Five short season crops you can get away with planting LATE!
Two reasons you might have a short season
1. You live in a Northern climate.
2. You haven't planted yet.
Don't worry- we've got you covered either way!
Our season here in southern Idaho, defined as the number of frost free days we get, is only around 80 days- so we love crops that germinate in cold soils and mature quickly. Here are 5 quick crops you could plant now and still harvest by fall- they are just at that quick!
1. Fast Lady Cowpea-
This versatile variety is tasty green or dried. The shortest season cowpea we have grown- likely the quickest variety out there. Extremely productive, tender pods are borne on compact 7-8" plants. Does well in climates with cool summers, Carol Deppe developed this variety to excel in northern gardens. Small tan dry beans are excellent for cooking and don't require prior soaking. We will be growing this cowpea again and again!
2. Early Pink Pearl Popcorn-
70-80 days. Early and high yielding, this unique popcorn is such a fun variety grow! 5-7" ears produce excellent popping corn.
3. Kay Young's Lima Bean-
Pole Lima. This has to be the most beautiful seed variety we grow! Red seeds with purple and black mottling, these limas can be eaten fresh or dry. A productive and short-season appropriate heirloom, these originally come from the Young family who have grown it as an unnamed home variety in Idaho and Nebraska since at least 1945. We obtained the variety through the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook and just love growing it!
4. Sage's Texas Cowpea-
60 days for green, 90 for dry, bush habit. What a mod mix of colors! These are a breeding project of Joseph Lofthouse of Landrace Garden Seeds in Paradise, UT. Very productive and well adapted to a short season climate, can be eaten as green beans, shelly beans, or dry beans.
5. Yukon Chief Popcorn-
55 days. This is the sweet corn for those with small spaces! Short in stature, this corn only gets 3-4 ft. tall, and will yield a lot of sweet corn for a small space. Bred in Alaska to produce in a short season, this is one of the earliest sweet corns you will find! Ears are perfectly sized for one person, 5-6 inches long and bright yellow. This corn germinates well in cold soils. This could be a great corn for container gardening.
A bit of its story:
Bred using traditional plant breeding techniques by Dr. Arvo Kallio of the University of Alaska, Agricultural Experiment Station as a cross between 'Gaspe Flint' and an unknown variety, 'Yukon Chief' was introduced in 1958. It was developed specifically to germinate and grow well in cooler soils where sweet corn generally cannot be grown.
