The bounty of fall will soon dominate direct market venues. Those long season crops will finally pay us back, but will it be enough? Many market farmers coast on those autumn crops, and customers do love them, but the end of the summer can be a melancholy time as we say goodbye to those early season crops and the revenue those fast crops can give us. 

When every moment of the day is full, and deadlines are falling out of the sky (like garlic harvest, right in the middle of July like an elephant), planting more of those fast crops tends to move from the top of our lists to the bottom.

However, a small planting push now can give you a fuller, fatter and livelier market table through this fall. With many Farmers Markets staying open longer or year-round, many growers are experimenting with season extension and overwintering crops (See our trial page and blog for info). We have made a list of crops that you could still put in. Some are sure things; with some you might need a little luck.

Give us a call if you need seed, and we will do our best to get it right out.

OTHER FAST VEGETABLES

Scallions- Direct seed some now, and you will hopefully have a green onion to complement all the globes. We have lots of varieties in stock. 

Fennel: This will take a little luck (in the form of a dryer fall), and you may have to harvest them young.

Sprouts- It might be worth trying sprouts at your market. Grow them in a flat of soil mix, sell them in a clamshell…or however you deem best.

Broccoli raab (rapini)- A good way to plant these is tight, and then watch closely ,cut and bunch the stalk before they bolt. A one cut plant: Sorrento and Zamboni do well with cooler fall temperatures.

With a few additions, you can have a colorful market table trough the end of your season.  Keeping local produce in the market as long as you possibly can is a sure way to ensure your customers will remember that fresh taste and will be ready for your early offerings in the spring.