Planning the Cool Season Vegetable Garden

By Sara Malone, Sonoma County Master Gardener

I find one of the most challenging garden chores is planning my winter vegetable garden. I am ordinarily a very organized gardener, diligently pruning my roses, fertilizing my citrus and setting out my tomatoes each year at the proper time. The winter vegetable garden almost always gets away from me, however, and I find myself scrambling to catch up when it is almost too late.

Why is this such a difficult task for me to accomplish? Because the time to plant your winter vegetable garden is NOW, in August! Try as I might I cannot think of broccoli and beets when I am impatiently waiting for the tomatoes to ripen. Get yourself in the habit of thinking ‘winter’ when August rolls around and you will have a cool season bounty that will be the envy of all of your neighbors.

You must plant your cool season garden now, because despite the fact that it is still summer, the days have been growing shorter for almost six weeks, and that means less sunlight to nurture young plants. You must get your winter crops started now, while the sun has some strength. Even a few days can make a difference in the robustness of your plants.

The cool season for vegetable gardening in Sonoma County is longer than the warm season and the cool season crops are among the most healthful of vegetables. The cool season garden is less stressful, I find – less pressure to harvest, since plants usually grow more slowly than the warm season crops, and generally fewer insects and diseases to worry about.

What should you be planting now? In Sonoma County, you have a long list of choices: brassicas, which include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kale; bok choy and other Chinese greens; an enormous variety of lettuce, including head lettuces like romaine-types and the weedier mesclun varieties; Swiss chard of all colors; beets, either red, yellow or striped.

Start these plants from seed immediately – you can do this outdoors in full sun in a protected place – or begin to check nurseries for starts. Harmony Farms in Sebastopol and Cottage Gardens in Petaluma often have good selections.

© 2010 Sonoma County Master Gardeners