"Fall" In Love With Cool Weather Crops

NASHVILLE—Get ready to “fall” in love again. Now that autumn is in the air, the vegetables you couldn’t get enough of in May and June are back on local farms and at area farmers markets. Alongside mounds of pumpkins and sweet potatoes, you’re liable to see baskets of the yellow squash, kale, cabbage and broccoli that were once only considered early crops.

Tennessee experiences long temperate seasons on either end of summer, and modern farming know-how has shifted thinking. Produce no longer belongs to one of four seasons. Many vegetables are now referred to as simply cool weather or warm weather crops.

Vegetables long associated with spring or early summer, like carrots, parsnips, asparagus and Brussels sprouts grow in response to conditions, not to particular months. If those conditions can be replicated through protection from temperature extremes, they’ll grow as well or better deep into fall. In fact, some vegetables, like carrots, are actually sweeter when they reach maturity during colder weather. Instead of hurting, a little frost on the ground helps.

Growing seasons can be further extended with the help of hoop houses and other greenhouse-like frost protection measures, including canvas or plastic blankets to cover long, open air rows of cabbage, kale and lettuce.

Some local farms, particularly those with CSA options or those located near a year-round farmers market, extend their cool weather crops right through winter to meet the demands of customers who want to eat seasonally but crave a variety of vegetables. 

The free Pick Tennessee mobile app from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture allows users to find local farms and farmers markets, then map the way from the user’s location. Discover fresh produce for any season with the Pick Tennessee mobile app, download the Pick Tennessee Products mobile app from the App Store or Google Play, or visit us at www.PickTnProducts.org.