Plant in the fall, harvest next year

Some vegetables overwinter in the garden with no more protection than a little soil and, in some cases, an extra layer of mulch. Plant them this fall and forget them during the winter. When it thaws, they will have some amazing surprises in store for you.

Isabelle Morin
The Press

To stretch out the gardening season, vegetables that are less chilly and already sown in August — radishes, snow peas, lettuces, kale (kale), pak-choï, for example – can be covered with agrotextiles. They will thus survive until the first frosts and even longer in the regions of southern Quebec.

Root vegetables will tolerate the very first frosts, and will even be tastier after this thermal shock which allows them to concentrate their juices. Isolated by soil and an additional layer of mulch, some can even spend the winter in the garden and still turn out crisp in barely thawed soil, as we had the pleasure of seeing last spring when we rediscovered carrots forgotten in the harvest time.

“I have experienced clients who tell me to plant onions and potatoes in the fall under a thick layer of mulch to harvest them earlier in the spring. I would keep a reserve, for my part, but it seems to work for them”, is surprised Maxime Gagnon, co-owner of Serres Rêves et Jardins de Knowlton.

Perennials on sale

“Late summer is a good time to save on certain perennials like rhubarb, artichokes and asparagus,” suggests the horticulturist. If the plants are old enough, we may be able to harvest them sparingly next season. » Note that the asparagus claws are planted in the spring, but that the asparagus plants can take place in the garden in the fall. Prefer very hardy asparagus varieties such as “Millenium” and “Jersey Knight”.

Leek: perennial with a tender heart

Often treated as an annual vegetable, the leek is a perennial particularly well adapted to our climate. Transplanted early in the fall or spring, the plants can be harvested the following season before their flower buds appear and they lose their tenderness. In the summer, they will produce large, pom-pom-shaped flowers, followed by offshoots which in turn can be harvested after the first two or three frosts, when their flavor peaks. The ‘Alaska’, ‘Northern Lights’ and ‘Below Zero’ cultivars are among the most vigorous.

The Egyptian onion: without caprice

The Egyptian onion is a perennial that is gaining in popularity, observes Maxime Gagnon. It tolerates our harsh climate and requires very little maintenance. In the spring, its stems replace those of green onions. Left in the vegetable garden, they then present pretty pink flowers at their end, which will give way to bulbils in July. These small bulbs, similar to those of the French shallot, can be eaten or replanted. Left to its own devices, however, the Egyptian onion will eventually reseed itself by dropping its bulblets to the ground, earning it the nickname of walking onion. It likes a sunny location, but is content with any soil, even clay, as long as its soil is well drained.

Garlic: the robust

If it is possible to plant garlic as soon as the ground is dry in the spring, its pods will be smaller and more difficult to keep than if they had been planted in the fall, between mid-September and the first frosts. Garlic fears humidity, which makes it vulnerable to fungal diseases. It therefore prefers well-drained soil and full sun.

Each pod or bulb planted will produce a complete bulb, ready to be eaten in July or early August. However, it is possible to harvest the garlic stalks at the end of June, as soon as they have a complete tendril and a flower bud appears at their end. Garlic flowers can be kept for three to four weeks in a cool place, the time to wait until the garlic bulbs are harvested, which comes about a month later.

The bulbs are eaten fresh or dried. For conservation, they are dried on racks for two weeks or until their skin is dry. “Keep your most beautiful pods to replant them after drying and restart the cycle in anticipation of the next season, advises Maxime Gagnon. If there are good growers in your area, you can start with bulbs sold at the market, but forget the non-organic grocery store varieties from elsewhere, which may not be adapted to our climate. Hard-necked varieties such as the ‘German Extra-Hardy’, the very fragrant ‘Red Russian’ and the productive ‘Music’, sold in nurseries, are hardy and suitable for storage.