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Key Takeaways
- Leafy greens grow especially well in the cool temperatures of fall.
- Some of the quickest growing greens include kale, arugula, spinach, and bok choy.
- To time your sowing right, check your predicted first frost date and the days to maturity on seed packets.
As summer comes to a close, many gardeners are saying goodbye to their fresh, juicy tomatoes and crisp cucumbers. But don’t start mourning the end of the garden season just yet. There’s still time to plant some of the easiest vegetables around: Cool-season greens. These 7 leafy greens are delicious, simple to grow from seeds or starts, and mature in no time so you can enjoy one more bumper crop before the chill sets in.
Arugula
Marty Baldwin
Arugula brings a peppery bite to salads, pasta, and pizzas. Its flavor is at its best when grown in cool temperatures (in fact, the plant will bolt if the weather’s too hot), and it matures in as little as 30 days. Sow seeds around ¼ deep and an inch apart in a spot with full sun.
Kale
Peter Krumhardt
From lacinato to White Russian, the many varieties of kale are beloved for their nutrients and substantial leaves. While the plant takes some time to reach full maturity (up to 75 days), don’t worry if you’re just getting it in the ground now—you can enjoy its baby leaves in salads in as little as 30 days. In a spot with full sun, sow seeds ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart.
Mustard
Kindra Clineff
Mild-flavored when picked young, and more peppery as they mature, mustard greens are a great addition to a fall garden. Sow seeds 6-8 weeks before your predicted first frost (though they can handle some chill), planting about
½ inch deep and 1 inch apart. Baby leaves will be ready to eat in as little as 2 weeks.
Lettuce
Dana Gallagher
The flavor of garden-fresh lettuce beats the store-bought stuff any day. Plus, when you grow it yourself, you can experiment with unusual loose-leaf and head varieties. This quick grower does best in the cool weather of spring or fall, in a garden bed with full sun. For loose-leaf lettuce, scatter seeds over a bed, covering with ¼ inch of soil; for head lettuce, sow seeds ¼ inch deep and 2 inches apart.
Spinach
Denny Schrock
As long as you can sow seeds around 6 weeks before before your first frost, spinach will mature in time for you to enjoy plenty of lush leafy greens. When seed shopping, look for fast-growing varieties (like ‘Auroch’ and ‘Bloomsdale’, to name just two). Sow seeds ½ inch deep and about an inch apart. Spinach prefers full sun.
Bok Choy
With its combination of crunchy stems and slightly spicy leaves, bok choy is a stir fry staple. Baby bok choys are ready in as little as 30 days, while full-size varieties can take a couple additional weeks to mature. Sow seeds about 50 days before your first frost date, ½ inch deep and about 3 inches apart. Full sun is ideal, but bok choy will grow in partial sun, too.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard grows well in the cool temperatures of fall, but can also take a little heat without bolting, making it an ideal green to plant at the tail end of summer. It can take up to around 60 days to mature, but you can harvest baby leaves about a month after planting. Sow seeds ½ to 1 inch deep and 2 to 4 inches apart in full sun.
Radishes
They may be best known for their crunchy red roots, but radishes also sprout zesty greens that are delicious when sautéed. Radishes are famously easy and quick to grow, with some types maturing in as little as 30 days. They can even tolerate some bouts of frost. Sow seeds ½ inch deep and 3 inches apart in a spot with full sun.
