Fall gardening can enrich senior menus by producing fresh seasonal vegetables and giving classic recipes and updated twist. Often, the residents themselves grow some of the food in gardens on the facility property. By participating in a community activity, they have the opportunity to enjoy a hobby, exercise, get some sunshine and fresh air, as well as grow something that will contribute to their meals. Most facilities welcome the influx of tasty, fresh local food items, and if they use an online menu system, incorporating the produce into daily menus is easy.

Fall Gardening Offers Flexibility for Senior Menus

One problem posed by traditional gardens that are planted in the spring and harvested in the heat of summer is that the elderly gardeners are often not able to work for long periods of time to weed and ultimately harvest their produce. While those who love to plant in the spring might be able to get the garden started, the facility might need to pull in some additional help to make the garden a reliable source of food in the summer.

Fall gardening offers a viable option for seniors to carry through their gardening activities to harvest. With cooler temperatures, senior gardeners can plant a wide variety of fresh vegetables to supplement seasonal menus, and will enjoy their time outside tending to the garden throughout harvest.

Facilitating Winter Planting

Many successful crops can be planted in a greenhouse, maybe on raised beds that are easier for seniors to work. When planted outside, you can cover the crops with straw or leaf mulch, use low tunnels made of plastic pipe bent over and covered with plastic sheeting, cover the crops with blankets, or surround the crops with hay bales with old windows set on top. Picking crops in heavy snow won’t work, but by protecting the plants, you can produce throughout the fall and early winter.

What to Grow in the Fall and Winter

Fruiting crops, those that produce edible produce on their stems above ground, such as tomatoes or zucchini, need the summer warmth to grow, but crops with their nutrients in their leaves, roots and stems thrive in the winter. Among the crops popular for fall gardening are:

• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Herbs
• Kale
• Leeks
• Lettuce, especially leaf lettuce
• Potatoes
• Spinach
• Turnips
• Winter squash

Enriching Senior Menus

The selection of winter crops varies according to growing zones in the country, but facilities who prepare senior meals can plan on adding a rich variety to their online menus throughout the year. For information about a senior menus system that incorporates the bounty of fall gardening into its meals, contact Grove Menus.