Dian Farmer Learning To Grow Our Own Food

  • Home
  • Beginner
  • Hydroponics
  • Raised Beds
  • About Me
Visit Us On TwitterVisit Us On FacebookVisit Us On YoutubeVisit Us On PinterestCheck Our FeedVisit Us On Instagram
You are here: Home / Gardening / How To Grow Food Year Round From Your Own Family Food Garden

How To Grow Food Year Round From Your Own Family Food Garden

in Gardening on 06/02/23

Post may contain affiliate links. Click to read Disclosure . Click to read Privacy Policy.
  • 2.9Kshares
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Twitter

Growing and harvesting food from your vegetable or herb garden all year can seem like an outright fantasy.

While there’s no shortage of edible crops you can enjoy in the summer and in the fall, the colder months can seem a little scant in terms of growing herbs and vegetables for your kitchen.

But that doesn’t always have to be the case. Even if you live in a colder climate or you experience four seasons a year, you can have something to harvest every day from your garden through careful planning.

Various vegetables on the table forming a heart shape
Have your very own vegetable garden all year long!

How To Grow Food Year Round

Having a productive garden all year requires careful planning. You’re going to need to really sit down and come up with a strategy that will allow you to enjoy the bounty of your garden every day for 12 months. You’ll need to consider the kind of crops you want to grow when to plant them, and how to manage your garden. Today, we’ll be talking about how you can grow food year-round. Let’s get started!

Know Which Vegetables Grow Best Every Season

Seasonal gardening allows you to enjoy a variety of fruits and vegetables all year. Planting in the proper season lets you have a bountiful harvest every single time because you know what crops grow best for every season.

Spring and Fall are best for hardy and semi-hardy vegetables. This includes

  • broccoli
  • Brussels sprouts
  • cabbage
  • collards
  • English peas
  • kale
  • kohlrabi
  • leeks
  • mustard greens
  • parsley
  • radish
  • spinach
  • turnip

You might also like: 7 Vegetables You Can Grow Indoors In Winter

7 Vegetables You Can Grow Indoors In Winter

Meanwhile, summer is better suited for tender vegetables that love warm weather. This includes

  • beans
  • corn
  • cucumber
  • eggplant
  • gourds
  • melons
  • okra
  • peppers
  • pumpkins
  • summer squash
  • sweet potatoes
  • tomatoes

Extend the Growing Season

Greenhouse garden full of tomato plants.
A rich supply of orangey pumpkins!

Usually, the middle and the end of autumn start to bring in colder weather which slows down plant growth. However, you can extend the growing season by protecting your crops. Use fleece, low tunnels, or cold frames to add warmth and shelter to your crops.

In doing so, summer crops like cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes can continue to ripen which will allow you to keep harvesting until late into the season allowing you to reach your goal to grow food year-round.

You might also like: What Vegetables Grow In Shade? No Sun? No Problem

What Vegetables Grow In Shade

Focus on Overwinter Crops

As the temperature starts to drop, the vegetables you’ve sown in the summer will start to wane. Even if you’ve harvested the last of your summer favorites, you can still enjoy delicious vegetables from your winter vegetable garden.

Cold-season staples like endive, winter lettuce, mustard, spinach, and kale can give you all the leafy greens you need throughout the season. Hard vegetables like carrots, parsnips, and beets also come out sweeter thanks to the frost.

Remember to protect these crops using a cold frame or by planting them in a greenhouse. It’s also ideal if you give them plenty of space for air circulation and to ensure that they get all the sunlight they need.

Spread Your Harvest

A cultivated vegetable garden.
You can also enjoy this lush green view in your own garden!

One way you can keep harvesting garden favorites is by planting a mixture of varieties covering early, mid, and late-season harvest. This will allow you to maximize the time you can enjoy each vegetable. Also, sow quick-maturing crops in small batches but do it often throughout the spring and summer so you have a steady succession of harvests.

Plant in Succession

After each growing season, chances are there will be gaps in your harvest as you prepare for the next batch of crops to plant. You can minimize this gap by planting in succession. Choose succession crops you can sow or plant in midsummer that you can harvest in autumn and in the winter. This includes carrots, celeriac, fennel, and dwarf beans.

As you can see it’s not difficult to grow food year-round. It just takes a little forethought and planning to accomplish your goal. Do you grow your own food like fresh vegetables, fruit, and more all year? Tell us about your family food garden, what do you grow on your homestead?

You can also find gardening products I use in my videos here <---

I now have an Amazon Influencer’s storefront. I put the products I use, in my posts and Youtube Gardening videos, there. Shopping there is free and the site gets a percentage of sales. Thanks!

You can go to my storefront using this secure link <----

If you need seeds, this is the company I use <--- and if you use code: farmer1 at checkout, you'll get 10% off your order!

You can grow food year round and have a bountiful harvest from your own family food garden. We have tips, and ideas for a thriving year-round garden.

Add a Comment

« How To Start A Hydroponic Garden
How To Feed Your Garden Naturally With What You Already Have »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi! I'm Dian, a wife of 30+ years, Mom to 4 grown kids, "Nana" to 6, and a Master Gardener. I LOVE reality shows & vegetable gardening & talking about both. You can read more here

  • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Container Gardening
  • Hydroponic Gardening
  • Herb Gardening
  • Garden Pests
  • Shop

Copyright © 2023 · glam theme by Restored 316

© 2014 - 2020 Dian Farmer All Rights Reserved. No content on this site may be copied and reused in any form or fashion without express written permission. Privacy Policy

  • Disclosure Policy
  • PR Info And Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Me