As the hustle and bustle of spring and summer gardening starts to settle out and wind down a bit, too often the benefits and joys of a fall garden are overlooked or forgotten.  While less grand of a project in colder areas of the country, there are still things that can be done particularly along the lines of cool season vegetable crops.  In milder winter areas even flowering crops are an option.

In coldest areas, plant crops like broccoli, lettuce, radicchio, Chinese cabbage, and other heading plants the last two weeks of July. Faster growing plants like spinach, arugula, radish, cilantro and mesclun salad mixes can be planted later in mid August. They can be planted again a couple weeks later if you can provide a cold frame, row cover or hoop house protection later in the fall.  This will keep the first frosts off and allow the plants to continue growing into fall.  Many like beets, carrots, turnips and collards actually become sweeter after a few frosts, and if mulched with a thick layer of straw can be harvested through winter from under the snow!  Also consider cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, leaf lettuces, scallions, Swiss chard, rutabagas, sugar snap and snow peas.  All of these planted in July to August will provide a bountiful fall garden.
 
Also try some of the new “Sno-matoes” which are “short time to maturity” types that tolerate some cold as well.  If planted in the same time frame (late July, early August) it is possible to have a second crop of tomatoes after your earlier planted varieties are finishing out.

In milder winter areas with little or light to no frost but cooler temperatures, all afore mentioned varieties can be planted from late August through September to provide fall and winter harvestable crops, and some like peas, garlic and onions can be planted for an early spring harvest as well.  Some excellent flower choices as temperatures begin to cool are bedding begonias, calendulas, candytuft, forget-me-nots, pansies, petunias, phlox, snapdragons, stock, sweet alyssum, and violas.