While you’re enjoying the fruits of your harvest in the summer, you may find it a little odd to think about growing more produce. Though you may have initially thought to wait to continue growing in the spring, there are plenty of vegetable seeds that are suitable for growing and harvesting in the winter. In this guide, we cover which veg is suited for winter planting and how to get planting veg for winter for a great harvest and fresh veg all year round.
Planning Veg to Plant Now for Winter
When the weather’s cold and bitter outside, it can feel very rewarding to have great-tasting, home-grown produce to make all kinds of delicious recipes with. Many vegetables suitable for growing in the winter are key ingredients for many of the best festive recipes, just in time for Christmas!
Though options are limited for what you can grow through the winter, there are plenty of frost-hardy varieties that are capable of growing through the season. Most often, these are sown between mid-summer and early autumn for a winter harvest, while some are overwintered. Sowing at this time is ideal, as the good amount of light and warm soil allows for good germination.
Before you plant your winter veg, you should first prepare your growing space, which should be open, with free-draining soil. First, remove the older crops and weeds, then cultivate the soil prior to planting. and ensure that you add 1cm of garden compost. The site should also be open, with free-draining soil. Though you don’t need any special equipment, cold frames or greenhouses can protect more tender plants from frost.
All that’s left to do is to choose which vegetables you want to grow! If you’re looking for some ideas, we’ve put together some of our top choices for veg to plant now for winter below.
Our Choice of Veg to Grow in Winter
Below is our selection of the best varieties of veg to grow in winter, chosen for both their ease of growing in cold conditions, as well as their delightful flavours:
- Cabbages
- Spinach
- Brussels sprouts
- Carrots
- Leeks
Cabbages
Cabbage seeds, and many other brassica seeds, are especially easy to grow for the winter as all varieties are particularly frost-hardy. In fact, cabbage has been a staple in Nordic countries and Russia for thousands of years. Cabbage should be sown between July and August, ready for harvesting in the spring. To grow cabbages that are especially resilient to the cold weather, savoy and red leaf cabbages are notably hardy.
Spinach
Spinach seeds can be grown almost all year round, and are very frost-hardy as ideal veg to grow in winter. Spinach can be used to add flavour to a range of different foods, being perfect for entrees, winter salads and dips. They are tough to grow in winter but retain tenderness throughout their growth. Spinach should be planted roughly eight weeks before your first frost and can be harvested in winter afterwards.
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprout seeds can be planted in the winter and are capable of withstanding harsh winters especially. If you plant them in July, then your sprouts will be ready just in time to add to your Christmas dinner plate! It can even be more so beneficial to grow sprouts in the winter, as their flavour improves after a frost.
You should plant your sprouts roughly four months before your first frost date. They benefit from being planted in a full-sun spot but should be watered while it’s warm to be protected from heat.
Carrots
Carrots are simple to grow vegetables through the winter and are a versatile vegetable that can be added to many dishes. Carrots can improve with flavour after several frosts, tasting a little sweeter due to the extra sugars they produce to prevent freezing. Some carrot seed varieties that are particularly suited to winter growing include Bolero, Mokum and Napoli.
Winter carrots should be grown about three months before the first frost, and should be grown in containers big enough to fit their long roots if not growing in the ground.
Leeks
Like carrots, leeks also develop a different taste after several frosts and produce a bolder flavour. Leek seeds are hardy and are good veg to grow in winter, typically growing in the ground without any major problems.
They can look poorly after a frost, though rebound and grow slowly but surely through the winter. When planted in summer, these will be ready for winter harvest or can be overwintered through spring, ready to be picked to make the perfect soup!
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Our Best Tips for Planting Veg for Winter
To keep your winter veg in the best condition, we have a couple of key tips to follow to ensure your veg to plant now for winter is problem-free:
- Using cloches - Garden cloches are highly useful for protecting against frost and rain, and are also useful for extending the growing season.
- Protecting against pests - Though snails and slugs will be less common during winter as they will be hibernating, you should still protect your plants with slug and snail control products. Additionally, birds and rabbits can be protected against by garden netting.
- Preventing wind rock - During the winter months, wind rock can lead to plant stems becoming damaged. You can protect your plants from this by either piling soil at their bases or staking them to protect them against the wind.
Buy Seeds to Grow in Winter at D.T. Brown Seeds
For planting veg for winter packed with flavour, you can find many vegetable garden seeds and plants in addition to the ones mentioned above on our online shop. With over 100 years of experience in selling quality seeds, you can trust our veg to grow in winter to healthily grow through the season and produce a great harvest.
If you’re looking for more gardening advice to keep your garden full of life all year round, you can find plenty more helpful blogs in our gardening blog. If you’d like to find out more about our range of products, including vegetable plants, fruit seeds, and fruit plants, don’t hesitate to get in touch and we’ll happily answer any questions you may have.
