Here’s a handy fall garden guide to help you decide what to plant in the fall garden and when to plant your fall crops! The succession gardening chart below shows the last fall planting dates, based on the first expected frost dates in the fall.
Extending your gardening season with a second harvest can dramatically increase your annual yield—and allow you to enjoy fresh vegetables into fall and winter. In addition, fall gardening is often easier since there are fewer pests and problems in cooler weather. Finally, a fall “cover” crop can organically protect and build your soil.
To calculate the best time to plant your fall vegetable garden, look at the first expected freeze dates. Choose the date that comes closest to the expected first killing frost in your area. If you do not know the date, use our Frost Dates Calculator.
When to Plant Your Fall Crops
Click here to expand the chart below (PDF).
Advice on Your Fall Garden
- Learn more about succession planting and how to harvest more from your vegetable garden!
- See our page on planting cover crops after harvest—to add back nutrients.
- We’ll help you choose the best plants for autumn growing and great plants with fall colors.
- Decide which trees and shrubs you want in your fall garden.
- Find tips to help you plant garlic in the fall or plant lettuce and spinach in the fall.
- Make your fall fruits and vegetables last even longer with these pickling recipes and tips!
See our Autumnal Equinox page for even more fall-themed advice, folklore, and facts!
Reader Comments
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Fall seedlings
Hello! My 6 year old twins and I had our very first successful and bountiful garden thanks to following Almanac's advice. I am forever grateful for this resource because it has providing tons of fun and quality time for our family. My kids LOVE the garden more than anything. So my question now for our Fall garden (we live in middle TN) is.... when starting fall seedlings in the summer heat do I need to do this inside of outside? Is a small greenhouse necessary still? Just not sure how germination goes for cool weather plants in the hot July sun. My kids and I look forward to your response as we are so excited for our new seeds. Thank you for everything!
what to plant in fall
Congratulations to all of you! You are actually at the source of the questions you are asking: You need to consider your first frost date (it’s an average); scroll above and click on the reference to it and follow the prompts to get your estimated first frost date. Then come back here and look at the chart above AND determine what vegetables will thrive in the time before your first frost. Seeds should start just as they do in winter, although in most cases, they are best started in soil. If you have questions about how to grow any of the specific vegetables above, put the vegetable name in the search area (top left) and a growing page will come up, with specific guidance.
We hope this helps. Have fun!
What to plantin south Louisiana.
It's been raining a lot here
tomatoes
we recently , (couple weeks ago) planted tomatoe plants. went to check on them a few days later, (had alot of rain), and noticed that "something" had eaten a bunch of these new plants down to the stems. would you know aht would eat only tomatoe leaves and nothing else in the garden? and will they grow back, and what cat i use to deter whatever it is?
tomato pest
Hmm. When you say eaten down to the stems, do you mean down to the soil line, with just stubs remaining? Or, just the leaves down to where each leaf stalk connects to the nearest stem? For leaves only, then you might check for signs of the tomato hornworm. For more widespread damage, it sounds like either a rodent (such as a woodchuck), rabbit, or deer, rather than an insect. For more information about tomato pests, and animal pests in general, you might visit:
http://www.almanac.com/plant/tomatoes
http://www.almanac.com/pest/tomato-hornworms
http://www.almanac.com/pest/deer
http://www.almanac.com/pest/rabbits
As to whether the plants can recover, it depends on how severe the damage is. You might wait and see, but also plant a few extra just in case. The damaged plants may take a while to recover, if they do, and likely the harvest will be delayed and perhaps not as abundant. Be sure to pamper the plants to help them re-establish. Good luck!
Can I get a Farmers Almanac for North Florida
Need planting dates, best crop to grow and when (in Spring & Fall) , etc
Best planting dates
Try this free online planting calendar, customized to your zip code, here: http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates
Or, the new 2017 edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac can be bought here: https://store.almanac.com/store/almanacs
fall planting
Fall planting
fall garden
This will help me so much!!
gardening advice
I am new to gardening when is the best time to start seeding plants indoors for a spring garden and when do u plant the plants.And when do u plant onions.I live in se Texas.Any advice would be helpful.
Best Days to Plant
Hi Sheena, Welcome! We have a free tool for the Best Days to Plant Seeds as well as Plants in the Ground. It is personalized to your location in Texas. Click here for our gardening calendar and please let us know if you have any questions on how it works! http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates
Great guide
Thanks for writing this. We're so glad fall is here now! We're getting our yard ready for the fall this weekend.
I live in Humboldt co. CA
I live in Humboldt co. CA what veggies can I plant in Sept. and what could we plant for winter crop
We would suggest you check
We would suggest you check our all-seasons planting guide which is customized to your zip code. See:
http://www.almanac.com/plantin...
Im a beginner gardener, and I
Im a beginner gardener, and I plant a few veggies, now, can I get pic. of spinach plant and when can I pick it, im having trouble knowing when to pick the veggies.
Hi, You might find our
Hi, You might find our Ripeness Guide helpful for knowing when different vegetables are ready to harvest. See: www.almanac.com/content/ripeness-guide
why are there no dates on
why are there no dates on these comments?
Hello I live in Prince Rupert
Hello I live in Prince Rupert BC Canada and we building a growing dome greehouse but looking to start on veggies / fruit / herbs to start to grow asap we getting the students to grow in there classrooms n looking to grow from seed we get tons of rain here , and its cooler . Anyways im asking please what we can start off in cups or egg cartoons to grow n what kind of soil too please its october 11 thank you
Will these crops always be
Will these crops always be indoors in the classroom or greenhouse? For greenhouse crops at this time, you might consider beets, radishes, lettuce, collards, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, kale, Swiss chard, fava beans, carrots, cilantro, parsley, spinach, or peas. If started in cups or egg cartons, they will eventually need to be transplanted to larger containers. Make sure the egg cartons or cups have a drainage hole in the bottom. A soil-less potting mix works well.
For general outdoor planting dates in your area, you might be interested in:
http://www.almanac.com/gardeni...
I live in Southeast Georgia
I live in Southeast Georgia and was wondering when is the latest you can plant collards, turnips and mustard, Also what can we plant in the winter here?
In Georgia, plant fall crops
In Georgia, plant fall crops such as collards, turnips, cabbage, mustard and kale in September - October. In the extreme South, you can usually plant two weeks later so look toward the end of this range.
When do I sow cabbage seeds
When do I sow cabbage seeds and collards seeds to transplant for fall.
See our Planting Table for
See our Planting Table for sowing dates in your zip code.
Fall gardening
First time fall garden planter, advise please, and thank you
I live in central FL. I am
I live in central FL. I am going to plant a raised bed garden, What should I plant for veggies, and what lick will I have?
Good for you! Please see our
Good for you! Please see our planting Dates tool for your area here: http://www.almanac.com/gardeni...
I was just wondering if it is
I was just wondering if it is too late to plant. I've have never gardened before and would love to get into it. I don't know if I should wait or if I can go for it!
Thanks
Planting dates depend on
Planting dates depend on where you live and when you get frost. See our Planting Dates tool for your area here: http://www.almanac.com/gardeni...
We live in Southern Illinois
We live in Southern Illinois and have just tilled up a garden spot for next spring...I'm wondering what, if anything, to try to grow, if not for great yield, at least to upgrade the soil for our spring / summer garden.
Hi Liz, It's always good to
Hi Liz,
It's always good to add compost or aged manure to the soil. Fall is a good time to do it. Good luck with your garden next spring.
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