Cold season crops

Grow bags with cold season crops seeds. Kale, spinach, oregano/arugula. I also have 2 more with carrots and marigolds. These are from Amazon and come in a 5 pack.

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Admittedly, this is the first year I’ve succeeded growing vegetables. Ever since I’ve moved to the country 5 years ago, I’ve attempted to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Pretty simple right? Not for me! I can grow flowers easily, but vegetables were never my forte. That is until I moved my vegetable garden to full sun this year. I have successfully grown some veggies now, and I’m ready to start some cold season crops before fall comes.

What are cold season crops?
Cold season crops are plants that thrive in cooler temperatures. Some are even frost tolerant. These crops are usually started in July or August and can withhold colder temperatures. Some examples are kale, spinach, carrots, lettuces, broccoli, peas, radishes, and some herbs. Many of them have shorter maturity rates as well, meaning they don’t take as long to mature as other heat loving plants, so you can harvest them sooner than most crops.

So, this year, I’ve decided to start some marigolds, carrots, spinach, kale, arugula, and oregano. The oregano may not work out since their maturity is 90 days - but it’s worth a try. I’d like some oregano to dry and use for my spice cabinet and to also make a tincture with! It is August 21 and I am a bit more behind than I planned, but I have my greenhouse now as well so that should help me keep these plants going once the really cool temps hit! I planted the marigolds on 8/15 and they are looking like healthy sprouts today.

Read on if you’d like to learn how I’m starting my seeds.

Non-GMO seeds from Amazon.com

My little greenhouse where I will move the grow bags to once the weather is colder.

Top soil - purchased from Home Depot in the garden center. Each bag took 1.5 of these. 2 if you aren’t using potting mix.

Organic potting mix purchased from Home Depot in the garden center. I topped off each grow bag with about 1/6 of this bag per grow bag.

Materials needed:
Seeds
Grow bags
Top Soil
Potting Mix (optional)
Compost (optional)
Water

I purchased non-GMO seeds from Amazon, since my local stores didn’t seem to have any seeds out this time of year. I also got my grow bags from there, and most of them are even on sale right now since it is end of season.

For soil, I had some top soil and potting mix already and used that up. I got more from the local big box store since each grow bag uses about 2 bags total.

I placed some dead leaves, grass, etc at the bottom of my grow bags. Then topped with a mixture of top soil, compost, and organic potting mix. Each bag doesn’t fit a ton of seeds, but I’m ok with that since this is all new to me and I don’t want to overdue it.

I placed the grow bags in my veggie garden area where I get full sun. When it gets colder (50° consistently) I will move my grow bags to the greenhouse. My fingers are crossed! I hope to be able to enjoy some fresh organic salads this fall and into winter with my cold season crops. Maybe even some roasted carrots! The marigolds may be too short of a variety to enjoy as cut flowers, but I plan to dry them and add to our sage sticks we sell for a nice pop of color.

I will report back later this year and let you know if I succeed or not. Here’s to learning!

​-Amanda