Winter planting, garden editing
Many vegetables for harvest over the winter and early next spring should be planted at this time of year. So take advantage of the somewhat cooler weather forecast for the next few days to sow seeds of beets, chard and leaf beet, rutabaga, radicchio, kohlrabi and the small, quick growing, cabbage varieties (e.g., ‘Caraflex F1’, ‘Early Jersey Wakefield’, ‘Greyhound’). These should be sown immediately to have enough time to grow to a good size by the end of October. Most varieties of chard survive well outdoors through most winters, but they don’t all make it if there is exceptionally cold weather. That’s why at this time of year I include a couple of the hardier chards in my plantings: ‘Lucullus’ (wide stems, light green savoyed leaves) and ‘Leaf Beet’ (narrow stems, dark green, smoother leaf). The latter may also be called ‘Perpetual Spinach’ or ‘Bietina’ by different seed sources.
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