What if next year's Thanksgiving table came straight from your own garden? The squash, the Brussels sprouts, the celery in the stuffing, all grown by you. It's very doable, but it takes a little planning, because by late November most of the country has already had its first hard frost. In this post I'll show you which crops make it to the holiday table, how to time them by counting back from your frost dates, and how to store them so they're at their best on the big day.
Why plan a Thanksgiving garden now?
Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, usually after the garden has shut down for the year. So the trick is growing the right mix of storage crops that keep for weeks after harvest and frost-hardy crops that hold in the garden (or a cool garage) as the weather turns cold.
The dishes will be fresh in your mind this month, so it's the perfect time to jot down what you'd love to serve from your own garden next year. Make that list while the leftovers are still in the fridge!
Which crops make it to the Thanksgiving table?
The most reliable picks are winter squash (cured and stored, and often sweeter after a few weeks on the shelf), Brussels sprouts (frost makes them sweeter), and celery (it handles light frost and freezes well chopped). Storage onions and hardy herbs like sage and thyme round out the menu.
How do you time it?
Instead of circling dates on a calendar, work backward from your two frost dates. Look up your average last spring frost and first fall frost for your zip code, then plan each crop around them:
- Squash: Find the days to maturity on the packet. Count that many days back from your first fall frost, then add about two weeks of cushion. That's your latest sowing date. Squash can't go out until after your last spring frost, once the soil is about 70°F.
- Brussels sprouts: These need a long, cool season. Count back the days to maturity from your first fall frost to set your transplant date, and start seeds indoors about 4 to 6 weeks before that.
- Celery: Start seeds indoors about 10 to 12 weeks before your last spring frost. Celery is slow, so it's one of the first seeds to start each year.
Cold-climate note: Here in Minnesota (zone 5a), frost-free weather runs from about mid-May to late September or early October. In zones 3 to 5, start celery and Brussels sprouts indoors on time, favor shorter-season squash, and plan to harvest and store rather than leave anything in the garden until Thanksgiving.
How do you plant and care for these crops?
- Winter squash: Sow seeds about 1 inch deep, 2 to 3 seeds per hill, with hills about 4 to 6 feet apart for vining types. Thin to the strongest 1 or 2 plants.
- Brussels sprouts: Transplant 18 to 24 inches apart in full sun and rich soil. They're heavy feeders, so work in compost before planting.
- Celery: Sow seeds on the surface (they need light to germinate) and keep them at about 70 to 75°F. Expect germination in 2 to 3 weeks. Transplant about 8 to 10 inches apart once nights stay above about 50°F, since a stretch of cold nights can make young plants bolt.
- Water: Keep soil evenly moist. Celery turns stringy and bitter when it dries out.
- Topping: About 3 to 4 weeks before you plan to harvest Brussels sprouts, pinch out the growing tip. The plant then puts its energy into sizing up the sprouts already on the stalk.
Which varieties should you grow?
Here are the four varieties I'd build a Thanksgiving garden around:
- Burgess Buttercup Squash (about 95 to 100 days): Turban-shaped, dark green fruits of about 3 to 5 pounds with dense, sweet, fine-textured orange flesh. It's an excellent keeper and gets sweeter after a few weeks in storage, so a September harvest is right on time for Thanksgiving. Perfect for roasting, mashing, or pie.
- Table Queen Acorn Squash (about 80 to 90 days): Small, ribbed, dark green squash of about 5 to 7 inches with sweet, nutty flesh. Halve and roast them for an easy side dish. With the shorter season, it's a great choice for cold climates.
- Long Island Brussels Sprouts (about 90 to 100 days from transplant): A compact heirloom, about 24 to 30 inches tall, with tight, flavorful sprouts. It's well suited to smaller gardens and holds up to cold for a late-season harvest.
- Tall Utah Celery (about 100 to 125 days from transplant): Crisp, upright stalks with classic mild celery flavor. It's the one I'd pick for stuffing, soups, and the relish tray.
How do you harvest and store everything until Thanksgiving?
- Squash: Harvest before your first frost, once the rind is hard enough that your thumbnail won't dent it and the stem has turned dry and corky. Cut with 2 to 3 inches of stem attached. Cure buttercup squash for about 1 to 2 weeks somewhere warm (about 80°F), then store it at about 50 to 55°F. Acorn squash doesn't need curing; store it the same way and use it within a couple of months.
- Brussels sprouts: Pick sprouts from the bottom up once they're firm and about 1 to 2 inches across. Plants handle temperatures down to the low 20s °F. Before a hard freeze, cut the whole stalk and keep it in a cool garage or the fridge, where it'll hold for a few weeks.
- Celery: Harvest before temperatures drop below about 25°F. Wrapped and refrigerated, stalks keep about 2 to 4 weeks. In colder zones, chop and freeze some in early fall. It's perfect for cooked stuffing.
Start planning your harvest table
A homegrown Thanksgiving comes down to a little math with your frost dates and a few dependable varieties. Start your celery early, give the Brussels sprouts a long cool season, and let your squash cure while the garden winds down. Next year you'll be bringing your own harvest to the table. I pack every seed packet myself here at 99Heirlooms, and all of our seed is non-GMO and USA-grown, with free shipping on orders over $35.