Fall Vegetables to Plant in Your Garden

About Laura Gooch

Laura Gooch, MFA, is a Content Specialist at Brookdale and a poet. She earned her BA in English from Pace University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Adelphi University. Laura uses her storytelling background to craft engaging blog and social media content. When she's not writing, she's reading voraciously, singing in her car, or spending time with her two wiener dogs.

carrots on a wood pallet in a garden surrounded by dirt and leaning against a pot

The end of summer doesn’t mean your gardening days are done. If anything, the crisp fall air, fewer bugs and lower disease susceptibility create an environment where certain crops truly thrive. While you’ll plant them in late summer, fall vegetables mature in cooler weather, and a bit of frost makes some of them even more tasty.

Ready to keep your green thumb working this fall? Here are five of the best vegetables to plant in your garden for a bountiful autumn harvest.

Radishes

Gardening can be a slow process. You wait weeks or months to see the fruits of your labor, and sometimes it doesn’t even work. Enter radishes — nature’s speedy, easy-to-grow vegetable. These delicious, vibrant root vegetables are often ready to devour in as little as four weeks. It’s important to note that different varieties have different growth times, so be sure to follow the directions on your seed packet.

Since radishes love the cool autumn air, you can sow the seeds directly in your garden beds — no transplanting necessary. Try planting larger winter or Asian radish varieties, since they naturally prefer cooler weather and tend to have a milder flavor. These crisp, juicy and peppery root vegetables provide a sharp, vibrant contrast to rich, creamy dishes. And don’t forget to save the greens! Leaves of winter radish taste great in a spicy dish. If you’re looking for a fast-growing crop full of vitamin C and fiber, radishes are the way to go.

Kale

A nutrient-rich non-heading leafy green, kale can be one of the easiest brassicas to grow. It comes in many colorful varieties beyond what you’d find in a grocery store, including Lacinato (dinosaur) kale, scarlet kale and rosette-shaped Japanese flowering kale. To keep your plant growing longer, it’s best to harvest the larger outer leaves, leaving the inner leaves to continue to grow. Those larger outer leaves taste better when cooked, and the smaller inner leaves are good in salads. If you’re seeking sweeter leaves, harvest your kale after the cold weather arrives. Kale lasts in the refrigerator for approximately one week, so be sure to make your kale butternut squash salad or that white bean and kale soup you’ve been waiting to try.

Carrots

No fall garden is complete without some carrots. Full of character and a sweetness you can’t find in the grocery store, carrots are a semi-hardy root vegetable that comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Like many other fall vegetables, carrots often get sweeter and more flavorful if allowed to stay in the ground during a frost. Plus, carrots are rich in vitamin A, fiber and potassium. If you’re worried about garden accessibility, you’re in luck — carrots do incredibly well in raised beds. And one of the great things about homegrown carrots is they can have an estimated shelf-life of up to eight months if stored properly. So when late fall rolls around and you’re looking to make some yummy sides, like these maple roasted carrots with hazelnut and goat cheese from How Sweet Eats, you’ll have a backstock of carrots waiting to be used.

Broccoli

Remember being held hostage by a plate of broccoli as a kid? Well, growing your own might just turn that once hated vegetable into a new favorite. This brassica vegetable is meant to be grown in cool weather, so fall is the perfect time to harvest. While broccoli can be planted in the spring, temperature fluctuations can cause the plant to bolt or prematurely produce flowers that make the broccoli heads unusable. Broccoli is one of the hardier fall vegetables, and it can tolerate a light frost that may actually make the veggie taste sweeter.

Not only is it delicious, broccoli also has a wide array of health benefits. One cup alone has three grams of protein and 135% of your daily vitamin C intake. Broccoli contains a sulfur-based nutrient called sulforaphane, which has been shown to have cancer-fighting properties. This cruciferous vegetable is one of many that may help lower cholesterol levels, regulate blood sugar and boost immunity. Once you taste your home-grown broccoli, you’ll definitely want seconds.

Cabbage

Since 2026 is the year of the cabbage, why not consider adding some to your fall vegetable garden? Not only is cabbage a versatile, delicious vegetable, but it provides fiber, protein and antioxidants that help boost your immune system and reduce inflammation — all important parts of a healthy diet. Cabbage is a member of the mustard family, and like its relatives, it grows best in cool weather, making it an ideal fall crop. Flowering cabbage, a colorful, non-heading variety, fare particularly well in the fall, and while they are edible, they’re also ornamental, making them a beautiful addition to any garden.

So don’t stop planting just because summer is ending — a garden in fall can still thrive. Now is the best time to plant broccoli you can enjoy around the Thanksgiving table and carrots you can enjoy months down the line. So, if you’ve got a green thumb, step out into your garden and get growing. You’ll be harvesting in no time!

For tips on getting your garden ready for changing weather, read about how to prepare your garden for a season change. If you’re looking for ways to use your homegrown vegetables, check out these 10 plant-based recipes for fall.

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