Fall & Winter Vegetable Gardening Quick Reference
Remember Summer Plantings for Fall & Winter Harvest
This information is based on our experience growing crops in zone 7a (winter low ~0°F) here in central Virginia. Our first frost occurs around Oct. 15th. Serious winter temperatures (daytime staying below freezing & nights below 10°F) don’t start here until late Dec. or early Jan. If your area’s first fall frost is earlier or later, just adjust these dates accordingly. Cold hardiness varies with variety, the health of the garden soil (the healthier the soil, the hardier the plants), wind chill, etc. Be aware of the idiosyncracies of your garden - low areas collect cold air, south facing slopes with good air drainage stay warmest. Take notes, experiment, find (or breed!) the varieties right for you!
Recommended Varieties- Date of Last Planting - Cold Hardiness- General Advice
Beets: Lutz Green Leaf, Chioggia, Bulls Blood ∙ 9/15 ∙ 20°F (roots), 16°F (leaves) ∙ For fall crop, either seed by 6/15 or wait until cool weather to try again (Beets don’t germinate or establish well in hot soil.)
Broccoli : 6/1–7/1 ∙ 28°F ∙ Leaves can handle to 15°F, but heads are more tender.
Cabbage : 6/1–7/1 ∙ 20–25°F ∙ If damaged by frost, harvest and peel off any damaged layers before storing.
Cauliflower : 6/1–7/1 ∙ 32°F ∙ Leaves handle as low as 15°F, but heads damage easily.
Chinese Cabbage : 7/31 ∙ 25°F
Collards : 9/15 ∙ 12°F ∙ Young collards are shorter and easier to cover, so start a fall crop!
Endive, Escarole : 25°F and lower ∙ Similar to lettuce.
Garlic : 10/15–11/15 ∙ 5°F if not too much topgrowth ∙ Frost–burned plants will survive, but won’t produce as large a bulb.
Lettuce : Red Salad Bowl, Bronze Arrow, Winter Density, Rouge d’Hiver, Red Sails ∙ 25°F (large leaves), 15°F and lower (small leaves) ∙ Red lettuces are more attractive for fall planting, as cold temperatures intensify red colors, while green lettuces look yellow and sickly. Lettuce may have difficulty germinating in hot soil. Large Lettuce: 9/15 ∙ Large heads don’t handle very cold weather well. They usually rot and decline by mid–Dec. Small Lettuce to Overwinter: 10/1–/15 ∙ Plants should have 4–10 leaves before winter. Growth slows with onset of cold, then resumes, with plants reaching maturity in Feb./March.
Mustards: Red Giant, Southern Curled ∙ 9/15 ∙ 25°F ∙ Bolt in Jan./Feb. as days lengthen. Tatsoi ∙ 10/15 ∙ Succession plantings 1–2 weeks apart. Good mustard to overwinter ∙ hardy, close to the ground, & easy to cover, but will bolt in Jan./Feb. as days lengthen. Even’ StarTender Tat, New Star Mustard, Chinese Thick–Stem Mustard ∙ Even’ Star winter–hardy varieties∙ 6–12°F
Radishes : Cherry Belle ∙ 11/1 ∙ 20°F (roots), 16°F (leaves) Daikon Radishes, Fall Radishes ∙ Misato Rose, China Rose, Black Spanish Round, Miyashige White Daikon ∙ 8/1 ∙ 9/1 ∙ 20°F (roots), 16°F (leaves)
Radicchio : 25°F and lower
Spinach : Long Standing Bloomsdale, Winter Bloomsdale : 9/10–9/25 ∙ 10°F (large leaves), 5°F (small leaves) ∙ Wait until cool weather to seed as spinach seed doesn’t germinate/survive well in hot soil.
Swiss Chard : 9/1 ∙ 25°F? (Variable) ∙ Smaller– leaved varieties are the most cold–hardy.
Cilantro : 9/15–10/1 ∙ 15°F ∙ Plant earlier for fall harvests, later for overwintering crops. Younger/smaller plants overwinter best. May have problems germinating in hot soil.
Salad Burnet : 9/1 ∙ 0°F ∙ Use small amounts of cucumber–flavored leaves in salads.
Sorrel (Broad Leaved) : 9/1 ∙ 12°F (large leaves), 5°F (small leaves)