One Raised Bed, 7 Compact Crops – How to Start Growing Your Own Vegetables in October

Fall is a great time to start a vegetable garden if you’ve never grown your own before, and these compact crops will bring an abundant harvest in a small space. Sow in October and growing vegetables is so easy as you don’t have to worry about pests or remembering to water your plants every day, and you can still raise plenty of tasty crops at this time of the year. You won’t have to wait long to enjoy your very first harvest, either, and just wait till you taste the difference between homegrown and shop-bought!

The secret to start growing your own vegetables in October is to use a raised bed or planter. Gardening in raised beds is so much more straightforward than growing veggies in the ground as it doesn’t matter a jot what your soil is like as you can instantly create perfect conditions with a tailored potting mix like Miracle-Gro Organic Raised Bed Soil, available from Lowe's.

Another big advantage to growing fall-sown veggies in a raised bed is that you can position the planter in a sheltered, sunny spot to help plants grow well in shorter days and cooler temperatures. You could even place it right up against a house wall to take advantage of your home's heat, and this also makes it simple to throw a layer of horticultural fleece over the top if you need to keep young seedlings cozy through a cold snap.

There are plenty of small-space veggies that thrive in a container, but here's my pick of the best vegetables to sow in October – all compact enough to flourish in a raised bed – if you want to grow your own this fall. So don’t keep dreaming about doing it done day – do it today!

Veggies to Sow in October

All these vegetable varieties are cold-tolerant, but tailor your choice to your zone. Position your raised bed in a warm, sheltered area of your garden and you can absolutely cheat zone recommendations to successfully grow winter crops. I would happily grow all these varieties in Zone 7 and above, and if you live in a colder zone simply choose a covered raised bed (you'll find my recommendations below) or be ready with a duvet of horticultural fleece (ditto!) when temperatures plummet, and give it a go: for the price of a packet of seeds, it’s well worth the risk.

1. Meteor Peas

Think you can’t grow peas through winter? Think again! ‘Meteor’ is an exceptionally hardy variety that’s been bred to withstand freezing temperatures so is one of the best vegetables to sow in fall, with seeds that are smooth and round so resist rot in cool wet soil far better than traditional wrinkled types. What’s more, this variety only grows to a bushy 18 inches high (rather than the wild tangle of 6-feet-high stems of many pea cultivars) so it’s a great choice for a small space. Just push some twiggy sticks into the soil when you sow and the plants will look after themselves.

While you’ll have to wait until May to enjoy the fresh peapods, the plants will get busy through fall growing a strong root system, ready to burst into growth in early spring for an early harvest. And the big advantage of a fall sowing is that you won’t have to net your plants against the pea moth, a pest notorious for ruining summer pea crops. Meteor pea seeds are available from Mr Fothergills USA.

2. Atomic Red Carrots

Carrot crops are normally sown in spring and summer but ‘Atomic Red’ is a cool-season specialist that flourishes in low temperatures. And just look at that color! Atomic Red is fully frost-tolerant and fast to grow so in milder zones you could be harvesting around 80 days after an October sowing. In colder climates, plants won’t crop until spring but the harvest will be well worth the wait: cool temperatures make the plant convert its starches into sugars to act as a protective antifreeze, so the carrots taste beautifully sweet.

As well as great flavor, Atomic Red carrots also keep their striking coral-scarlet color through cooking. With roots growing up to 11 inches long, this variety is the perfect size for a raised bed, where the loose soil will favour long, straight carrots. A fall sowing means there’s zero threat from pesky carrot flies, too. Atomic Red carrot seeds are available from Botanical Interests.

3. Dwarf Siberian Kale

The name tells you everything you need to know about this small but hardy veggie! While standard kale varieties can reach up to 3 feet tall, Dwarf Siberian kale stays at a tidy 15 inches high so it’s a smart choice for a raised planter. It survives freezing temperatures and is super-tasty too, staying tender and mild (unlike some of its curly-kale cousins that can grow tough and bitter) and becoming sweetener when exposed to fall frosts.

Young leaves can be eaten raw in salads and smoothies and if you sow in October you'll be enjoying these by late November or December – or wait a few more weeks for mature leaves to sauté with a little garlic and oil. Just be sure to only harvest the outer leaves, leaving the central crown intact, so the plants keep producing as a cut-and-come-again crop. Dwarf Siberian kale seeds are available from Eden Brothers.

4. California Early Garlic

Homegrown garlic is a delight so you should definitely find room in your raised bed to plant some cloves. Softneck garlic is best in a small space and the incredibly reliable ‘California Early’ is a perfect choice if you're at the start of your veggie-growing journey. It's very easy to grow and has a highly compact, vertical habit so you can pack plenty into your bed. California Early matures around June, too, clearing your veggie bed in time for mid-summer sowings of other crops.

Because it’s a softneck variety, California Early garlic doesn’t need the long period of freezing weather that hardneck varieties do to form cloves, which means it’ll still form plump bulbs in the warmer conditions of a sheltered raised bed. A raised bed also means you can plant a little deeper than usual, which is the expert secret to growing garlic with the plumpest cloves, even if this your first time growing this crop. California Early garlic bulbs are available from Walmart.

5. Vit Corn Salad

Being able to pick fresh greens for a winter salad is such a joy, and the taste is a far cry from the disinfected leaves sold in many grocery stores. Also known as lambs lettuce and mache, corn salad is the easiest to grow through fall and winter and ‘Vit’ is my pick for glossy, tender leaves with a gourmet nutty flavor.

This French variety is so easy to grow as it’s vigorous and naturally resistant to mildew and, as it only grows to 6 inches high in upright rosettes, it’s a great crop to squeeze in between bigger plants. Vit is incredibly resilient in cold temperatures and quick to crop too, ready to eat in around 50 days. As well as eating mache raw, you can cook the leaves as you would spinach. Organic Vit corn salad seeds are available from Burpee.

6. Purple Plum Radish

Before you brush off the idea of growing radishes, hold up! Have you ever tasted a homegrown radish? Because it’s nothing short of amazing! ‘Purple Plum’ is my pick for an October sowing because this cool-season specialist crops incredibly quickly and, in a warm, sunny spot, you could be harvesting these little heirloom beauties within a month.

Purple Plum radishes are a super choice for a small space because their roots reach peak crunch when they’re just 1½ inches wide. As they’re so quick to crop, you can squeeze them in around slower-maturing crops, too. Another good reason to choose Purple Plum for an October sowing is that – unlike most other radish varieties – they don’t become woody or pithy in damp fall soil if you don’t get round to picking them at the perfect moment.

This is another vegetable that gets sweeter when touched by fall frosts, too, and you can also eat the radish tops, raw in salads or tossed into winter stir fries. Purple Plum radish seeds are available from Botanical Interests.

7. Astro Arugula

Another must for a fall sowing is arugula. One packet of seeds will provide a wealth of peppery leaves for salads and garnishes, or try making a zingy spring-is-coming pesto by swapping out basil for arugula. ‘Astro’ is the variety to reach for when sowing in October as it still germinates quickly in cool fall soil and, unlike many other arugula, keeps producing its flavorful green leaves once daylight hours drop below 10 hours a day. It tastes good, too, with a smooth, nutty flavor and a mild peppery bite.

While Astro arugula can tolerate light frosts, growth will slow and speed as temperatures lower and rise, or you can keep a steady supply coming by popping a clear plastic cloche or horticultural fleece over your crop. While you can leave foliage to grow up to 18 inches high, a big advantage to growing your own is that you can pick oh-so tender and tasty leaves when they’re around 4 inches high, and the plant will quickly grow more of this cut-and-come-again crop. Astro arugula seeds are available from Botanical Interests.

Which is the Right Raised Bed for Me?

To successfully grow veggies in a raised bed, the planter needs to be at least 8 inches deep, and ideally a little deeper. However, few crops need more than an 18-inch depth of soil to grow well, and it's expensive to fill a very deep planter with potting soil. If you want to grow deep-rooting crops such as potatoes and heavy feeders like zucchini, it’s much more cost-effective to grow these separately in deep fabric planters, or choose an open-based planter that allows roots to grow into the ground.

If You Live in a Cooler Zone

Choose a raised planter with a built-in cover that makes it easy to keep fall-sown seeds warm for fast germination and shield plants from plummeting temperatures.

If You’re Growing Veg on a Patio or Deck

Growing veggies on your patio means you can use the warmth and shelter of your house to keep plants cozy through winter. Dark-toned paving also absorbs the sun’s heat during the day then releases it later, so a patio often escapes frost, too. If you need to shelter plants during cold snaps, simply throw a lightweight plant cover or horticultural fleece over the planter. Choose one that allows sunlight and air to pass through, like this Harvest-Guard Cover from Walmart, and you can leave it on day and night.

If You’re on a Budget

Starting a veggie bed needn’t be expensive if you opt for an open-base raised metal planter that allows plants to grow down into the soil. There are all sorts of shapes and sizes available, of varying quality, so shop smart: only buy galvanised steel (and it’s a bonus if it’s powder-coated), check for central support strips that span the planter for added strength, and look for a protective strip running around the top edge for your own comfort.

You can buy drawstring frost covers to fit most sizes of these raised beds, such as this Raised Bed Frost Cover with Insulating Aluminium Liner from Walmart, that are quick and easy to pop on and off during cold snaps.