupe, watermelon and other melons, planted from seed or seedlings in spring two weeks after all danger of frost has passed
- Cherries, tree fruit
- Cucumber, planted from seed two weeks after all danger of frost has passed
- Eggplant, planted from seedlings after all danger of frost has passed
- Green beans, planted from seed two weeks after all danger of frost has passed
- Hot peppers, planted from seedlings after all danger of frost has passed
- Peaches, tree fruit
- Peppers, planted from seedlings after all danger of frost has passed
- Plums, tree fruit
- Potatoes, planted from potato pieces in early spring
- Strawberries, a perennial
- Summer squash, planted from seed two weeks after all danger of frost has passed
- Tomatoes, planted from seedlings after all danger of frost has passed
- Zucchini, planted from seed two weeks after all danger of frost has passed
Late Summer
- All produce listed for early to midsummer, except for strawberries and some of the tree fruits, depending on the cultivar
- Acorn and butternut squash, planted from seed after all danger of frost has passed
- Apples, tree fruit
- Corn, started from seed after all danger of frost has passed
- Grapes, vine fruit
- Pears, tree fruit
- Raspberries and blackberries, bramble fruit
Fall
- All previous produce listed for late summer and early to midsummer, except for the strawberries, cherries and plums
- Broccoli, planted from seedlings in late summer
- Brussels sprouts, planted from seedlings in spring
- Cabbage, planted from seedlings in late summer
- Cauliflower, planted from seedlings in late summer
- Second crop lettuces, spinach and greens, planted from seed in late summer
Winter
- Apples and pears, stored in a very cool place (45-60 degrees F)
- Brussels sprouts, harvested frozen from the garden
- Fruits, frozen
- Garlic, cured and stored
- Hot peppers, dried on a string in summer
- Onions, cured and stored
- Squash and pumpkins, cured and stored
- Tomatoes, frozen
Harvests From Warm-Climate Gardens
(USDA hardiness Zone 8 and warmer)
Spring Through Summer
- Avocados, tree fruit
- Bananas, tree fruit
- Basil, planted from seedlings in winter
- Beets, planted from seed in winter
- Cantaloupe, watermelon and other melons planted from seed or seedlings
- Cherries, tree fruit
- Cilantro, planted from seedlings in winter or early spring
- Corn, started from seed in spring
- Cucumber, planted from seed
- Eggplant, planted from seedlings
- Hot peppers, planted from seedlings
- Grapes, vine fruit
- Green beans, planted from seed
- Mint, a perennial
- Oranges and other citrus, tree fruit
- Oregano, a perennial
- Parsley, planted from seedlings in winter or early spring
- Peaches, tree fruit
- Peppers, planted from seedlings
- Plums, tree fruit
- Potatoes, planted from pieces in early winter
- Rosemary, a perennial
- Sage, a perennial
Strawberries, a perennial
- Summer squash, planted from seed
- Thyme, a perennial
- Tomatoes, planted from seedlings
- Zucchini, planted from seed
Fall
What you can harvest in the hot, dry fall depends partly on your climate, partly on how much you’re able and willing to water in the heat of summer and partly on how much afternoon shade you can provide for smaller-growing produce. As long as it’s not too hot and dry, you can harvest most of the produce listed for spring through summer, plus acorn and butternut squash, planted from seed in spring.
Winter
- All previously mentioned herbs
- Broccoli, planted from seedlings in early spring
- Collard and beet greens, planted from seed
- Green, snap and snow peas, started from seed
- Lettuces and spinach, planted from seed as soon as temperatures get cooler
- Radishes, planted from seed as soon as temperatures get cooler
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| Tips |
- Some vegetables (think onions, garlic, potatoes, squash and pumpkins) store best if you “cure” them first. This is a simple process that basically lets the surface dry thoroughly before storage so it doesn’t mildew. Simply brush off any dirt and spread the produce out on newspapers in a breezy, warm, dry place sheltered from rain and dew. (A porch or open garage is great.) Allow to cure for three or four days before storing in a cool, dry place for up to several months.
- Got too much left over from the year’s harvest? Consider freezing it. Tomatoes can be frozen simply by dipping them in boiling water for 1 minute, peeling them and freezing whole in plastic containers. You can also easily freeze pitted cherries; berries; cut-up rhubarb; peeled, sliced peaches; and most other small fruit. Freeze them first on a sheet of wax paper on a baking sheet, then store them in a plastic bag in the freezer until you want to enjoy.
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| Tools |
- Use a cold frame to extend your growing season. It’s basically just a bottomless wooden box with a glass or transparent top that acts like a mini-greenhouse. With it, you can plant lettuces and greens weeks earlier in spring and extend their harvest for weeks later into fall. Cold frames are also great for getting tomato and other cherished seedlings off to a fast start in spring before transplanting them into your regular vegetable garden.
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