What Veggies Can You Grow in Fall?
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What veggies can you grow in fall? Mostly cool-season crops: leafy greens, cabbage-family plants, roots, and some peas and beans. The pages we opened name the same core group, and they differ mainly on dates, because dates depend on where you live. This explainer sorts the fall crops by how they handle cold, shows one state’s planting windows as an example, and marks the points where the sources stop.
Quick answer
- Most fall vegetables are cool-season crops, such as beets, broccoli, carrots, kale, lettuce, radishes and spinach.
- The North Carolina handbook’s fall list adds crops such as Brussels sprouts, collards, kohlrabi, rutabagas and sugar snap peas.
- Radishes, spinach and lettuce have among the shortest days to maturity in the Arkansas table, so they need the least time before cold weather.
- Warm-season crops are not ruled out of fall. The Arkansas table lists summer squash and cucumbers with July and August windows, so your frost date decides.
Cool-season and warm-season, defined
The North Carolina handbook gives the basic split. Spring and fall have short, cool days, so the vegetables that do best then are called cool-season annuals. The handbook says these crops “grow well and produce leaves and roots in the cool temperatures of early spring and fall.” Those cool-season crops are the ones that fill a fall bed.
Warm-season crops are the other group. The handbook lists “beans, corn, cucumber, eggplant, melons, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes” and says they “grow best when the weather and soils warm up in the late spring”. Penn State gives a firm planting rule for them: “Warm-season crops require higher soil and air temperatures; they are always planted after the last frost date.”
That rule describes spring planting. It does not close fall to every warm-season crop, because the Arkansas table includes several with planting windows in July and early August. The frost date, and how many days a crop needs, decide whether a warm-season crop can still mature in your fall. For that reason this guide sorts crops by their windows and by their cold tolerance, not by the season name on the seed packet.
The fall group by crop
Leafy greens
Spinach is on the handbook’s fall list and in the Arkansas table. The Oregon State guide describes it as “A cool-season crop very prone to bolting as days lengthen and temperatures rise”, and then gives the fall timing: “Plant again from late July through September for fall harvest.” The same guide says that “Beet green, New Zealand spinach, and chard are substitutes for spinach that are less heat sensitive and therefore easier to grow.”
Kale and collards belong to the handbook’s cold-hardy group. The handbook lists them with turnip greens, spinach and Swiss chard as crops that can live through winter or go dormant and restart in early spring. In the Arkansas table, kale takes 60 to 65 days and has a window from August 20 to September 15, and collards take 70 to 75 days with a window from August 1 to September 15.
Lettuce is mainly a cool-season crop, and the Oregon guide gives two fall tips. It says: “Choose heat-resistant varieties for later plantings.” It also says: “Plant short rows at 14-days intervals to prevent waste and prolong the season.” The guide ties short rows to the goal of preventing waste and prolonging the season. For easy crops that suit a raised bed, see our guide to the easiest vegetables to grow in raised beds.
Cabbage family
The cabbage family needs the most careful timing. The handbook says: “Cole crops or cold weather crops thrive in cooler temperatures.” Its advice is to plan the fall planting on purpose: “Consider planting cole crops in the fall rather than the spring.” For cabbage itself, the Oregon guide says it “Does best in cool, uniformly moist conditions.”
Broccoli has a window from August 1 to September 1 in the Arkansas table. The Oregon guide notes that “Although broccoli generally does not do well in warm weather, careful selection of varieties may permit season-long crops in most areas.” The Arkansas table gives broccoli 70 to 80 days and a window from August 1 to September 1. Cauliflower and cabbage appear in that table as plants rather than seed, with windows from August 10 to September 1.
Kohlrabi is the Oregon guide’s example of a turnip stand-in. The guide calls it “A good substitute for turnip”, and adds that “Harvesting at maturity is critical, because fiber develops in older plants.” Rutabagas appear on the handbook’s fall list, but none of the pages we opened gives a window for them, so check your own calendar before you sow.
Roots
Beets, carrots, radishes and turnips are the root crops of the fall list. Root crops need a different start from leafy crops, because the handbook says: “Root crops (such as carrots, radishes, and beets) do not transplant well.” Sow them as seed in the bed, and expect to wait for the roots to size up.
Radishes are the quickest root in the Arkansas table. The Arkansas table gives them 25 to 30 days with a window from August 20 to September 15. Penn State explains why cool weather suits them: in hot summer weather, “radishes turn fibrous and unpleasantly sharp and pungent in hot summer weather”. The Oregon guide adds that “Radishes have shallow roots and need plenty of water to keep roots from getting pithy.”
Turnips offer two harvests. The handbook says: “The tops may be used as greens when the leaves are 3 to 5 inches long”. For the roots, it says to “Harvest the roots when they are 2 to 3 inches in diameter, but before heavy frosts occur in the fall.” Carrots appear in the Arkansas table with a 65 to 75 day maturity and a window from August 1 to August 15, so they go in earlier than most roots on this list.
Peas and beans
The handbook’s fall list includes beans, southern peas and sugar snap peas. The Arkansas table gives bush beans 50 to 60 days from August 1 to September 1, and lima beans 70 to 75 days from August 1 to August 15. Southern peas have an earlier window, from July 15 to August 1.
Bush and pole types suit different timing. The Oregon guide says: “Use bush varieties for quick production and pole types for longer season.” For a fall bed with a short window, the bush type is the one the guide points to, since its harvest comes sooner.
Read the Arkansas fall table as windows
The University of Arkansas table lists days to maturity and a planting period for each crop. It is the most complete list of fall windows in the pages we opened, but it covers one state, and the table says to adjust for climate zone. The rows below are copied from the table and sorted by the start of each window.
| Crop | Days to maturity (listed) | Planting period (listed) |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes (plants) | 75 – 80 | July 1 – July 15 |
| Sweet Corn | 72 – 86 | July 1 – July 15 |
| Southern Peas | 55 – 75 | July 15 – August 1 |
| Summer Squash | 55 – 60 | July 15 – August 15 |
| Irish Potatoes | 90 – 100 | July 15 – August 1 |
| Carrots | 65 – 75 | August 1 – August 15 |
| Beans (Lima) | 70 – 75 | August 1 – August 15 |
| Cucumbers | 50 – 60 | August 1 – August 15 |
| Beans (Bush) | 50 – 60 | August 1 – September 1 |
| Broccoli | 70 – 80 | August 1 – September 1 |
| Chinese Cabbage | 70 – 75 | August 1 – September 1 |
| Cabbage (plants) | 65 – 70 | August 10 – September 1 |
| Cauliflower (plants) | 60 – 70 | August 10 – September 1 |
| Swiss Chard | 60 – 70 | August 15 – September 1 |
| Beets | 60 – 70 | August 15 – September 1 |
| Collards | 70 – 75 | August 1 – September 15 |
| Turnips | 50 – 60 | August 1 – September 15 |
| Mustard | 50 – 60 | August 1 – September 15 |
| Spinach | 40 – 50 | August 25 – September 15 |
| Kale | 60 – 65 | August 20 – September 15 |
| Lettuce | 50 – 55 | August 20 – September 15 |
| Radish | 25 – 30 | August 20 – September 15 |
Three things stand out in the table. First, the windows open in early July for some crops, so a fall garden can start before the usual fall planting. Second, the crops that open earliest are warm-season crops, such as tomatoes, sweet corn and summer squash, which shows that the season name alone does not set the window. Third, the table’s footnote says that for fall tomato, cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower plants, the seed should be sown about four weeks ahead of the setting dates. That matters if you start your own transplants.
The table also reminds you that the windows are ranges. A crop planted at the start of a range has the most days before cold weather, and a crop planted at the end has the least. Pick the windows that fit your frost date, then choose among the crops inside them.
Tender crops and cold nights
Some fall crops are cool-season plants in one sense and tender in another. Penn State gives a clear example of a warm-season crop that suffers in cold weather: “For example, cucumbers turn bitter when the nights are too cold.” The Arkansas window for cucumbers closes on August 15, which is an early end to a warm-season crop. The two sources do not connect these facts directly, but both point to the same lesson: a crop’s window depends on the night temperatures it will meet, not only on the calendar.
For a bed that grows several fall crops, the cool-season greens and roots make a practical core. They are the crops the North Carolina handbook describes as growing well in the cool temperatures of early spring and fall, and they are the crops with the widest windows in the Arkansas table.
Planting tips for fall crops
Thinning is part of the fall planting job. The handbook says: “Leaf lettuce, beets, radishes, carrots, spinach, turnips, and other plants with small seeds are easily overplanted.” It gives the right time to act: “Start thinning when the plants have one or two pairs of true leaves.” It also suggests the evening: “Evening is a good time to thin because the remaining plants have the cool, dark night to recover from any disturbance.”
Seed depth for fall is different too. The handbook says that in many cases the planting depth “may be 1½ to 2 times as deep as for spring planting of the same crop.” That applies to the fall roots and greens on this list, and it fits the same handbook’s note that fall seed is planted deeper because the soil is drier.
The Arkansas table gives planting periods, not soil moisture or soil temperature targets, so it cannot tell you when the bed is ready. Use it for the calendar, and use the handbook’s seed-depth advice for the sowing itself.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Choosing crops by season name alone. The Arkansas table lists tomatoes and sweet corn with July windows.
- Transplanting root crops. The quick reference guide says carrots, radishes and beets do not transplant well.
- Planting the cabbage family in spring. The handbook suggests fall planting for cole crops instead.
- Letting small-seeded crops crowd. The handbook says leaf lettuce, beets and radishes are easily overplanted.
- Using another state’s dates as your own. The Arkansas table says to adjust the planting date for climate zone.
How we chose
We chose the crops that appear in at least one fall list in the pages we opened, and we checked each one against the text of the page that named it. We opened five pages on 2026-10-22. The Arkansas table supplied the windows, and the North Carolina handbook supplied the broader fall list and the cold-hardy group. Penn State supplied the cool-season and warm-season definitions, and Oregon State supplied crop-specific notes. We did not include a crop that none of the pages describes as a fall crop, and we did not use retail listings or product pages for growing advice.
What we could not verify
The windows in this guide are for the places named beside them. The Arkansas table covers one state, the North Carolina handbook covers the piedmont and coastal plain, and the Oregon guide covers Oregon. A fall crop in your yard will follow your own frost date and your own night temperatures, which none of the pages can set for you.
What the sources do not say
The sources do not give a frost tolerance temperature for any crop, and they do not rank fall crops by taste or yield. The handbook’s fall list has no windows attached, and the Arkansas table has no window for Brussels sprouts or rutabagas. The Oregon guide names varieties for several crops, but this article does not recommend any variety, and the pages do not say which varieties suit a given region.
Frequently asked questions
Which vegetables grow best in fall?
The cool-season crops do best. Penn State lists beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, radishes, spinach and turnips among the common cool-season vegetables. The pages we opened do not rank them against each other.
Can I grow tomatoes in fall?
The Arkansas table lists tomato plants with a planting period from July 1 to July 15 and 75 to 80 days to maturity. It does not give a later tomato window, so a late-summer tomato start is outside what the table covers.
Are beans a fall crop?
Yes, according to the sources that list them. The handbook includes beans and southern peas on its fall list, and the Arkansas table gives bush beans a window from August 1 to September 1. The Oregon guide says bush types give quick production.
Which fall crops handle frost?
The handbook’s cold-hardy group is collards, kale, turnip greens, spinach and Swiss chard. Penn State says some winter-hardy crops, such as kale and Brussels sprouts, can benefit from a light frost. None of the pages gives a freezing temperature for any of these crops.
Should I start fall crops from seed or transplants?
Start root crops from seed, since the quick reference guide says carrots, radishes and beets do not transplant well. For broccoli and cabbage, the Arkansas footnote describes how to start your own plants about four weeks ahead of the setting dates.
For more ideas on which crops suit a raised bed, see veg to grow in raised beds.
Sources
- https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/16-vegetable-gardening (opened 2026-10-22)
- https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/home-vegetable-gardening-a-quick-reference-guide (opened 2026-10-22)
- https://extension.psu.edu/cool-season-vs-warm-season-vegetables (opened 2026-10-22)
- https://uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/vegetables/fall-planting-dates.aspx (opened 2026-10-22)
- https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ec-871-vegetable-gardening-oregon (opened 2026-10-22)
