We look for short-season varieties in all crops, due to uncertain weather on our little mountain homestead. We grow all of the veggies mentioned, plus onions, potatoes, and sometimes edible flowers like calendula, chamomile, evening primrose. (Tomatoes on the other hand, take a lot of care up here!)
While full-size onions might not have time to mature, they are very tasty when young - the tops for "green onions" or pesto, the young bulbs can substitute for scallions or leeks. Likewise, "baby potatoes" are very tasty, and sometimes a stray tuber will put up a new plant the following year. This is also a good time to deliberately plant crops that will overwinter, like fall annual flowers, garlic, walking onions, or parsnips.
One thing I discovered about radishes - if you plant too many and they go to seed, the green seed pods are very tasty in salad, and can make good mini-pickles (they have a little bit of that hot/horseradishy 'bite').
Also, chickweed (stellaria media) and lamb's quarters may volunteer in those empty spaces - these are choice edible weeds. Chickweed is great raw in salads or pesto. Lamb's quarters should be lightly cooked, great substitute for spinach in hot dishes like spanikopita or pastas. Amaranth greens are also edible. I tend to trim these rather than uprooting them, to keep them producing tender vegetative growth and crowd out less-tasty weeds.
We look for short-season varieties in all crops, due to uncertain weather on our little mountain homestead. We grow all of the veggies mentioned, plus onions, potatoes, and sometimes edible flowers like calendula, chamomile, evening primrose. (Tomatoes on the other hand, take a lot of care up here!)
While full-size onions might not have time to mature, they are very tasty when young - the tops for "green onions" or pesto, the young bulbs can substitute for scallions or leeks. Likewise, "baby potatoes" are very tasty, and sometimes a stray tuber will put up a new plant the following year. This is also a good time to deliberately plant crops that will overwinter, like fall annual flowers, garlic, walking onions, or parsnips.
One thing I discovered about radishes - if you plant too many and they go to seed, the green seed pods are very tasty in salad, and can make good mini-pickles (they have a little bit of that hot/horseradishy 'bite').
Also, chickweed (stellaria media) and lamb's quarters may volunteer in those empty spaces - these are choice edible weeds. Chickweed is great raw in salads or pesto. Lamb's quarters should be lightly cooked, great substitute for spinach in hot dishes like spanikopita or pastas. Amaranth greens are also edible. I tend to trim these rather than uprooting them, to keep them producing tender vegetative growth and crowd out less-tasty weeds.