Maximising Your Short Growing Season: Tips for Mountain Gardeners

Struggling to grow food in short seasons? You’re not alone—and you’re definitely not doing it wrong.

Mountain gardens come with their own set of rules. The weather turns fast, the warm days are precious, and your window for planting your favourite crops? Brief.

But here’s the good news: you can absolutely grow an abundant, thriving garden—it just takes a smarter approach.

Here I’m sharing the exact strategies mountain gardeners use to make the most of every growing day—so you can stop fighting the clock and start harvesting more, with less stress.

1. Fast-Growing Crops for Short Season Mountain Gardens

When your hgardening in short seasons, every day counts. The secret? Choose varieties that don’t waste time.

Look for crops that mature in 60–100 days or less. These are your best friends in the mountains. Some proven winners:

• Cherry tomatoes (ripen faster than beefsteaks)

• Bush beans

• Zucchini

• Baby carrots

• Snow peas

• Radishes

• Pak choy & tatsoi

  
  

Pro tip: Scan your seed packets for words like early, compact, or quick to mature. These usually signal a variety built to grow in less time.

2. Start Indoors: Get a Head Start on Mountain Gardening

If you’re still waiting for the soil to thaw, don’t wait on your garden—start your seeds indoors. Even a sunny windowsill or basic heat mat setup can buy you 3–6 weeks of growing time.

Great crops to start inside:

• Tomatoes

• Cucurbits (cucumber, pumpkin, squash)

• Lettuce

• Brassicas (broccoli and kale)

  
  

Then, transplant them into your garden once the risk of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up. Just like that, you’ve jumped ahead without adding a single day to your already short season.

3. Simple Season Extenders Every Mountain Gardener Should Use

Want to sneak in an earlier start or stretch the season into autumn? You don’t need a fancy greenhouse.

Try:

• Row covers (aka frost cloths or garden fleece)

• Cloches (DIY using old milk bottles with the bottom cut off or glass jars)

• Cold frames (even a hinged window over a garden bed works)

  
  

These tools trap warmth and protect tender plants from cool nights, wind, and those “surprise” cold snaps that mountain gardeners know all too well.

Even just a few degrees of protection can add 2–4 extra weeks to your growing window.

4. Using Microclimates to Maximise Your Short Growing Season

In mountain gardens, where you plant matters as much as what you plant. You probably already have microclimates in your space—you just need to use them.

Look for:

• Sheltered nooks protected from wind

• Sunny walls or rocks that hold heat

• Shaded corners for leafy greens

Use warm spots for heat-lovers like tomatoes, squash, and cucumber. Save cooler, semi-shaded areas for crops like kale, lettuce, and parsley.

5. Timing Your Garden Right in Mountain Climates

Knowing when to plant is crucial in mountain gardening. But frost dates can feel more like guesses than gospel, right?

So here’s a better approach:

• Track your own frost dates—write down the first and last frost in your garden each year.

• Time your plantings backward from your average first frost.

• Use succession sowing for fast-growing greens—sow a new round every 2–3 weeks to keep harvesting longer.

  
  

If you’re not already keeping notes, now’s the time to start. If you want help planning your next season grab my Cool Climate Garden Calendar, your garden will thank you next season.

6. Best Cold-Loving Crops for Mountain Gardens

Here’s a mindset shift: you don’t always need to fight the cold—you can grow with it.

These crops thrive in cool mountain conditions:

• Kale

• Corn salad

• Miner’s lettuce

• Spinach

• Spring onions

• Rhubarb

• Alpine strawberries

Plant them early or late in the season when warm-weather crops struggle. They’re your secret weapon for year-round garden resilience.

7. How to Warm Soil Quickly in Short Growing Seasons

Cold soil = slow growth. But with a few tweaks, you can give your soil a head start.

Try these tricks:

• Lay down black plastic or old greenhouse plastic to pre-warm beds before planting.

• Use compost and mulch to insulate and feed the soil.

• Avoid turning wet, cold soil—let it dry a little first.

Even raising the soil temperature by a few degrees can speed up germination and growth.

You Can’t Control the Season—But You Can Control Your Strategy

Mountain gardening isn’t about fighting nature—it’s about working with it. With the right varieties, smart timing, and a few low-tech tools, you can grow more food than you ever thought possible.