By having your own winter vegetable garden, you will cut back on expensive winter vegetables at the grocery store. You will also be guaranteeing yourself a high level of freshness and quality; by eating your vegetables that have just been harvested, they will still be nutrient enriched. There are plenty of benefits, but you must make sure you carefully choose winter-hardy vegetables to plant!
Winter Garden Vegetables: USDA Hardiness Zone
When you consider winter gardening, you will come across the USDA Hardiness Zone system quite often. Winter plants are often described in part by which USDA Hardiness zone they will grow well in. In order to choose winter vegetables that will actually survive where you live, you should find out what zone your region is in. Each zone below has a corresponding average annual minimum temperature.
- Zone 1: below -50◦ F
- Zone 2: -50◦ F to -40◦ F
- Zone 3: -40◦ F to -30◦ F
- Zone 4: -30◦ F to -20◦ F
- Zone 5: -20◦ F to -10◦ F
- Zone 6: -10◦ F to 0◦ F
- Zone 7: 0◦ F to 10◦ F
- Zone 8: 10◦ F to 20◦ F
- Zone 9: 20◦ F to 30◦ F
- Zone 10: 30◦ F to 40◦ F
- Zone 11: Above 40◦ F
Winter Garden Vegetable: Root Crops
Root crops, like potatoes and radishes, are usually grown for their edible roots. Root crops are generally easy to grow, so long as you provide a good soil bed, give them room, and weed and water them properly. Here are suitable root crops for your winter garden, separated by maturation time. (You should plant your vegetables early enough that they will be fully mature by your first predicted frost.)
Late-maturing crops (around 90 days to mature)
- Parsnip (Zones 2-9)
- Carrots (4-10)
- Beets (2-10)
Mid-season crops (around 60 days to mature)
- Leek (6-10)
- Turnip (3-9)
- Kohlrabi (6-10)
Early-maturing crops (around 30 days to mature)
- Bunching Onions (3-9)
- Chives (3-10)
- Radishes (2-10)
Winter Garden Vegetables: Leaf Crops
Plants are defined as leaf crops when their stalk or flower heads are edible. Leaf crops are great nitrogen-consumers, so make sure you give them enough fertilizer or manure and water.
Late-maturing crops
- Brussels sprouts (6-10)
- Cabbage (1-9)
- Cauliflower (7-10)
Mid-season crops (around 60 days to mature)
- Winter Cauliflower (6-10)
- Swiss Chard (8-10)
- Early Cabbages (6-10)
Early-maturing crops (around 30 days to mature)
- Broccoli (3-10)
- Leaf Lettuce (4-9)
- Spinach (3-9)
- Mustard (7-10)
Winter Garden Vegetables: Tips for Care
Here are some tips for caring for your vegetables, specifically during winter time.
- Rotate where you plant specific types of vegetables; if you plant one type in the same place, the soil will experience repeated removal of the same nutrients, and will not be as rich
- If you need additional protection for your vegetables (i.e. you live in an extremely cold place), consider investing in a greenhouse or building structures like cold frames
- To keep pests out of leaf crops, try covering them with some cheesecloth or clear agricultural cloth. This may also slightly help to keep them warm
- If you keep a record of when you plant your vegetables, you can compare the times to what worked and didn’t and adjust accordingly for next year
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