Fewer pests and problems makes gardening in fall easy. The cooling weather is the perfect time for some of your favorite vegetables to be planted in your garden.
While most gardeners’ produce isn’t that much compared to spring and summer, there are still plenty of vegetables you can grow in your garden during this season.
You may be wondering what veggies you should add to your garden and which ones will hold up best for this season. Here are our top picks to get you inspired.
15 Vegetables To Grow In Your Fall Garden
Strawberries
Planting strawberries in the early fall months can fully establish their root system before hibernating in the winter.
As the temperatures rises gradually, the fully-rooted and now mature plant begins to put forth new foliage and stalks.
You can grow strawberries in fall with no worries with the help of soil that is fertile, well-drained, and can hold moisture.
Lettuce
Lettuce grows well in the spring and fall in most regions while its seedlings can tolerate light frost too.
However, lettuce grows best in a sunny spot with loose and well-drained soil, so it’s moist but not soggy.
Beets
The cooler soil temperatures in the fall can produce sweeter beets, while they may need some shade cover in summer. Beets can handle a light frost and can grow until the first hard freeze.
Carrots
Carrots with orange types that mature in the cooler fall soil are the sweetest. You can store them up to three months in the refrigerator, so your harvest will surely last until winter. They are best when allowed to fully mature, so don’t rush pulling.
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are one of the vegetables that best grow in fall and are usually the last veggie standing as fall turns to winter. You can harvest them from the bottom as they commonly grow from the top.
Broccoli
Broccoli takes a little longer to mature, and starting the seeds a little bit earlier is a good idea. More mature broccoli can handle a light frost, but it is best to harvest them before the first hard freeze.
Potatoes
Planting potatoes in the fall get them a head-start on the growing season. They will stay dormant during winter and start to grow in spring. Yet, with the help of a mulch system, the spring rains will help your potatoes off to a good start, so this means an early harvest.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower does well and produces tight and tender heads when grown in fall. However, it takes a little longer to mature, so it is best to start seeds indoors sooner and transplant seedlings later to get a head-start.
Arugula
Cooler temperatures allow the arugula leaves to mature and be full of flavor. So it is always best to grow in the fall. On the other hand, the warm temperature in spring makes arugula to flower and seed too soon, which causes the vegetable to give off only an average taste.
Spinach
Spinach is the most cold-tolerant salad green that continuously grows up until winter. The leaves maturing in cooler temperature produces tender and tastier leaves.
Cabbage
Cabbage is best grown in the fall. It thrives in warm weather but needs cold weather to develop its head. Plenty of water and a nice steady pace makes the best flavor for this vegetable.
Bok Choy
Bok choy and other Asian greens are suitable for fall planting. They love cold weather and enjoy the advantage of fewer pests in the fall.
You can enjoy harvesting heads as you need them since they won’t rush to seed sooner as they do in the spring.
Radishes
Radish is another great fall vegetable. Radishes love to grow fast in cold and humid soil. Sowing radish in fall alleviates most of the problems associated with spring.
Swiss Chard
Summer can make this vegetable slow down while spring makes them rush to seed, aside from getting them hard and bitter. However, crisp air and water in the fall can switch them back into their tasty flavor and full production.
Mustard Greens
Mustard greens are fast-growing nutritious leafy greens. A cool-season crop that is best grown in the short growing season. Its seedlings are tolerant to mild frosts while its leaves will dress your garden beautifully.
Tips For Planting Vegetables in Fall
- Choose varieties that mature in a short time. When direct seeding, be sure to plan accordingly.
- The ground is warmer in fall than in spring so it is always best to plant seeds deeper to get them down where the soil is cool and moist.
- Transplants can handle the change of weather temperature and water, better than seeds and newly developed seedlings. Fall crops often do better when they start from transplants.
- Seeds coated in clay are sometimes available for vegetables that take a long time to germinate. They retain water better than uncoated seeds, which means less watering and effort for you. However, they are usually more expensive.
Checklist You Can’t Ignore For Your Vegetable Garden in Fall
The fall season doesn’t mean that you have to give up on your garden. There are just a few essential things you must do to ensure a good harvest from your vegetable garden.
1) Plan
Just like spring, planning a fall garden is essential too. You need to plan accordingly and be watchful for every shift of weather temperature and protect your plants from frost at night.
2) Pull Up Dead Leaves
It is a good practice to remove dead plants and leaves from the summer garden before it gets too cold. So go ahead and tidy up to prevent fungal disease and many other pests caused by dead leaves and stems.
You may have compost only produce that shows no signs of disease. However, tomatoes can harbor diseases that may spread in your compost.
3) Till the Soil
Tilling in the fall can expose destructing pupae of caterpillars and beetles that need to be eradicated when found.
Apply compost, manure, or mulch only after 4 to 7 days. That way, weeds extracted from tilling will have time to completely dry.
4) Mulch Your Garden Bed
Don’t forget to mulch generously on the top of your garden soil since this is every gardener’s secret to suppressing weeds.
Mulch will not only suppress weeds in your garden, but it also protects your plants from frost at night, aside from adding organic matter to help your soil.
5) Assess Your Growing Season
Give time to reconsider adequately performing and underperforming plants to find out if a better quality exists during this season.
Always take careful notes for your vegetable performance and check what works and what doesn’t. Most failures and successes are associated with the weather, but others like the soil’s moisture level, fertility, and others are all manageable.
Having your checklist of what to do and lessons learned will provide you with consistent information.
6) Clean and Sharpen Garden Tools
Most gardeners try to keep the tools cleaned and well-oiled, but it’s hard to manage these tasks when you’re gardening all-year-round.
Fall is the perfect time for giving these tools a makeover and extend their service life for more years.
Remove dirt and debris by giving them a good wash. Use a wire brush or sandpaper to remove if rust is present. Don’t forget to sharpen your shovel and hoe for better performance.
Finally, rub an oiled rag onto your tool surfaces to seal the metal from oxygen and keep them from rusting.
Final Thoughts On Planting Your Veggies in Fall
Knowing what veggies to plant in a fall garden can extend your gardening season longer. Moreover, lots of edible varieties thrive better in a cold environment.
But, you need to consider your location and some level of plant protection, especially when the weather temperature drops at certain levels.
Are you enjoying our list so far? If you have suggestions in mind regarding this article, feel free to write it down in the comment section below. We like reading feedback and suggestions.
