Mild, tender, frost-kissed kale is nothing like the bitter stuff you may have tasted from the store. Like other brassicas, the flavor improves with a touch of frost, which sweetens the greens. This super hardy plant can withstand temperatures down to 0☏. No cold frames or greenhouses needed – these are the easiest varieties to grow in cold weather and the ideal crops for beginner gardeners or those wanting a low-maintenance garden in fall and winter. If you missed the window for seed starting, you can still tend a cool-season crop by buying starter plants from a nursery (young plants that were started in summer and have already been nurtured for several weeks) and transplanting them in your garden early fall. The warm weather helps with germination and the longer days allow time for the crop to develop and mature by the time winter arrives. Though it sounds contradictory, cold hardy vegetables need to be started from seed mid to late summer for fall and winter harvest. When you look at the list of all you’re able to grow during the fall season, it’s a wonder why everyone doesn’t have a fall garden! Plan Ahead for an End-of-Year Harvest All taste better when allowed to mature during cool weather. Cold hardy vegetables can survive hard frosts (about 25☏ to 28☏) with some varieties tolerating temperatures into the teens or below. But the cool season of fall and even the frosts of winter can still reap plentiful harvests in the vegetable garden if you choose your crops wisely. As soon as the autumnal equinox arrives and the days start to shorten, many gardeners hang up their trowels and call the season good until spring.

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