14 Leafy Greens You Can Still Plant And Grow In Late Summer

By late summer and early fall, our garden plans shift to harvesting and preserving. But while you're dealing with baskets full of tomatoes and zucchini, your mind might drift to home-grown crunchy salads and tender greens you haven't tasted since spring. Plant them now, and you can enjoy leafy greens throughout the fall and even into winter in some places and cases. Instead of pumpkin spice everything (which is great, there's no doubt), you might start to associate fresh greens with fall — or at least along with the deliciousness of pumpkin spice.

Tuck some seeds into the sun-warmed soil in late summer for an unforgettable fall vegetable garden. A few packets of seeds will deliver a high return on investment of time and will keep the salads and more coming for months. Think leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, and sorrel. Some of these vegetables are grocery store staples that are so much nicer coming from your own soil. Others you may never have heard of. All are worth giving a try this year.

Long since bolting and becoming bitter, let your summer lettuce go to seed fully to start you on your seed-saving journey! Instead, prepare a fall harvest of leaf lettuce. Leaf varieties take less time to mature than head lettuce. Leaf lettuce can be ready for eating just 30 to 60 days after planting, and it can withstand a light frost. Most leaf lettuce is suited for zones 2 to 11, but in warmer areas, it may still be too warm to plant; if you're still experiencing days that are 80 degrees Fahrenheit or more, hold off a bit or start seeds indoors.

The seed-heavy spikes of summer spinach towering in your garden are visual proof that you haven't eaten any in months. Start fresh with a new crop of this easygoing vegetable, and you could be adding it to meals in as few as 30 days. Spinach grows successfully in zones 3 to 11 and tolerates light frosts as well as occasional drops below freezing. Protected under a row cover, a cloche, or a cold frame, this tough plant can make it through periods as cold as 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Underrated and pleasantly low-maintenance, chard is a hardy green that stars in salads when young and in cooked applications a bit later. Also called silverbeet and Swiss chard among other names, it can be hard to tell the difference between young beets and chard. It grows like magic in zones 3 to 11. Most chard handles light freezing, but some varieties can make it through a hard frost. It's a good plan to get seeds in the ground 40 days before your first expected frost. You can expect a harvest between 45 and 60 days after planting.

Deep-green, spicy mustard greens are a vegetable you didn't know you wanted to grow. This leafy vegetable has a kick when you bite into it, and it's also a cinch to grow. Mustard greens are hardy in zones 2 to 11 and will make it through a light frost with no trouble. Although it can grow well in warmer zones, temperatures above 75 degrees Fahrenheit can make the leaves too bitter. Plant seeds between six and nine weeks before your average first frost date, and they'll be ready for tasting in as few as 30 days.

Vegetable lovers, here's one you may never have heard of. Order some orach seeds post haste for a fall filled with exciting salads. This lesser-known leafy veg tastes similarly to spinach. Orach is hardy in zones 4 to 8 and handles frosts like a breeze. If you miss out on planting orach in late summer, getting seeds in the ground by early fall can provide you a bounty in late fall. Plants mature in 30 to 40 days, but when you thin the seedlings (leave 12 to 18 inches between plants), you'll savor your first crop much sooner!

Mizuna is a leafy Japanese mustard that's worthy of space in your garden for plenty of reasons. These mild greens are a cool-season champ, but they can make it through a bit of heat without issues. Mizuna grows beautifully in zones 3 to 10 and will make it through light frosts. As long as temperatures don't dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, seeds germinate in about a week. Under protective covering, mizuna can survive the winter, but it might not make it through extreme cold. Plants mature in 35 to 50 days.

Although collard greens pop up frequently in recipes from the Deep South, these leaves grow well and even taste better when grown in cool conditions. If you still have six to eight weeks before your first frost, now's the time to plant collards. If you're on the cusp of "too late," collard greens can handle frosts if they're covered. This vegetable is best suited to zones 6 to 11, but it's been known to survive snowfalls. Expect your collards to be ready to pick in 60 to 80 days after planting.

Kale has superpowers against cold weather. Kale is edible but also an ornamental veggie that grows in winter. Plus, it tastes better after frost. These crinkly leaves thrive in zones 7 to 10 but will grow in zones 2 to 6 under row covers or a cold frame. Still, kale can tough out temps as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Plant kale about 3 months before your first frost, but a bit of insulation on the plants can let you fudge these dates a bit. Your future salad green will be harvestable 45 to 60 days after planting.

Leafy vegetables that keep their crunch after cooking are rare. Bok choy not only offers this to you, but it is also extremely forgiving in the garden. Hardy in a whopping range of zones (2 to 11), this Asian green is another one that tastes even better after the dog days of summer have passed. Plant seeds about 50 days before your first frost. Baby bok choy can be ready after 30 days while larger varieties may need up to 70 days in cool weather to mature fully.

If you love chard but want your plantings to do double-duty, plant beets in late summer. The greens are delicious both raw (when young) and cooked, and if you let some grow to maturity, you'll have the earthy, rich red bulbs to snack on. As long as you don't trim away more than ⅓ of a plant's leaves, it'll survive to produce more leaves and a root. Beets are versatile enough to grow in zones 2 to 10. Seeds germinate quickly. You'll need to thin the seedlings. This is essentially your first harvest, after only 7 to 10 days.

This Asian vegetable has a similar flavor to bok choy, but it has a slight sweetness that surprises. Tatsoi is hardy in zones 4 to 7, but it's nearly impervious to cold; it survives in temperatures as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit. It only grows about 1 inch high, so you may have to dig it out from under the snow! Plant tatsoi about six weeks before the first frost. It takes only 45 days to mature but you may be able to harvest some after only 30 days.

Sorrel, an uncommon green, is almost too pretty to eat. Bright green leaves often display vivid red veins and stems.. Sorrel is a top choice to plant in late summer. This veg is said to taste like lemon zest, something very few other leafy greens can boast. This beauty is hardy in zones 3 to 7 and loves a sunny, cool day. This plant isn't frost-tolerant, so provide protection if you know a chill is coming. Sorrel is ready to harvest 30 days after planting for baby leaves and 60 for fully mature ones.

If you want to taste komatsuna, order seeds; you're not likely to find this leafy green at a grocery store. Komatsuna is also known as Japanese mustard spinach, which tells you as much about how it tastes as it does its origin. These slightly spicy leaves are very cold-hardy and grow well in zones 3 to 10. Seeds will sprout after only five to eight days, so you can have your first nibble then. They'll be ready for harvest between 45 and 50 days. Cover your plants if you're expecting a frost, since they're not extremely cold-hardy.