Growing A Fall Fermentation Garden

By Ashleigh Smith, True Leaf Market
Photos courtesy of True Leaf Market

While you are likely in the thick of harvesting from your summer garden, it is time to consider what you may want to grow during the fall months. As the cooling temperatures approach, along with the holidays, you may want to continue gathering a harvest to share with your friends, family, and party guests long after the tomatoes, peppers, and other fruits and vegetables have faded from your garden beds. Consider extending your harvest season by growing cool-season vegetables that can be preserved for the winter months with fermenting practices. Fermented vegetables are not only tasty but also incredibly healthy and beneficial to support your digestive, mental, and immune systems. Because fermented foods contain natural preservatives, you can enjoy your fresh garden harvest well into the winter months while setting your body up for success against common illnesses.

What exactly is a fermentation garden? They are gardens grown to produce vegetables that can be used for popular fermented foods. Some of the most used vegetables for fermentation include cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, onions, beets, and peppers. Cuisines from around the world are known for their fermented staples, including Korean kimchi, German sauerkraut, Japanese misozuke, Chinese suan cai, Indian achar, and Middle Eastern torshi. Each of these dishes includes a mix of vegetables that are prepared with the aid of microorganisms that break down carbohydrates, develop complex flavors, and act as natural preservatives for a stable shelf life with the use of a brine. While some of these foods may seem like an international treat, they can easily be made from home with the right fresh ingredients from the garden and some simple preparation. The easiest way to prepare fermented foods is in a mason jar kit or a fermentation crock. While a handful of fermentation garden vegetables prefer to grow during the main warm growing season, most thrive best during the cool spring and fall shoulder seasons. Some vegetables become even sweeter in flavor with a light frost. As you remove your summer garden crops, replace them with vegetables for fermenting.

 What vegetables can be fermented? Most of them! While the most popular include those mentioned above, many more can be utilized for unique and complex flavor combinations. Crisp and crunchy vegetables tend to be most commonly used because of their texture that remains after becoming softened by the working microbes. Summer crops such as cherry and green tomatoes, along with zucchini and summer squash, can also be used but are usually paired with some crunchy vegetables for a more appealing texture for eating or cooking. To get started this fall, focus on growing a mix of cool-season greens like heading cabbage, pak choi, and mustard that will act as the base of most fermenting recipes. Root vegetables are also ideal for fall gardens. These include radishes, carrots, turnips, and beets. Because the soil remains warmer than above-ground temperatures, these vegetables thrive as the first frost approaches. Plus, they can be used for fermenting and pickling recipes that will last all winter long.

When you consider the nutritional benefits of consuming fermented foods, the rewards are overwhelming. By naturally preserving fresh vegetables with beneficial microbial activity and the cleansing power of salt brines, you aid your digestive system in absorbing greater nutrients over time, more easily break down digestive blockers, and relieve inflammatory responses. The active probiotics help to make nutrients more readily available to your body by supporting good gut bacteria while simultaneously increasing the presence of vitamins and antioxidants necessary to the absorption process. Other substances, such as phytic acid, are known to block nutrient absorption but are commonly broken down when fermented foods are regularly consumed. These benefits combine to help relieve inflammatory effects linked to irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, and constipation by improving the conditions of the gut. The probiotics in these fermented foods also work to help strengthen your barrier against pathogens by naturally stimulating the production of antibodies and immune cell activity. With cold and flu season approaching, we could all use a little extra help guarding our immune systems.

Growing your own fermentation garden is easy, and so is preserving your harvest. All you need is a fermentation crock or a mason jar kit to get going. By combining your harvest with a salt brine, you can lock up nutrients to be enjoyed all winter long! Just remember to keep your vegetables completely submerged in the brine with the use of a weight or mason jar helix. Also, fresh vegetables and clean containers should always be used to achieve the best ferment quality. Start your fermentation journey this fall with a fermentation garden for a harvest that will last you until the next growing season.

About the Author:

Ashleigh Smith is the Managing Editor at True Leaf Market with a bachelor's degree in Horticulture from Brigham Young University - Idaho. True Leaf Market is a nationally certified organic, non-GMO seed and horticultural company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The True Leaf Market staff specializes in supplying a large selection of conventional, heirloom, and organic seeds to home gardeners everywhere. Learn more about our seeds, supplies, and other growing ideas: www.trueleafmarket.com.

All articles are copyrighted and remain the property of the author.

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