Winter Garden Vegetables

Grow winter garden vegetables and extend your season while you feed your soil and protect it from erosion over winter. Growing your own delectable veggies and bringing them from garden to table is a fulfilling and enriching experience.

Winter gardens don’t demand as much toil from gardeners, as they don’t need as much water or sunlight. This results in smaller yields but a continual harvest. However, a successful winter vegetable garden does require a little extra know-how.

Check out our robust list of winter garden vegetables to grow, tips on how to protect plants from the cold, and how cover crops can bolster your garden soil for spring.

Winter Gardening Considerations

Growing winter vegetables translates into planting hardy plants with shorter maturation periods and protecting plants with season lengthening techniques such as cold frames, mulches, watering in roots, and utilizing greenhouses to keep the ground from freezing and the air warmer.

It is important to note that vegetables will not grow when the ground is frozen solid when covered in snow, or lacking sufficient sunlight. Winter garden vegetables are hardy enough to survive sub-freezing temperatures during the overnight hours. Still, they will need temperatures that rise up to at least 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit to thrive.

Tips on Growing Winter Garden Vegetables

• Consider where you are planting your winter garden vegetables. Containers and raised beds will be the easiest to cover from frost.
• Plant winter vegetables in the sunniest spot in your garden bed to make the most of the shorter days.
• If you are growing plants in pots, they can quickly and easily be brought indoors or into greenhouses if the temperature plummets.
• Water can be a best friend to gardeners when growing vegetables in the winter. Water insulates the roots of the crop and protects plants from freezing. If you are expecting extreme temperatures, consider watering the roots well, avoiding the leaves.
• Add thick layers of mulch around plants in the winter. Mulch will act as a blanket, protecting the plants and their roots.
• Winter garden vegetables can act as cover crops, protecting the soil from erosion, and replenishing the garden soil with nutrients for subsequent spring and summer crops.

Growing Food in Winter

In this video, Resh Gala, an urban organic gardener in New Jersey – Zone 6b, discusses the best ways to grow food in winter.

Whether your garden is big or small make the most of your space with these tips, and watch the full Growing Food in Winter video on the Kellogg Garden Youtube Channel.

Winter Container Gardening

Container gardening can be an inexpensive and beneficial winter gardening option, even if you live in a climate that has exceptionally harsh winters. Containers allow you to move your plants to protected areas or inside to keep them safe from the elements while still growing and producing.

If you are bringing your containers inside place pots near a window where they will receive full sun. If you don’t have a location where they will get adequate light, you should consider using grow lights. It is also recommended to keep plants away from air vents and fireplaces to avoid any sudden temperature changes.

Many plants can be grown indoors throughout winter, here are a few examples:

• Herbs
• Lettuce
• Sprouts and Microgreens

• Dwarf Citrus Trees
• Tomatoes
• Peppers

Winter Greenhouse Gardening

As mentioned, greenhouses can play a key role in a successful winter garden. Greenhouses give you more control over growing conditions allowing you to create an ideal environment for your winter garden vegetables. Here are some of our best winter greenhouse gardening tips.

• Determine the growing needs and temperature requirements of all your plants to ensure your greenhouse is set up to accommodate each one.
• Temperature control is key to successful greenhouse growing. If you find that your greenhouse is too cold:
  • Mulching your plants and using row covers can help create more ambient warmth.
  • Wrapping your pots in bubble wrap and newspaper can also help them retain heat.
  • Save energy and money by grouping plants together in order to heat them selectively.
  • Consider sun exposure for growth and heat and place your plants accordingly.
  • Incorporate thermal mass to collect and release heat, include concrete and stone in the greenhouse. You can also use water barrels positioned to be heated by the sun that will release heat later.
• Proper humidity in greenhouse growing is important. If you find that the humidity is too high
  • Keep your greenhouse dry.
  • Proper watering and plant spacing will help.
  • Make sure there is air movement and ventilation.
• Don’t forget to help your plants pollinate. Take on the role of a bee or butterfly by using a q-tip or paintbrush to hand-pollinate your plants.
• Greenhouses can seem overwhelming and expensive, but there are many inexpensive options such as creating a DIY greenhouse using plastic, PVC, or a premade kit.

Winter Garden Vegetables to Grow by Planting Zone

In planting zones 7 through 11, there are winter vegetables that you can plant that will grow and produce throughout the winter season, albeit a little more slowly than if they are grown in the springtime.

If you are growing in zone 6 and under, setting up cold frames and greenhouses can help to ensure a successful winter crop.

Check out our Fall & Winter Gardening Guide for more details.

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