Tips for Starting Your First Fall Garden & 19 Crops That Can Withstand Freezing (or almost freezing) Temperatures!

How do I start to prepare my garden for Fall planting?

Step 1. Remove any plants left over from spring or summer. This is a good time to add to your compost pile. (Learn more about composting)

Step 2. Freshen up your soil. Soil amendments are made from a wide variety of materials, and they can be purchased in garden stores or made at home (if you have the materials, space, and time to make them). Manure from cows or horses is often used, as are various household and kitchen wastes. (Learn more about soil amendments)

Step 3. Plant vegetables according to their specific instructions, which can be found in our Grow Guides. 

Planting a fall garden can be extremely rewarding. Especially, since most gardeners enjoy working out in the cooler weather while still being able to grow such a wide variety of crops. If this is your first time growing a fall garden, the article below will help explain how and where to get started. Congratulations on making the decision to grow more of your organic food, throughout more than just the spring and summer months!

What plants are most suitable for growing in the fall and how do they survive cooler temperatures?

1. Beets 

Although beets grow well during warm weather, the seedlings are established more easily under cool, moist conditions. 

2. Broccoli

Broccoli plants thrive in cool temperatures, they have been known to survive temperatures as low as 28 F.

3. Brussels

The plant will withstand frost and can be harvested until a hard freeze strikes. The best-quality sprouts are produced during sunny days with light frosts at night.

4. Cabbage

Cabbage can withstand frost down to 20 degrees or even 15 degrees F.

5. Carrots

Carrots can survive temperatures as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit, but prolonged periods of cold results in long, pale roots.
 

6. Cauliflower

Cauliflower can survive temperatures as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

7. Celery

Celery tolerates light frost only.

8. Collards

Collard greens are the most cold-resistant of any plant in the cold-hardy Brassica family.
Collards can withstand winter temps. down to 5 F. and they usually come through the cold even more flavorful.

9. Green Onions

Onions are as hardy as they come. Frosts, freezing temperatures, and snow will not kill them.

10. Leafy Lettuces

Frost damage on leafy vegetables doesn't render the plant inedible like a disease. You can harvest non-damage parts by cutting away brown areas and edges that are frost damaged and save just the leaf parts that are uninjured and your plant will continue to grow. 

11. Kale

Snow can protect plants from the extreme cold so that they stay in the garden longer. Kale is one of these plants! Very cold-hardy. 

12. Leeks

Leeks are very cold-tolerant, most likely to survive plunges to 0 °F.

13. Mustard

When spent days under the cover of snow they have been known to emerge in perfect condition once the snow melts. 

14. Parsnips

Parsnips are generally tolerant to 0 °F and will sweeten in flavor if hit with a light frost or two. 

15. Radishes

Radishes thrive in the cooler weather when frost can be a threat to other crops.  They can survive hard freezes as well. 

16. Rutabagas

When exposed to light frost, rutabagas can actually taste sweeter. To extend the harvest season & protect the crops from heavier frosts, just add a thick layer of straw.

17. Spinach

Grows slowly through the winter but will always bounce back in early spring.

18. Swiss Chard

Swiss chard is very cold-tolerant, & can survive dips to 15 °F without any protection.

19. Turnips

Turnips lose much of their spiciness and accumulate sugar when they mature in cold weather.

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If you want to try out a project on a larger scale, the Fall/Winter Harvest Seed Bank offers excellent variety and value. Consisting of 100% non-genetically modified seeds, the package includes a book offering advice on storage, growing and harvesting your crops as well as products for storing and planting indoors. You will be able to cultivate brussels sprouts, carrots, multiple types of broccoli, turnips, swiss chard, turnips and so much more. 

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