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10 BEST Vegetables to Grow in Nebraska Fall (2023 Guide)

What are the best vegetables to grow in Nebraska fall?

Finding the best vegetables to grow in Nebraska fall was not as easy as I thought. Some require extensive care, others are prone to pests, and lots are just not simple & quick enough to grow.

That’s why I created a list of the 10 Best Vegetables to Grow in Nebraska Fall!

This ultimate guide will give you the best vegetables to grow, why you should grow them, and even how to grow them.


Read THIS Before Growing Vegetables in Nebraska Fall

Knowing what hardiness zone Nebraska is in is critical to understanding the best vegetables that can be grown in the fall.

It can be the difference between your vegetable garden thriving and providing a bountiful yield or producing nothing.

Nebraska is mostly considered Hardiness Zone 5, while some of the lower-level regions are Hardiness Zone 6.

hardiness zone map


10 Best Vegetables to Grow in Nebraska Fall

#1. Lettuce

lettuce growing

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Popular Varieties: Butterhead, Boston, Loose Leaf

Why Grow Lettuce in Nebraska Fall?

Nebraska Lettuce Growing

Cold Hardy:

  • Lettuce thrives in Nebraska’s cooler fall months. Unlike other vegetables, this plant can grow even when there is snow or frost on the ground.

Low-Maintenance:

  • Lettuce may be the easiest vegetable to grow. You do not need to fertilize it, only need to water it once a week, and it can be planted in any soil.

Perfect for ANY Garden:

  • Lettuce is perfect for urban gardening and even gardeners with little space. It is great in gardening containers, raised garden beds, and even indoors.

Harvested All Year:

  • Lettuce can be harvested all year. The more you harvest lettuce the more it will grow.

THESE Could Harm Your Lettuce

Pests:

  • Deer, Rabbits, & Squirrels LOVE Lettuce. If left unprotected these pests will eat your vegetable before it can even grow.

Slugs:

  • You’ll most likely find slugs on your lettuce in fall when the weather is cool or wet. If you plant it in the shade where the soil is damp you should expect slugs too.

Extreme Heat:

  • While rare in Nebraska Fall, this can cause your lettuce to flower and become inedible. Make sure to plant your lettuce in partial shade to avoid this.

Additional Resources

Learn How To Grow Lettuce HERE


#2. Kale

kale growing

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Popular Varieties: Curly, Lacinato, Red Russian, Ornamental

Why Grow Kale in Nebraska Fall?

growing kale

Cold Hardy:

  • Kale is the hardiest vegetable when it comes to cold in Nebraska. Unlike any other vegetable on this list, Kale can be grown throughout the entire year.

Ornamental:

  • Kale is the only vegetable on this list that can also be considered an ornamental plant. This means it can add color, features, and beauty to any type of garden.

Perfect in Pots:

  • If there is any vegetable that can be grown in gardening pots in Nebraska, it’s Kale. This is one of the most adaptive vegetables, making it perfect for beginner gardeners in Nebraska.

THESE Could Harm Your Lettuce

Aphids

  • Like many other vegetables, aphids are one insect you don’t want. Aphids are especially prevalent in Nebraska and can stunt or kill your kale.

Extreme Heat

  • Like lettuce Kale does not tolerate extreme heat. After just a week in temperatures over 90 degrees, Fahrenheit and direct sunlight Kale can flower and become inedible.

Additional Resources

Learn How To Grow Kale HERE


#3. Peas

growing peas

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Popular Varieties: Snow peas, sugar snap, english peas

Why Grow Peas in Nebraska Fall?

peas growing in Nebraska

Thrives in Cold:

  • While some vegetables are cold-hardy, Peas thrive in Nebraska’s cold fall weather. If you want the tastiest peas you should grow them in late fall or early winter.

Great for Vertical Gardening:

  • Peas are one of the few vegetables that are perfect for vertical gardening. Vertical Gardening is popular in the cities of Nebraska and even in the suburbs where land for horizontal growing is scarce.

Perfect in Raised Garden Beds:

  • Peas do not need much room. They also grow great among other vegetables and plants. This makes it perfect for raised garden beds, which is one of the most popular techniques of gardening in Nebraska.

THESE Could Harm Your Peas

Pests:

  • Deer, Rabbits, & Squirrels LOVE start to come out and become hungry in spring. One of the first plants they eat is peas. Whether protected or unprotected pests pose a risk to growing peas in Nebraska.

Any temperature but cold:

  • While most vegetables grow in Nebraska’s summer heat, peas cannot. Any temperature, but cold will pose a risk to growth & tastiness.

Additional Resources

Learn How to Grow Peas HERE


#4. Pumpkins

pumpkins growing

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Popular Varieties: Pepo, Moschata, Maxima

Why Grow Pumpkins in Nebraska Fall?

pumpkin

Great Ground Cover:

  • Not only are pumpkins great plants to sell, but they are perfect ground cover. This means less maintenance and works for you and more time working on making more money selling your vegetables.

Numerous Varieties:

  • Pumpkins are a form of squash. There are orange, white, and green pumpkins you can sell. Not only this, but you can sell other forms of squash, including spaghetti, acorn, and so much more!

THESE Could Harm Your Pumpkins

Pests:

  • People love pumpkins. Pests do too. While your pumpkin plant is growing and flowering the biggest threat is pests. Deer, Rabbits, and other small animals can quickly destroy your crop.

Additional Resources

Learn why Pumpkins are one of the BEST Vegetables to Grow in Nebraska HERE.


#5. Squash

growing squash

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Popular Varieties: Zucchini, Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti

Why Grow Squash in Nebraska Fall?

squash growing

Thrives in the heat & cold:

  • Squash is one of the most versatile vegetables. Some varieties can be grown in cold weather, some can be grown in warmer weather, and some are perfect to be grown in both types of weather. This makes it ideal for planting and growing in the fall.

Provides All-Summer Harvest:

  • Squash is one of the few vegetables that you will harvest from as early as fall to early winter if planted right. This means you will be able to enjoy or store it all year long.

Perfect Cross-Pollinator:

  • Squash may be the best vegetable on this list to help to cross-pollinate other vegetables in the fall. Plant squash next to tomatoes, beans, carrots, and cucumbers for even more vegetables.

THESE Could Harm Your Squash

Birds, Squirrels, Rabbits, & Chipmunks:

  • These pests will generally not harm your actual squash vegetables. What they will do though is immediately eat squash flowers if you do not protect them with netting or rodent spray.

Small Gardens:

  • This is a little different than other vegetables. Squash requires lots of room to grow. If you try growing it in gardening pots, raised garden beds, or small gardens there is a chance that it will take over other vegetables or just not produce the harvest you want.

Additional Resources

Learn How to Grow squash HERE


#6. Carrots

carrots

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Popular Varieties: Danver, Purple, Yellow, White

Why Grow Carrots in Nebraska Fall?

carrots

Thrives in the heat & cold:

  • Carrots are another vegetable that will thrive in Fall weather that is hot but is also perfect for cooler to cold fall and early winter. You can harvest carrots even after the ground has frosted over.

Lots & Lots of Harvest:

  • Carrots are one of the few vegetables that you can harvest from late summer to early winter. This means you will be able to enjoy it all year long.

Perfect for Small Spaces:

  • The wonderful thing about carrots is that it is a vegetable that is perfect for small spaces. You can plant a lot of carrot seeds in a very small space.

THESE Could Harm Your Carrots

Soil:

  • One of the factors that can harm your carrots is soil. If you do not have loamy, sandy soil there is a chance your carrots won’t properly grow or grow at all.

Pests:

  • Pests such as rabbits and squirrels love carrot plants. These pests will generally not harm your actual carrot vegetables. What they will do though is immediately eat carrot leaves if you do not protect them with netting or rodent spray.

Additional Resources

Did you know that carrots are one of the few vegetables that you can actually store all winter making it enjoyable all year long?


#7. Spinach

growing spinach

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Popular Varieties: Flat, Savoy, Semi-Savoy

Why Grow Spinach in Nebraska Fall?

spinach grwing

Cold-Hardy:

  • Lettuce thrives in Nebraska’s cooler fall months. Unlike other vegetables, this plant can grow even when there is snow or frost on the ground.

Perfect for Gardening Pots:

  • Spinach is one of the few vegetables that can be grown any time of the year in pots. No matter what the weather is like you can grow spinach in gardening pots on your deck, patio, or raised garden bed and enjoy this nutritional vegetable in the fall..

THESE Could Harm Your Peppers

Pests

  • Like lettuce, collard greens, and kale pests love spinach. They will particulary feast on kale in the fall months when food and vegetation start to become scarce.

Additional Resources

Learn How to Grow Spinach HERE


#8. Green Beans

growing green beans

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Popular Varieties: Bush & Pole

Why Grow Green Beans in Nebraska Fall?

green beans growing

Thrives in Droughts:

  • Unlike other vegetables, Green Beans do not require a lot of water to grow, flower, and bloom into a crop that can be harvested more than once. This is great for the unusually dry summers.

Great for Vertical Gardening:

  • If you want a vegetable that grows up a pole then no look further than the pole green beans. This green bean was created specifically for vertical gardening making it perfect to grow in fall above the cold ground.

THESE Could Harm Your Green Beans

Insects:

  • Green Beans are one of the few vegetables that require constant insect control. Insects can quickly destroy your green beans’ leaves before flowers grow and can destroy the vegetable itself if not properly cared for.

Cold Weather:

  • If the weather drops to freezing before green beans form expect your green beans to not grow, become stunted, and potentially even die. This means you should grow your vegetable well after the last frost.

Additional Resources

Learn How to Grow Green Beans HERE


#9. Radishes

growing radishes

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Popular Varieties: French, Tarzan, Stela

Why Grow Radishes in Nebraska Fall?

radishes growing

Thrives in Droughts:

  • Like Carrots and other root crops, Radishes require little water, sunlight, and even pest care. This makes it great for full-sun and partial-sun garden areas.

Cold Weather:

  • Radishes are one of the few vegetables that can survive temperatures slightly below frosts. This means you can plant, grow, and harvest your radishes in the early or late fall!

THESE Could Harm Your Radishes

Clay:

  • Almost all of the vegetables on this can grow in any type of soil. The one exception is radishes. Radishes need loamy and small particle soil. If it is planted in clay soil it will not grow at all.

Additional Resources

The biggest tip I have when growing Radishes in Nebraska is to give your vegetable enough space. Most gardeners plant radishes or radish seeds too close to one another, inhibiting the size and flavor of your vegetable.


#10. Cabbage

cabbage

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Popular Varieties: Green and Purple

Why Grow Cabbages in Nebraska Fall?

growing cabbage

Loves Water:

  • Cabbage thrives in wet, cool conditions. The more water it gets the better and most delicious it will taste. Fall is the perfect time to not only grow but also harvest cabbage.

Numerous Varieties:

  • This may be one of the most underrated factors for growing cabbage in Nebraska. There are a handful of types of cabbage, all of which can be grown throughout fall.

THESE Could Harm Your Cabbage

You:

This may seem strange, but the gardener is most prone to harm your cabbage. Most gardeners will harvest cabbage either when it is too hard or too soft. Not only this, but gardeners tend to overfertilize cabbage causing too big of an inedible plant.

Additional Resources

The biggest tip for growing eggplant is not to fertilize them. Fertilizing will cause your eggplants to become too large and too hard, sacrificing the taste and color of your vegetable.


Common Growing Factors of Nebraska’s Fall Best Vegetables

vegetable garden

As a reminder, the below factors are common for the Best Vegetables to Grow in Nebraska Fall:

  • Thrives in Heat & Drought
  • Thrives in Cold
  • Can Grow in Vertical Gardens
  • Hardy against Pests & Insects
  • Can be planted in ALL Types of Garden
  • Great Cross-Pollinator

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