There are several vegetable crops that can be grown throughout the winter months. Depending on your area, you may need to cover with frost blankets or even a garden cloche. There is nothing more satisfying than growing your produce during the winter months. Fresh and healthy!  

Garlic loves cold! It is one of the easiest vegetable to grow through the winter and does best when planted in October or November. Mulch with straw for colder zones. If rain isn’t present, water a few times a month.  

Kale is best picked fresh, but it does keep well for up to a week in a poly theme bag, as cool as possible. In frosty weather, kale can be picked frozen and thawed indoors. Kale can survive conditions of frost and snow. When temperatures last in the teens, it will benefit from a frost blanket.  

Jerusalem artichoke tubers keep well in the soil. This is a good choice as they tend to dry out quickly. The tubers taste better after a good frost as well. Just dig when the soil isn’t frozen and as needed.

Leeks are normally pulled when needed, as long as the soil is not frozen solid. If extreme weather is in the forecast, a months supply can be pulled, left untried with their roots and some soil on, and placed in a box, crate or bucket and stored in a cool but frost-free place.  

Onions can be grown through the winter months and be ready to harvest earlier than main spring crop onions. We have excellent success in our zone 8, however, if you are in colder zones you may want to skip growing onions through the winter months. They can be damaged from very cold temperatures and cause them to seed out rather than bulb. 

Turnips and winter radishes can be grown and harvested all winter in areas that temperatures do not dip below 20 degrees. One of our favorite winter radish is crimson giant. 

Parsnips and carrots planted late summer or early fall in loose well amended soil will store well in the garden and can be dug as needed through the winter.  Once they start to grow greens again in the spring, they should be pulled and used before they become woody. 

Most salad greens planted in September or October will last through the winter when covered with a frost blanket or cloche. Be sure to water through the winter months if rain is scarce. Water in the morning on sunny days. Keep covered from dry, cold windy days.