My Top 10 Favorite Fall Crops

If your curious what I am most excited about growing each fall season, here are my top 10 favorite cultivars for veggie, flowers, and herbs. I grow these every single fall without question.

Watch the video version of this guide on my YouTube channel here:

1. Piracicaba Brazilian Sprouting Broccoli: https://tinyurl.com/muf4vs7r 2

If you struggle to grow heading type of brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage, then look no further! The most common issue with these crops is that warm weather will cause them to bolt (flower) instead of forming nice big harvestable heads. Piracicaba not only is the most heat tolerant "broccoli" I have ever grown, but it is not a heading broccoli so no worries with bolting. It is a sprouting type of broccoli and the shoots are harvested instead. They resemble broccoli raab or rappini but without the bitter flavor. 

2. Tromboncino Rampicante: https://tinyurl.com/5n7f34w

This is my favorite zucchini! Ok, its not really a traditional looking zucchini BUT it can be used just like zucchini. These large baseball bat sized squashes can make several meals. When harvested young while its a light green color, the skin is thin and edible. In my opinion, tromboncino rampicante has a more buttery flavor and doesn't get all mushy/soggy like regular zucchini. 

3. Leafy greens & spinach substitutes

Tatsoi: https://tinyurl.com/m45vje4s

New Zealand Spinach: https://tinyurl.com/ew8jkpj7

If you struggle to grow spinach because you located in a warm climate, then I cant recommend tatsoi and New Zealand spinach enough. Harvest leaves when they are young and tender. They can be eaten fresh or cooked just like spinach. These are usually the last of my greens to finally die when summer heat arrives.

4. Beans

Harvester Bush Beans: https://tinyurl.com/2wk5mrv2

Kentucky Blue Pole Beans: https://tinyurl.com/5d6fh56n

My favorite bush bean is Harvester because it forms loads of uniformly shaped straight beans. My favorite vining/pole green bean is Kentucky Blue which is bred with the best characteristics of its very popular parent cultivars - Blue Lake and Kentucky beans. 

5. Corn

Golden Bantam Sweet Corn: https://tinyurl.com/2snf675p

If you still have 4 months before your first average frost date, then you have time to plant corn. Direct sow seeds asap. Make sure to give them plenty of water and nitrogen fertilizer. The bug pressure declines during fall but still be on the lookout for corn ear worms. I recommend to spray with spinosad if you notice worms.

Spinosad - find the same Spinosad spray I use by following my link to Amazon: https://a.co/d/hmYSXiW

6. Chamomile: https://tinyurl.com/47n9dh5e

If you like to drink chamomile tea, then you must try growing your own at home. The flavor and aroma of freshly harvested or home dried chamomile far surpasses anything you can buy at the store. Chamomile, along with many other traditional European herbs grow much better during the fall, winter, and spring for Southern USA garden zones 8 and up. I sow a lot of plants in 72 cell seed trays and place under a strong light source since they require light to germinate. 

7. Milkweed: https://tinyurl.com/2t9nvd4f

Support the fall Monarch butterfly migration by planting as much native milkweed plants as possible. Or start a ton of plants by seed. Milkweed is the only food source for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. 

8. Flowers to support the butterfly migration

Blanket Flowers: https://tinyurl.com/mrszezvp

Zinnias: https://tinyurl.com/yc2trf4w

Tithonia aka Mexican Sunflower: https://tinyurl.com/3t3yw29j

Autumn Beauty Sunflowers: https://tinyurl.com/mwytpzbm

Don't forget to plant flowers to support adult Monarch butterflies. These 4 flowers are by far their favorites in my garden.

9. Pickling Cucumbers

Wisconsin SMR 58 cucumber: https://tinyurl.com/ya3pnena

I grow traditional market and pickling cucumbers during the fall as they don't grow so well in the high heat of my Florida summer. Wisconsin SMR 58 makes perfect pickles and it is scab and mosaic resistant.

10. Kale

Lacinato aka Black Tuscan aka Dinosaur Kale: https://tinyurl.com/2tyb4vs6

I grow lots of different kale cultivars each season, but Lacinato kale just blows the others away. This is the most heat tolerant kale I have ever grown. If planted in a spot that gets shade during the afternoon, it can survive the intense heat of my Florida summer garden. I have a plant that is over 2 years old. It has survived 2 summers and 2 hurricanes.