Zone 5 - What to Plant in September

Zone 5 - What to Plant in September

Zone 5 growers still have a few options to plant in their garden in September. Zone 5 first frost usually occurs in mid-late October. It's the perfect time to plant garlic so you get a fast start next spring. Also there are several cover crops that can be planted now to help bring nutrients back to the garden this fall and early spring. Below is a list of items that can be planted in zone 5 in September.

The Joi Choi Bok Choy has very tender dark green leaves with crisp white stalks. This variety is slow bolting with high yields. Joi Choi Bok Choy is perfect for growing in fall and winter, as it is cold tolerant.

The Vivian lettuce is a tightly bunched romaine with broad dark green crisp leaves. Its leaves are 12-16 in. long and 4-6 in. across. Vivian is bolt resistant and suitable for commercial and home growers. Its erect dark green leaves are great for baby leaf production.

The Little Caesar Lettuce is a very attractive tall romaine type with crisp, bright green outer leaves and golden-blanched inner leaves. This lettuce has a sweet, crunchy flavor that is delicious on any sandwich or salad. This variety is easy to grow and is perfect for smaller gardens. Little Caesar is best picked right before eating.

Iceberg Lettuce is the tried and true lettuce that is an easy to grow, slow bolting crisphead. This variety has proven to be one of the most popular crispheads for years! Iceberg is a great lettuce that performs exceptionally well under warm weather conditions. This compact lettuce plant features better leaf texture and quality than other varieties. This variety resists rib discoloration and tip burn.

The Parris Island Cos is an heirloom romaine lettuce that is great for home and market gardens. This variety is a great lettuce commonly used for baby leaf production. Parris Island Cos is a fast maturing lettuce that makes an excellent tasting head. Its uniform upright, grey-green heads are 8-12" tall and have slightly savory leaves and are medium-slow to bolt.

All The Year Round Lettuce is a medium-sized green headed lettuce that is just like its name, good for all the year round! This slow bolt variety is solid even in hot weather, and good for far northern areas as it is very hardy. Sow All The Year Round in spring or late summer!

Butter King Lettuce is slow to bolt or turn bitter. This varieties' light-green crisp 12-13 oz. butterheads do well in Midwest heat. The Butter King is a Boston type, but it is nearly twice as large and more tender. This lettuce grows vigorously with a good flavor and is disease resistant.

The Merveille Four Seasons is a French Bibb lettuce type that produces rich deep reddish leaves with bright cranberry red tips. This 12-16 inches lettuce has a wonderful butter taste and will hold its flavor in hot weather. The rich red leaves surround a small, 8-12 inches pale green, tight heart. Enjoy the Merveille Four Seasons chopped up in a salad for fresh flavor and a pop of beautiful color.

The Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce is a very early and dependable lettuce. This large upright, compact leaf-type lettuce produces delicious light green, wide, curled leaves. The Black Seeded Simpson is a productive variety!

The Blue Shelling Pea is a Dutch heirloom blue podded pea that has been highly regarded for hundreds of years. This very versatile variety can be picked young and eaten raw as a colorful snow pea pod or left to swell and harvested as a plump pea for cooking. This pea plant produces lovely purple flowers with a faint scent that are also edible and delicious! Traditionally used as a winter dish, Blue Shelling would be soaked overnight and then pan fried with onions and bacon - yum! Give this 6' plant some support.

The Golden Helios Radish is named after the Greek god of the sun. This olive-shaped radish is bright yellow with a crispy white flesh and is truly one of the most beautiful radish! Not only is Helios a beauty, it is also tasty with a sweet and mild flavor.

Little SnapPea Crunch is perfect for smaller gardens or container growing! These pea plants are compact yet very productive. Little SnapPea Crunch produces crunchy, sweet, juicy, edible pod peas in about 58-60 days. These peas do well as the weather warms and pea shoots, mature in 13 days and displays very short internodes. Leaves are great as a garnish or as a stand-alone salad green.

A 1918 The Great Northern Seed Company says this variety is not withstanding its immense size. This variety does not get hollow or pithy and its flesh remains sparkling white, solid, crisp and juicy. This slower bolting variety has the mildest flavor with a tender, crunchy texture.

Crunchy Red produces large tops and very uniform dark red, round roots. This variety is very slow to develop pith. It performs well under cool conditions. It’s usually a few days earlier than standard varieties. Crunchy Red is desirable where larger roots are required.

The Spicy Salad Blend is the perfect balance of lettuce and mustard greens. This blend produces a great flavor profile that will spicy up any regular salad mixture.

The Large Leaf Sorrel has delicious lemon flavored leaves that go great with a zesty salad or savory soup! These greens are best harvested in early spring and late fall when it's most tender. Garden Sorrel has pointed leaves that form thick clumps. The Garden Sorrel is popular for being high in Vitamin C.

The Halloween Mix contains a "spooky" mix of purple, yellow, black and white radishes. These radishes are mildly spicy and only 5 centimeters in diameter. Everyday can be a scary fun holiday if you succession plant this mixture every two weeks throughout the spring and fall! This radish mix will bring lots of colors to your dishes.

The Giant Caesar Lettuce is an amazing bright green looseleaf romaine type that has a buttery sweet flavor similar to a butterhead. This variety's large leaves are easy to pick without any tearing or bruising. The Giant Caesar is heat resistant and will hold its color and flavor well.