Fall Veggies

[california_grown]

I have one raised box left for planting my Fall Garden. Is there anything meaty type veggies that I can grill- like zuchinni type stuff??
I don't know how I'm going to live without my squashes & cucumbers. Ughh.
I guess there's always the grocery store, but ewwww, lol

[cynthia_h]

Where in California are you? In northern (and most of) California, the fall and winter months are times for root and leaf veggies. Some root veggies grill well, but the fruiting veggies need the long days and bright sunlight of the summer months or the more southerly latitudes.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[california_grown]

sacramento area. In the sierra Foothills. I was just woondering if a "winter squash" was supose to be planted now....and what those varieties were.
I have all the leafy vegies, beats, carotts ect already in ground....

looking for other ideas.

[thyme2garden]

As unintuitive as it sounds, "winter squash" does not grow over the winter. Both summer and winter squash are very frost sensitive and must be grown during the summer. The winter squash gets its name from the fact that it develops a very hard skin when mature and can be stored over wintertime.

I feel your pain of wanting to grow "substantial" vegetables for the winter! I sure wish I could! What you can do next year is grow both summer and winter squash, and the winter squash will last through the winter, provided that you grow enough of them.

But for this winter, I'm afraid you'll just have to make do with the leafys and the roots. Or head to the grocery store (shudder).

[garden5]

Well, you can grill radishes .

[cynthia_h]

This might be an excellent time to look for the Farm Trails program for your county. Individual farms offer their own produce by the bushel or half-bushel at excellent prices. I've traditionally gone up to Sonoma County, to an apple "farm," for terrific varieties of apples every fall. Got some incredible potatoes a couple of years ago, and those are the ones that inspired DH and me to grow our own spuds.

In early October, we head to Half Moon Bay, to Farmer John's (farmerjohnspumpkins.com) and buy pumpkins for pies and for Halloween and for soups. Also kabocha squash and whatever else I'll be up for cooking in the following three or four months. All these winter squash keep very well in a cool, dry room sitting on newspaper.

So the Farm Trails program might satisfy that urge for fresh-grown produce over this coming rainy season. Or do you actually get snow at your elevation? (Do you know your Sunset climate zone? This will help tremendously in knowing when/what to grow....)

Cynthia