The same hot weather that brings out the best in tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other summer vegetables makes spinach, lettuce, peas and other cool-weather vegetables tough and bitter.
In the middle of a siege of hazy, hot days, it is hard to imagine that the weather will ever be cool and the soil moist again. But of course they will, and now is a good time to plan for and begin planting those vegetables that thrive when cool temperatures and short days sap the vitality from tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
Growing fall vegetables is like having an extra growing season. The garden's closing scenes need not be of blackened tomato vines in a sea of weeds but can be vibrant with lush green, bluish-green and reddish-green leaves. The medley of frilly, scalloped, wrinkled and smooth leaves livens the scene.
Moist, cool weather, even temperatures dipping below freezing, brings out the best flavor from vegetables like kale, broccoli and carrots. And the fall harvest season in the Northeast can go well into December. While spinach, radishes and Chinese cabbage grow seed stalks instead of tender edible leaves or roots during spring's lengthening days, these vegetables stay Read More