When to Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden (and What to Grow)

Last Updated on July 25, 2025

Even if your tomatoes aren’t ripe yet, early to mid-summer is the perfect time to plan a fall garden – and possibly even start seeds for it!

In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know to successfully grow a fall garden. First we’ll talk about when to start a fall garden, including the best time to start seeds or plant fall crops in YOUR zone – with planting schedules provided for every USDA hardiness zone.

We’ll also explore the best fall vegetables to grow, which ones can tolerate a light frost vs hard freeze, transplanting tips, along with several ways to extend your growing season and protect plants from late heat waves or early frosts. It may take a little time to figure out your fall groove, but it’s one of my favorite times to grow food!

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What Vegetables to Plant in Fall

Fall is a marvelous time to grow cool season crops that thrive in colder weather, including leafy greens, brassicas, root vegetables, and more. See this guide on the best fall vegetables for more details, including our favorite varieties and growing tips for each!

Fall crops include:

• Arugula
• Beets
• Bok choy, tatsoi and other Asian greens
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Fava Beans
• Garlic (ready to harvest the following spring/summer)
• Kohlrabi
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Mustard Greens
• Onions and leeks
• Other leafy greens
• Peas (snap peas and snow peas)
• Radishes (including daikons)
• Romanesco
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Turnips

When To Plant a Fall Garden

In most places, the best time to plant a fall garden is August or September, though it can vary depending on your zone and climate. If you’re growing from seed, that may meaning starting some seeds in July or August. (See more tips about starting fall seeds below.)

As a general rule of thumb, the earlier your area receives frosty winter weather, the sooner you need to plant your fall garden. Meaning, gardeners in northern regions (lower zones) with shorter growing seasons need to get started earlier in the summer than folks in southern climates or higher zone climates, especially if you want to grow from seed.

Find planting calendars for every zone here to see when to start seeds indoors, transplant seedlings outside, or plant seeds directly outdoors. Then, check out this tutorial with best practices for starting seeds indoors. If you’re running late, don’t worry! You can always buy seedlings from a local nursery, or consider planting these 13 fast-growing fall crops.

Days to Maturity

In addition climate, timing depends on what fall vegetables you’re growing. Some fast-growing fall crops can be ready to harvest within as little as 30-60 days after planting, while others take several months to mature.

Even more, some plants are sensitive to frost (so you’ll want those to mature and harvest before it arrives) while other fall crops are quite cold-hardy, and easily withstand frost once established. See a list of frost-tolerant vegetables below.

To assess your schedule, look at the first frost date for your area – or the average time of year the first fall or winter frost will arrive. (Frost dates are marked on our planting calendars, though they may vary slightly due to microclimates). Then, pay attention to the days to maturity of the vegetable variety you’re growing – which is the time it takes to mature after being transplanted.

For instance some cauliflower varieties can mature within 45 days, while other cauliflower varieties take up to 90. With a little math and looking at the calendar, you should be able to work backwards and estimate if that crop will have time to mature before freezing conditions arrive.

Starting Fall Seeds

I suggest to get a jump start by starting fall vegetable seeds indoors in the summer. While it is possible to start them outside, cool season seedlings won’t appreciate extreme heat and will be more prone to bolting early. Plus, your garden beds are likely still full of summer veggies anyways, right? I know we don’t have space to direct-sow fall crops during summer…

By starting seeds inside, you can provide fall seedlings with ideal climate-controlled conditions, consistently moist soil, protection from birds, insects, and other undesirable elements while your summer garden finishes up. Just be sure to properly harden off indoor seedlings before transitioning them outdoors to prevent shock and damage.

If your summers aren’t brutally hot and you can adequately protect them, feel free to start seeds outside if you prefer. Plus, there’s no shame in NOT starting from seed either – and picking up nursery seedlings later in the summer to early fall instead!

RELATED: Indoor Seed Starting and Seedling Care Guide, 7 Useful Indoor Seed Starting Supplies, and 9 Common Seed-Starting Mistakes to Avoid

Our Zone 9 Fall Planting Schedule

Here on the temperate Central Coast of California (zone 9), we start our fall seeds indoors in mid-August. Then we transplant seedlings outdoors in late September to early October. Except for root veggies, which are directly sowed right in the garden beds around the same time we transplant seedlings. Then, most of our fall crops grow right through winter.

NOTE: If you’re in mild climate with little-to-no frost or hard freezes, don’t wait too long to plant your fall garden! Seedlings planted in the middle of winter will grow slowly and struggle to thrive because of the shorter days (less sun) and cooler soil temperatures at that time. We see a HUGE difference in the seedlings we plant in early October over those we’ve attempted to plant in November, which essentially stalled out and stayed puny.

Spring vs Fall Planting

The fall garden is a great opportunity for a second chance to grow cool season vegetables that maybe didn’t grow well in early spring, or things you forgot to plant or didn’t have space for. While many cool season crops can grow during spring OR autumn, some perform much better in the fall!

Seedlings grow quickly during the long, sunny days of late summer, but mature to harvest later when the weather is cool – which many of them prefer. In fact, some crops taste better and sweeter after a light frost, including kale, cabbage, carrots, turnips, beets, leeks, and radishes. The arrival of cooler weather and shorter days will also slow or prevent bolting (when plants prematurely flower and go to seed) – a common issue for spring-planted cool season crops.

Also, many of the vegetables on the list above aren’t exclusively cool season crops! Some of them can also be grown in the summer in mild climates, or with the right care and a thoughtful selection of varieties.

Extending the Growing Season (Heat and Frost Protection)

Does your garden swiftly change from scalding summer heat to a chilly frosty fall? To be frank, rapidly changing conditions can make it a tad more challenging to grow a fall garden… but not impossible! With a few adjustments, you can easily extend your fall growing season by a month or two in each direction. 

After transplanting, have a plan to protect young fall seedlings from temperature extremes. If early fall is still exceedingly hot in your area, tender cool season crops (such as lettuce and leafy greens) will appreciate a little shade cloth on the hottest days – along with ample moisture and mulch.

As winter approaches, frost blankets or cloches can save your plants on chilly nights – allowing them to live for several more weeks to months. Again, tender seedlings are far more susceptible to frost damage than mature plants. See a list of which fall crops can tolerate frost vs hard freezes below!

Hoops and row covers are fabulous season-extending tools, which can be used to cover plants with shade cloth or frost blanket row covers as needed. We also use our hoops and fine insect netting row covers to protect young seedlings from the wrath of birds and insects.

Mulch is also essential to keep plants happy and extend the growing season! In addition to helping with moisture retention and weed suppression, mulch insulates the soil and protect plant roots from temperature swings.

RELATED: Learn more about using hoops and row covers in this article, including various hoop options, frost blanket weights, shade cloth types, and more. Or, visit these guides on how to protect your garden from heat waves or frost for even more ideas.

What vegetables can tolerate frost?

Almost all fall vegetables that can tolerate some frost once established. For example, celery, bok choy, peas, Chinese cabbage, and most lettuce can tolerate light frost (31 to 34 F). Other fall vegetables can withstand a true hard freeze (below 28F) including beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, garlic, kohrabi, kale, onions, leeks, radishes, romanesco, spinach, and turnips. Exact cold temperature tolerance depends on variety.

Frost-sensitive fall vegetables: All young seedlings are susceptible to frost damage, especially indoor-grown seedlings recently transplanted outside. Tender greens like lettuce, bok choy, mustard greens, fava beans, or other thin-leafed greens may be damaged in frost, though the plant (roots) can survive and continue to grow. Finally, heat-loving summer crops like tomatoes, basil, eggplant, peppers, squash, beans and melon cannot tolerate frost or freezing conditions.

Last year we invested in a nifty home weather station to better monitor our fall garden temperatures. We found it was consistently about 5 degrees colder overnight at our homestead than the local weather apps predicted, so now we can be more watchful and prepared to bust out the frost cloth when needed!

Removing Summer Crops for Fall Plants

When it comes time to plant fall seedlings outside, you may have some tough decisions to make. Unless you have a large garden space, chances are your garden beds are still currently occupied by summer crops.

That said, we’ve definitely removed tomatoes, peppers, and other summer crops that were still producing in order to get our fall garden planted on time. (Priorities!) Thankfully, most of the shorter-lived summer plants are usually on their natural decline already – such as zucchini, bush beans, spring-planted annual flowers, herbs, or leafy greens.

Even if your main garden is full of things you don’t want to remove yet, you could grow some fall vegetables in pots, wine barrel planters, or fabric grow bags. And don’t forget to amend your soil before planting a new round of crops!

RELATED: Learn how we fertilize and amend garden soil each season before planting, as well as best practices for transplanting seedlings outside for a strong healthy start.

And that’s when and how to grow a fall garden.

Well shoot, now I’m feeling super stoked for the upcoming growing season! How about you? I hope this guide made you feel inspired and prepared to grow an autumn garden of your own! Please feel free to ask any questions. Thank you so much for tuning in today, and happy planting!

Other useful resources to explore:

• Seed Starting 101: How to Sow Seeds Indoors
• How to Build a Raised Garden Bed
• 7 Useful Seed Starting Supplies for Success Indoors
• A Beginner’s Guide to Using a Hobby Greenhouse
• How to Fertilize & Amend a Raised Garden Bed Before Planting (or Between Seasons)
• Composting 101: What, Why & How to Compost At Home