Fall vegetable gardening is the perfect time to plant seeds that will mature into delicious fruit and vegetables. With proper care, gardeners in zones 8 or higher can grow tomatoes as well as eggplants through fall!
In a northern climate, gardeners will have to grow vegetables that enjoy the cooler shorter days of fall like leafy greens and root veggies. Cabbages, broccoli or kale are all good options for those living in regions with short growing seasons!
Fall Vegetables that Can be Started from Seed
To have a garden that will mature before frost, get it started in mid-summer. That means from July to August for most zones and weather conditions! Many plants prefer cool nights but can be grown during warm days as well with enough sunlight.
Fall vegetable gardens are often just an extension of summer succession planting. As one plant is finished, another vegetable or fruit can be planted in its place to take over for that vacant spot and a few vegetables hardy enough even direct seeded will also provide excellent results!
Fall Vegetables that are Better when Grown from Transplants
Some cool-season vegetables require about 3 months to mature from seed and might not seem ideal for a fall garden.
However, if you start these in pots or transfer them as seeds onto your land when it is free of other crops that need more sunlight then they will be just fine once harvest season arrives!
In order get the most from your garden, it’s always a good idea to start with seed. Transplanting is another great way of maximizing harvest space and time!
Tips for Planting a Fall Vegetable Gardens:
- When seeding directly, you should choose varieties that mature as quickly as possible. Count back from your first expected frost date and plan accordingly!
- Planting a few seeds in the fall will give you an earlier harvest. The ground is warmer and more hospitable for planting this time of year, so give them some extra room to grow!
- Transplants are more versatile than seedlings because they can handle swings in temperature and water better.
- Pelletized seeds are great for vegetables that take a long time to germinate, like carrots. The clay coating helps retain water and can reduce your need to watering them by up too 50%. However they usually have higher costs as they need to be mail delivered.
Here are our favorite 10 vegetables you can plant this fall:
1. Beets
Beets are a root vegetable that can be grown from seed. They’re easy to maintain, and produce an especially good harvest when you start with the plant in early spring through summertime; but make sure not to disturb or harm any developing roots!
Late summer is a great time to resume succession planting, at 2-3 week intervals. The bulbs will keep growing until hard frost or temperatures below 32 degrees F (0 °C).
2. Bok Choy / Pak Choi
The bok choy is a great fall plant. It’s called “baby” because it only grows 8 inches tall, but that doesn’t stop them from being delicious!
You can harvest the heads when they’re just right for your needs-they won’t get too small or bitter even if you don’t get around to using them all before frosty weather arrives!
3. Broccoli
Broccoli is a cool-weather crop that grows best in fall. For one thing, tender broccoli seedlings are more resilient to early spring frosts than ones grown during warmer months can be. However, without protection from frost they’ll eventually lose their leaves and die off if left unchecked.
The flowers will open more slowly in cool weather giving you time to harvest and consume them before their seeds sprout! Broccoli takes several months from planting, so those who want an earlier start have a few choices: for example, “Waltham”, with its quick-growing qualities can provide some delicious stems in fall.
4. Bush Beans
Pole beans need a long growing season. The vines have to grow tall, before they start setting beans – but many bush varieties will produce in as little as 45 days making them excellent candidates for fall planting of this nutritious veggie!
5. Cabbage
Fall is the perfect time to grow your own cabbage. You want plants that can adapt well in both warm and cool weather, with plenty of water throughout all stages; this will lead them to produce heads at their best flavor!
In order to be the best gardener you can be, it’s important that plants have enough time for their roots and vines grow.
Cabbage needs about 90-120 days from transplanting in summer or fall before maturity so a light frost won’t harm them, and they don’t continue growing during colder months but will still retain freshness and even get a sweeter taste!
6. Carrots
With a little patience, you can grow your own carrots. Carrots are not the fastest growers but some varieties like ‛Thumbelina’ and Paris Market will mature in 50 days or less! An alternative for those who want quicker harvests is sowing fall-bearing types such as Long Window Boxes.
Or, you can grow your carrots in containers, for example, long window boxes are an excellent option – with at least 6 inches depth.
7. Kale
Kale is one of the easiest crop plants to grow, because it requires warm or cool soil and can be grown for its leaves without worrying about flowers blooming.
The advantage of growing kale in the fall is that magical transformation so many vegetables go through when they’re grown at cool temperatures or hit by light frost; leaves will still have a great texture and flavor after being harvested.
Start seeds for Fall harvests from mid to late summer, transplanting once more if needed before cold weather sets forth autumn’s bounty!
8. Radishes
Now is the time to plant your radishes! This cool-season crop loves a moist, well drained soil. Though they can be finicky when it comes in spring and sometimes woody texture with hot bitter taste makes them less desirable for eating raw–in fall most of these problems would go away.
Although radishes grow more slowly than globe radish and can tolerate heat, they prefer planting in mid-summer. This is because it takes them until fall to develop into winter harvest bulbs for use as turnips do! You can harvest your spring flowers early, or let them over-winter and collect plants next spring.
9. Spinach
Spinach is the most popular leafy green in America. It only takes 30-40 days to mature and can be harvested three times before it becomes too large for your tastes, but that’s not all!
You’ll also enjoy tender leaves grown from small seeds if sowed late autumn through winter months.
10. Swiss Chard
If you’ve been harvesting your Swiss chard as cut-and-come again, then all the plants need is a little cool air and water to get back into production.
They may even survive through winter if harvested quickly before they start growing seed stalks that are tough or bitter tasting!