Our ornamental cabbages and kales have begun to come into color. Their shades will continue to become more intense as the season cools off, but we have noticed that cabbage and kale sales have taken off early this year. These plants are becoming established pillars of autumn decor, so people are starting to buy them just as the color emerges.

A really nice kale this year is ‘Peacock’. It has very frilly edges and sharply defined color in its stalks and stems during the early season, which makes it an eye-catching jump-off for sales. The plant’s habit has an overall feathery appearance, and the center gets very, very red when the cool nights move in.

Black-eyed susan is a fall favorite for people looking beyond mums. While still cheery and summery, its yellows, browns and golds work well as we transition into harvest and Halloween decor themes. Rudbeckia resembles a mini-sunflower, and each plant comes with a generous number of blooms that stay with it for the season.

A favorite for us is ‘Sonora’, with big flowers measuring about six inches from tip-to-top. It flowers freely like all black-eyed susans, but this variety is short and compact. Large flowers always look dramatic on a small plant, and ‘Sonora’ kicks it up a notch with an extra big ring surrounding the distinctive black cone.

Along with the traditional fall crops, such as broccoli and edible cabbages, this year we decided to add a line of fancy Asian and European greens as well. They look good, taste good, and have an interesting backstory, so your vegetable table will feature some unique selections to browse.

If you are interested in purchasing any of our autumn edible crops, be sure to call John or Rachel to request them. Our production run was limited.

Classic mixes become classic for not one but several strong reasons. For example, an extremely popular autumn mix is rudbeckia with petunias. Let’s take a close look at why these two crops work so well with each other.

To begin, both crops withstand the late summer and early autumn weather. They thrive in the hot days and occasionally chilly nights. Both tolerate the sometimes rainy and sometimes dry climate as well, so their cultural needs are pretty evenly matched.