×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Manage Account
  • Authors
  • Keyword Index
  • Join

Food Gardening Network

Growing Good Food at Home

Join
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • Sign In
  • Search

Late-Season Crops for Planting Vegetables in the Fall

Late-Season Crops for Planting Vegetables in the Fall

Though we often think of gardening as a spring and summer activity, planting vegetables in the fall is a great way to keep fresh vegetables in your diet well into winter.

By Amanda MacArthur | February 3, 2021

Gold Autumn with sunlight / Beautiful Trees in the forest

Usually by the time fall rolls around, we gardeners start thinking about cleaning up the soil, putting the tools away for the season, and daydreaming about buying seeds for next year. Rarely do we think about planting vegetables in the fall. That’s unfortunate.

A number of late-season crops can flourish well into below-freezing temperatures. In fact, many of these vegetables taste even better after they’ve gone through a frost or two. While certainly your location plays a big part in what exactly “fall” means, these cool-weather-loving plants deserve a spot in just about every garden.

Discover 10 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying fruits, vegetables, herbs and more from your home garden—when you access the FREEBIE How to Grow a Vegetable Garden, right now!

Why every gardener should be planting vegetables in the fall

You may not be growing tomatoes and corn in November (unless you live somewhere like southern California or the deep south. But you can still grow some truly delicious and nutritious garden vegetables. If you’re new to planting vegetables in the fall, hold onto your hats, because you’ll be surprised at how many crops you can either transplant or start from seed late in the year.

One important consideration, no matter where you live, is to plant based on your expected first frost date. For some vegetables, that might mean you actually start them in mid-to-late-summer. For example, if the date of your first expected freeze is late October, you would need to plant Chard between the end of July and the middle of August. Now let’s take a look at some of the plants that belong in your fall garden.

Kale plants
1. Kale. Kale is perhaps the most famous of cool-weather crops. It tastes wonderful in a variety of dishes, it’s wonderfully nutritious, and it’s easy to grow. Best of all, kale will continue to grow until the temperature drops to 20 degrees. In fact, a few frosts will give kale a little bit of sweetness.

collard greens
2. Collard Greens. It’s a shame that collard greens aren’t as well known in other parts of the country as they are in the south. They are incredibly hardy and can withstand temperatures into the upper teens. Like kale, the leaves are a little sweeter once they’ve experienced a frost.

Red Swiss Chard
3. Swiss chard. When you’re planting vegetables in the fall, it’s always good to have some fast-growing plants in the mix. Swiss chard is just such a plant. Plus it isn’t bothered by many garden pests. While chard won’t tolerate the big drops in temperature that kale and collard do, it will survive a light frost.

Discover 10 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying fruits, vegetables, herbs and more from your home garden—when you access the FREEBIE How to Grow a Vegetable Garden, right now!

fresh lettuce leaves
4. Leaf lettuce. Because it’s ready to harvest in about 30 days, leaf lettuce is an ideal candidate for a fall planting. Most varieties of leaf lettuce will be fine with a light frost.

Close up of a raddish
5. Radishes. Don’t worry; planting vegetables in the fall isn’t just about greens. Radishes grow quickly (seed to salad in about three weeks), so you can plant them pretty late into the season.

Fresh beetroots in wooden tray
6. Beets. Beet roots will grow right up through a hard frost. And as long as you brush off any dirt and store them properly (in layers, separated by sawdust or shredded paper), they will last in cool storage for months.

Fresh carrot bunches
7. Carrots. The great thing about carrots is that you can leave them in the ground until you’re ready to enjoy them or store them. The only caveat here is that once the ground freezes, you may not be able to pull your carrots out.

Discover 10 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying fruits, vegetables, herbs and more from your home garden—when you access the FREEBIE How to Grow a Vegetable Garden, right now!

brussels sprouts
8. Brussels sprouts. If you remember Brussels sprouts as those bitter vegetables you had to eat as a kid, it’s time to get reintroduced. Cook them right (in a bit of olive oil with some garlic) and they’re amazingly delicious. And they can withstand some snow and really cold temperatures.

broccoli plant
9. Broccoli. Like Brussels sprouts, if you haven’t had garden-fresh broccoli, you’re missing out. Broccoli is very cold-tolerant and can survive through several hard frosts.

fresh garlic
10. Garlic. You’ll need patience for garlic, but if you’re planting vegetables in the fall, it should be on your list. You won’t be able to harvest it until late spring, but fresh garlic is soooo worth the wait.

There are, of course, a lot more vegetables suitable for fall planting, but these 10 offer a nice variety of crops that are generally easy to grow. The days may be growing shorter, but you can still enjoy a big harvest from your garden.

I’d love to get your thoughts. What vegetables do you plant in the fall?

Discover 10 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying fruits, vegetables, herbs and more from your home garden—when you access the FREEBIE How to Grow a Vegetable Garden, right now!

« How to Use a Garden Tiller to Create Perfect Garden Beds
Vegetarian Pan-Roasted Butternut Squash and Onions with Rice »

Related Posts

  • The 15 Best Beefsteak Tomatoes To Grow in 2023
  • The Easiest Vegetables to Grow in Pots
  • 7 Ideas for Mulching a Vegetable Garden That Actually Work

Tags

broccoli, carrots, collard greens, corn, garlic, growing tomatoes, kale, leaf lettuce, lettuce, planting vegetables, planting vegetables in the fall, swiss chard, tomatoes

Comments

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Give a Gift

FREEBIE!

With your FREEBIE, you’ll also receive regular email messages from the Food Gardening Network. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Your email address is private. We promise never to sell, rent or disclose your email address to third parties.

Freebies

  • How to Grow a Vegetable Garden
  • 15 Easiest Fruits to Grow at Home
  • Growing Vegetables Indoors for Beginners
  • How to Master Spice and Herb Gardening at Home
  • The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes
  • Recipes from Your Garden
  • How to Start a Freedom Garden
  • Gardening in Every Season
  • Planning Your Perfect Food Garden
  • Plants for Bug Control Chart

Browse Topics

  • Composting
  • Container Gardening
  • Easy Healthy Recipes
  • Food Preservation
  • Garden Design
  • Garden Tools
  • Growing Fruits & Berries
  • Indoor Gardening
  • Pests & Diseases
  • Seeds & Seedlings
  • Soil & Fertilizer
  • Spice & Herb Gardening
  • Vegetable Gardening
  • Watering & Irrigation

We will be attending the following shows in 2023:

  • MANTS in Baltimore, MD
  • Connecticut Flower Show
  • Vermont Flower Show
  • Philadelphia Flower Show
Click here to schedule a time to visit with us at the show!

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • MCMA logo
  • Renewd logo
  • Manage Account
  • Join
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2023 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network® and Food Gardening Magazine® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.

Go to mobile version