Most northern gardeners strive to squeeze garden production into the summer’s short growing season, but few bother to plant crops they can harvest during the snowy months.
Imagine adding fresh, homegrown vegetables to the menu at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. By planting crops that withstand frigid temperatures, and by utilizing practices that will make your local climate a USDA zone warmer, fresh-from-the-garden produce can still be brought to the table long after most people have tilled their gardens under for the winter.
What’s Possible
Even in areas with severe winters and deep snows, growers can enjoy a measure of self sufficiency (not to mention tastier vegetables) by extending their harvesting season far into winter.
While it may be difficult to produce an abundance of food twelve months of the year in every locale, most gardeners can eat fresh cauliflower or broccoli in late autumn and early winter, Brussels sprouts from October through December, and carrots and greens throughout the winter.
Furthermore, with forethought and planning, some vegetables can be overwintered in the garden and harvested as early as February in many northern areas.
However, in order to harvest vegetables in the fall and winter, you must sow them in the summer and fall. Traditional crop rotation, tilling, mulching, and fertilizing practices will probably need to be altered to accommodate the increased utilization of the same space.
Winter Gardening Basics
- When planting a crop for winter production, do not plant it in the same bed as the summer crops.
- Reduce tilling to a minimum to help increase the organic matter levels in the soil.
- Cold temperatures reduce the activity of soil microbes, rendering winter applications of fertilizers and other amendments less effective. Organic fertilizers, compost, bone meal, etc., should be worked into the soil when temperatures are warmer.
- Use row covers to protect crops that are transplanted to the garden in late summer. Insect pests will remain active until a killing frost reduces their numbers.
Crops That Lend Themselves to Winter Gardening
Cole crops are generally more cold-tolerant than other crops. When subjected to cold temperatures, they concentrate sugars in their tissues; these sugars act like anti-freeze that prevents leaves from freezing and imparts a sweeter flavor to the produce.
Broccoli
To enjoy continuous production, start different varieties of broccoli indoors in mid-June. Transplant to the garden in early August; harvest heading types in late fall and early winter, and sprouting types into late winter and early spring. (‘Apollo’, ‘Thompson’, and ‘Veronica’ mature in late fall; ‘Rudolph’ and ‘Purple Sprouting’ are late-maturing, sprouting varieties)
Tips for growing delicious broccoli.
Brussels sprouts
Most cultivars are extremely cold hardy (down to 10º F). Start indoors in early- to mid-June, transplant in early August, harvest into late winter and early spring.
Greens (Collards and Kale)
Start indoors June through July, transplant August into September, harvest as needed all winter (greens don’t last long once picked). Kale is an excellent stir-fry green, while collards are a traditional potherb.
Cabbage
Plant fall/winter varieties June – July, spring varieties in August (start indoors in hotter climates). Harvest fall varieties September – October, winter varieties in December, and spring varieties March – April. (Varieties: ‘Melissa’ for fall; ‘Deadon’ for winter; ‘Tundra’ or ‘January King’ for spring).
Add a few of these cabbage companions for a better crop.
Cauliflower
Early varieties can be started indoors in June, transplanted in August, and harvested when mature in autumn; late varieties are started in July, transplanted in September, overwintered, and harvested the following spring. (Varieties: ‘Amazing’ and ‘Cheddar’ are early; ‘Lundy’, ‘Galleon’, and ‘Maystar’ are late).
Add a few of these cauliflower companion plants.
Beets
Several root crops grow well in cooler temperatures. Once mature, they can remain in the soil through the winter down to zone 5 (a foot of overlying straw will make them easier to dig and even get them through the winter in zone 4). For colder areas, these crops can be dug when mature and stored in dry straw or damp sand.
Plant beets for a late crop in July or early August. Cooler fall temperatures promote growth.
Carrots
Plant late carrot crops in September and keep them moist until sprouting occurs. Good varieties for fall crops are ‘Bolero’, ‘Yaya’, or ‘Dragon’. Overwintering cultivars include ‘Autumn King’, ‘Imperator’, or ‘Merida’.
Parsnips
Planting parsnips late in the season is a smart way to enjoy a hearty winter crop. They thrive in cool temperatures, developing a sweeter flavor after a few frosts.
To grow parsnips for winter harvest, sow the seeds in loose, well-draining soil in late summer or early fall. Mulch around the plants as the weather gets colder to protect them from extreme cold and make harvesting easier.
Turnips
Plant out from mid-July through August, harvest all winter.
Many other crops, including lettuce, spinach, chard, mustard, and endive, can be nurtured beneath low-cost cloches and cold frames for continuous winter production in many areas. These structures, which effectively increase the USDA growing zone, can be reinforced in areas of heavier snowfalls to protect nearly any crop and maintain access for the hardworking gardener who deserves that mid-winter reward of fresh produce!