Over 30 Vegetables to Plant for a Fall Garden
I’m sure the last thing you want to think about in the heat of the summer is the fall garden, but it is, hands down, the BEST season for gardening! As much as I love a good tomato from the summer garden, I truly breath easier in a fall garden.
The heat of summer is hard to handle, but the cool crisp air of fall means less pest pressure and slower weed growth. The cooler temperatures also mean less watering and general maintenance in the garden, leaving more time to enjoy it!
Utilizing Space
The hotter temperatures in July mean that the cooler spring crops like mustard, broccoli, lettuce, and peas have all given way and left voids in the garden. Succession sowing allows you to utilize this vacated space for some faster maturing summer crops like:
- Cucumbers
- Bush beans
- Summer squash/zucchini
- Cowpeas
- Basil
- Eggplant
These crops can be direct seeded in the garden in July to mature by mid to late September. Our first frost date is usually mid October, so there is plenty of time for these crops to mature. If you need to look up your first frost date, the Farmer’s Almanac has a great tool to help identify that. In order to make sure you have enough time before your first frost to allow your garden to reach maturity, take your first date and use a calculator like this one to calculate how many days you have remaining in your growing season.
Fall Garden
In order to start your garden off on the right foot for fall, you can either start your seedlings indoors in trays or direct sow in the garden. The root crops and peas tend to do better if direct sown, but the leafy greens have a better chance if started indoors, away from the scorching summer heat.
Direct Sown Vegetables
- Peas (I wait until August for peas – it’s just too hot)
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Radishes
- Beets
- Turnips
- Rutabagas
- Potatoes*
This year I am going to try to grow potatoes again in the fall. I have read that they do much better in the cooler weather and less pest pressure and I am eager to experiment. If it works out, we will have twice the potato harvest this year.
Start Indoors
- Kale
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
- Mustard
- Mizuna
- Orach
- Mache (corn salad)
- Tatsoi
- Collards
- Brussels sprouts
- Radicchio
- Endive
- Kohlrabi
- Cauliflower
- Arugula
- Lettuce
- Pak Choi
- Leeks
- Bunching onions
- Onions*
Most of these are very cold hardy and will likely survive in our (zone 6a) climate thorough December. Also, I have listed onions again because I want to see if I can push out another harvest of onions this year before the weather cools, but onions are not normally a fall crop.
These indoor starts should be started mid July in order to maximize the growing time available to the plants for production, so be sure to check your last frost date to ensure you have enough time. If you need seeds, these companies have had high germination rates and excellent customer service:
Your gardening is amazing! Great ideas for a fall garden. Beautiful vegetables!
Thank you!
Love the fall gardening tips. The laundry room makeover is fabulous! Can you do my house?
Just as soon as I’m finished here!