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10 Easy Fall Vegetables for Mild Winters (And a Few to Skip)

By: Angela Judd | October 10, 2025

If you’re looking for easy fall vegetables to grow in a mild winter climate like the low desert of Arizona, you’re in the right place. I’ve been gardening here in Mesa for years, and I can tell you: not every crop earns its spot in the garden. The vegetables on this list are the ones that make gardening in fall and winter feel worth it. They’re easy to grow, productive, and perfect for gardeners of all levels.

If you want a harvest this season (not just pretty leaves or bolted plants) these are the fall vegetables I recommend planting. And at the end, I’ll also share a few that I skip.

Need help planning your garden? Grab my Vegetable Planting Guide and Garden Planner. These tools are made specifically for gardeners in mild-winter, hot-summer climates.

Easy Fall Vegetables for Mild Winter Climates

Top picks for easy fall vegetables
Looking for more ideas for fall and winter planting?

Top picks for easy fall vegetables

These vegetables are dependable. If you’re short on time, space, or experience, start with this list. These easy fall vegetables consistently provide me with harvests each year.

1. Kale

A hand holding tiny seeds next to a potted kale seedling labeled “Kale” on a small sign, highlighting that kale is easy to grow and perfect for fall vegetables.

Kale is one of the easiest leafy greens to grow in the fall. It grows quickly, keeps producing for months, and doesn’t mind the cold. I use it in smoothies, salads, and sautéed with garlic. You don’t need much space, and you can harvest a few leaves at a time.

How to Grow Kale

2. Swiss Chard

Left: Hand holding a packet of organic chard seeds—one of the easy vegetables for mild winters. Right: Hand holding a chard seedling with visible roots.

Swiss chard is almost impossible to mess up. It handles the cold, doesn’t bolt easily, and grows all season long. Plant from seed or transplants. When I have more than I can use, I feed the extras to my chickens.

How to Grow Swiss Chard

3. Carrots

Three photos show hands holding carrot seeds, fertilizer pellets, and a packet of carrot seed tape—perfect for easy gardening and growing Fall vegetables, especially in areas with mild winters.

Carrots feel like magic and consistently produce harvests. One packet of seeds turns into baskets of food. Use pelleted seeds or seed tape to make planting easier, and don’t forget to thin them. It’s worth the effort.

How to Grow Carrots

4. Peas

Hands holding pea seeds and a small seed packet labeled Renee’s Garden: Container Sugar Peas Little Crunch—an easy fall vegetable perfect for planting in mild winters.

Peas are fun and surprisingly productive. Plant them from seed along a trellis, and they usually take off with very little fuss. Harvest often for the best production.

How to Grow Peas

5. Broccoli

A hand holds easy to grow broccoli seeds on the left; a young broccoli seedling in a pot is on the right, perfect for planting as fall vegetables in regions with mild winters.

Broccoli takes a little longer but is worth the wait. After the main head is harvested, side shoots keep coming for weeks. It’s one of those crops that earns its space.

How to Grow Broccoli

6. Cilantro

Two hands holding cilantro seeds—one in a jar, the other in a packet labeled Cilantro. Cilantro is one of the easy vegetables to grow, especially during mild winters or as part of your fall vegetables garden.

Cilantro is easy to grow in cool weather. I sow seeds in different spots every few weeks so there’s always some ready to harvest. Once it bolts, the flowers attract ladybugs and beneficial insects.

How to Grow Cilantro

7. Fava Beans

A hand holding a seed packet and another hand holding several broad, tan fava bean seeds near green plants—perfect for planting easy fall vegetables that thrive in mild winters.

Fava beans are great for filling in open spots in the garden. You get food and a soil-boosting cover crop in one. Plant from seed once temperatures cool down.

How to Grow Fava Beans

8. Lettuce

Three panels show lettuce seed packets and a hand pouring seeds—these easy vegetables are ideal for planting as fall vegetables, especially in areas with mild winters.

I tuck lettuce all around the garden. It grows quickly, comes in so many varieties, and is great for succession planting. Harvest it young and replant every couple of weeks.

How to Grow Lettuce

9. Celery

Tray of young green seedlings on left; hands holding easy vegetables like celery bases ready for regrowing on right—a great activity for mild winters and fall vegetables.

Celery is tricky from seed, so I usually start with transplants or root the base of a grocery store bunch. Once it gets going, you can harvest stalks as needed all season.

How to Grow Celery

10. I’itoi Onions

A hand holds several garlic cloves with roots, outdoors in a garden—a great example of easy vegetables to grow during mild winters or alongside other fall vegetables.

If you garden in the Southwest, I’itoi onions are a must. They grow year after year, and once you have a few bulbs, you never have to buy them again. You can harvest both greens and bulbs all winter.

How to Grow I’itoi Onions

A Few I Skip

Unfortunately, not every vegetable is worth the trouble in a mild winter garden. Here are three that have less consistent harvests and skip if I’m out of room.

Brussels Sprouts – They like it much colder than we get here. Even in our coldest winters, the harvests are small and disappointing.
Cauliflower – Gorgeous in theory, but incredibly picky. Temperature swings cause all sorts of issues, and it only gives you one head per plant. Some years it grows very well, other times it struggles.
Spinach – I love spinach, but my harvests are often minimal. Kale and chard are better choices for reliable harvests.

Looking for more ideas for fall and winter planting?

A person harvesting broccoli, one of the best fall vegetables, in a garden with green leaves and sunlight.

Want to know what to plant and harvest this month?

New to gardening in Arizona?

Fall Gardening in Arizona: Tips for Success

And don’t forget, my Vegetable Planting Guide and Garden Planner are here to help you grow with confidence all season long.

Two hands hold an easy gardening vegetable planting guide and a garden planner journal outdoors, surrounded by green plants—perfect for planning fall vegetables in regions with mild winters.

Key Takeaways

The article presents easy fall vegetables that thrive in mild winter climates like Arizona.
Recommended vegetables include kale, Swiss chard, carrots, and peas due to their ease of growth and productivity.
Use a Vegetable Planting Guide and Garden Planner for successful gardening planning.
Some vegetables like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and spinach may not perform well in this climate and are better skipped.
Overall, these easy fall vegetables offer dependable harvests for all levels of gardeners.