• Grow vegetables that can handle Denver's hot summer days and cool nights.Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  Vegetable growers in Denver, Colorado, battle a fickle climate and weather patterns that change from year to year. One year's hot summer leads to the following year's cool one with the first frost of the fall arriving a month earlier than anyone expects. Choose a mix of cold season and warm season vegetables for your first year out. Don't be afraid to experiment. Learn from your results and improve your vegetable gardening knowledge and success each year.
  
  

Kale

• Kale is as beautiful as it is healthy.ornamental kale image by Tamara Kulikova from Fotolia.com
  
  Kale is a perfect vegetable to grow in Denver. This stout, nutritious cabbage-like green thrives in almost any weather condition. Kale can withstand frost and temperatures below freezing. You can harvest and eat Russian kale can be in late fall even after the leaves have frozen solid. Use mulch to keep soil around kale cool and moist during hotter-than-average summers. Experiment with different types of kale to find the best variety for your taste and microclimate. Plant kale seeds in late March and again up until early August to ensure a bountiful fall harvest.
  
  

Carrots

• Carrots grow well in Denver during hot or cool summers. These root veggies will survive frost and freezes to be harvested well into the winter months if you keep the soil above their hardy roots mulched. Plant carrots from seed near the end of April to ensure a healthy start. Carrots require about a half day of sunlight and will tolerate partial shade locations better than full sunlight. Plant short carrot varieties such as Nantes again near the end of July to increase the fall harvest long after the spring veggies have been picked and eaten.
  
  

Peas

• Peas are tolerant of light frost conditions. The plants will produce the highest yields during cool Denver summers. Peas will still do fine during warmer summer months if kept moist and mulched. Plant pea seeds in early April in full sun. Sow seeds every two or three weeks through July to extend your pea harvest well into cool fall months. Use stakes to help tall pea plants from falling over. Trade seeds and knowledge with other gardeners in your neighborhood to discover pea varieties well-adapted to your area.
  
  

Tomatoes

• Tomatoes are a favorite crop among gardeners in Denver and almost everywhere else in America. Plant tomato seeds indoors in early to mid-April. Transplant seedlings into a location with well-drained soil and full sun in mid to late May, once the chance of frost has passed. Stake tomato plants before they grow too tall to support themselves. Harvest your tomatoes as they ripen on the vines. Harvest the last of the green tomatoes before fall frost hits. Ripen them inside or make fried green tomatoes.