Over the last few weekends, I have gone to quite a few farmer’s markets around Sullivan County, something that I can do now that I am retired. We have a good array of markets around the county and more opening soon. One thing I have seen at many markets that has become increasing more popular over the past ten years is microgreens. It used to just be something you might find in small packages at the grocery store but now at the farmers markets you can buy full sheets of microgreens of all types and clip them as you need them. Of course you still have to use them right away or they will get overgrown and no good. 

But microgreens are just the latest version of growing things like alfalfa sprouts that were popular back in the nineteen nineties. It’s just that now you have more varieties like chia, quinoa, wheat grass, broccoli and radish. You can easily grow all of these yourself at home, but getting them at the market just seems a lot easier and less messy. But a typical crop of microgreens only takes about 7 to 14 days to grow, so if you do grow them yourself, you can get many crops grown in one season without having to use artificial lights or heat. Likewise, your garden can produce more than one crop per year if you know what and when to plant. By the end of June, my broccoli will be headed up and ready for harvest, and since broccoli only produces once and then it is done, I will be able to plant another crop after it is finished. There is still plenty of time to put in starter plants to have them start producing in August. 

Don’t sell your garden short by thinking it is one and done, especially now that our fall season seems to be longer. Now that schools are getting out and summer has begun, our summer residents come up and the first thing they want is a few garden plants that they can grow in a pot on their deck to get some fresh country produce before they go back to the city after Labor Day. Likewise you can put in a second crop in your garden around July 4th weekend and start harvesting in mid to late August. The best crops for multiple plantings are your cold crops like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce. But things like peas and beans can be done twice as well. Fast crops like radish that are mature in 35 to 45 days, so you can usually do three crops in one season. 

Crops like corn that take almost the entire season can’t be planted again but to ensure corn over a long period of time, plant corn in ten day intervals in spring. By staggering the planting you can ensure that you will have fresh corn on the cob throughout the mid to late summer season. Back in day when my grandparents had a huge garden in Liberty, all of their crops were designed to come in at one time so that my grandmother and aunt could can all the vegetables that were not going to be eaten right away. 

By September, the shelves in the basement were filled with jars of vegetables, pickles, jellies and jams. But if you’re not going to be doing a lot of canning, stagger your crops, so that everything doesn’t ripen at the same time. Many of the farmers at the local markets know these tricks as they need to maximize their availability of produce throughout the entire summer season.