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Winter Vegetables Growing Guide

Winter Vegetable gardening

Brrrrr it’s getting cold out there! But if you’re still getting green (and slightly blue) fingers, then here’s our guide on winter vegetable planting.

We go over: how to prepare your garden, the best veggies for planting outdoors / in greenhouses, when to plant, how to maximise your harvest, and some problems you may encounters.

Enjoy!

Preparing Your Garden / Allotment For Winter Planting

For most vegetable gardens, no changes need to be made to transition from summer to winter crops. You’ll want to add some new organic material to feed the soil, and cultivation will help condition the ground for something new, but it can be as simple as that.

Preparing garden for winter

Some winter crops take longer than others to reach maturity, but can be well worth the wait. Brussels sprouts is a great example. Put them in an exposed area with free-draining soil and they’ll happily grow in pretty harsh local conditions.

Don’t think that only people with ready plots can grow their own vegetables either; there are a lot of options for the versatile gardener. If your garden area is paved over, or you want to have a small garden of edibles on a terrace or balcony, containers will support a surprising amount of home-grown food. You might also want to use a greenhouse or poly-tunnel to support growth earlier in the warm season, and further into the cold. Extend your season enough, and you might get that coveted second or third harvest in.

7 Best Vegetables to Grow Over Winter Outside

Onions best outdoor grown winter vegetable

Here are our top recommendations for vegetables to grow over the winter:

  1. Onions
  2. Garlic
  3. Spring Onions (hardy)
  4. Peas
  5. Broad Beans
  6. Perpetual Spinach
  7. Asparagus

Top 5 Vegetables to Grow Over Winter In Your Greenhouse

Lettuce for best winter vegetable in greenhouse

Here are our top veggie choices for growing in your greenhouse over winter:

  1. Winter Gem Lettuce
  2. Carrots
  3. Pak Choi
  4. Lambs Lettuce
  5. Land Cress

Best Vegetables to Grow for a Winter Harvest

Brussels sprouts winter harvest

There is a wealth of choice when it comes to winter crops, but in general, think of sturdy, hardy vegetables Here is out top 8:

  1. Brussels sprouts
  2. Broccoli
  3. Cabbage
  4. Chard
  5. Kale
  6. Leeks
  7. Parsnips
  8. Rocket

If you can combine these with vegetables that store well, you can enjoy a nice variety all through the cold months. Carrots, onions, turnips and, of course, winter squash can supplement your winter harvests very well.

Extremely low temperatures have been linked to much sweeter parsnips (ref).

Growing Guide – Winter Harvest Vegetables

Seeds growing advice winter

There is nothing like bringing in the harvest each autumn, seeing the results of your planning, work and patience come to fruition and fill your kitchen with food and satisfaction.

There’s no reason why this feeling need be limited to the autumn though; there are plenty of vegetables that can keep for long enough to bring out of storage in the winter months or, even better, crops you can grow through the winter and harvest fresh despite the cold.

When should you sow your seeds?

Here we will give you detailed advice on when it’s best to plant your seeds.

Spring or summer

In the late spring, plant your Brussels sprouts, kale, leeks and winter cabbage to give them sufficient time to mature for mid-winter harvests. Frost shouldn’t damage them much, if at all, and you can harvest them as you need them, ensuring freshness and maximum taste.

As summer begins, chard, chicory, land cress and parsley can go in. You can harvest these as early as the autumn, but you can also cover some or all of them in fleece for harvest later on. That bit of extra insulation will keep them in good shape well into the winter season.

Late summer or autumn

Autumn planting

As summer wanes, corn salad, mustard, rocket and oriental leaves such as komatsuna, mibuna, or mizuna can go in. You can harvest leaves from these without removing the whole plant, so they can regrow them and sustain a regular supply. They may need to be covered by a fleece or coldframe to protect from frost.

Finally, potatoes, that staple of any garden, can be planted any time in the latter half of summer and harvested from late summer through the winter months.

The use of poly tunnels is a low cost way to extend the growing season (ref).

How to grow your winter harvest vegetables?

Many winter vegetables grow slowly – which is part of why they are so hardy – so you’ll need some patience and planning in most cases.

Some crops, such as brassicas and leeks, should be sown into seed trays or something similar to allow some indoor growth prior to taking them outside.

They can be moved once the plants form two to four pairs of true leaves or, in the case of leeks, when they are about the thickness of a standard pencil. Make sure to harden them off before moving them outdoors so that they are not damaged or killed by the sudden shock of their new environment.

Less hardy winter veggies

Some plants, like parsnips, can be sown directly into the ground, but may take a month or two to germinate. Salad plants can also be planted directly into the ground, but it is best to sow them into shallow, pre-watered drills.

Don’t forget to keep these plants well-watered, even when you can’t yet see them. Hoe between the rows to reduce competition for nutrients, water and sunlight, and cover any leafy plants (including salads of course) prior to frosts.

What problems may occur?

Caterpillar crawing pests and problems with winter veggies

Gardening, as with any agricultural pursuit, can have its share of challenges no matter how carefully you prepare. If plants are over-stressed, bolting can occur. Pests such as caterpillars, flea beetles, whitefly, slugs, snails, and even pigeons can cause considerable damage as they attempt harvests of their own. These are prevalent in the American organic farming industry (ref).

If heavy rains follow a period of drought, root vegetables can bring in water too quickly, causing splitting. Watering regularly during dry periods can reduce this risk.

FAQ’s

Here are some answers to popular winter veggie problems.

What are considered winter vegetables?

The term winter vegetables tends to refer to veggies that are readily available during winter, and are therefore winter harvest vegetables.

Can you grow any winter vegetables indoors?

Lots of winter vegetables need deep planters which are hard to handle indoors, but vegetables such as radishes do not root very deeply, and so can make nice indoor plants in troughs or planters.

What are the best winter juicing vegetables?

If you want winter juicing vegetables to boost your health and fight off the winter flu bugs, then you should focus on high vitamin contents, including oranges, grapefruits, leafy greens, carrots, and apples.

Last Updated on March 21, 2023 by Matt

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