With the arrival of winter, the harvest time for your own vegetables does not have to end. Fortunately, the list of varieties that survive the cold season in the bed or in storage unscathed is long.
Table of Contents
Leafy vegetables
Endivie – Cichorium endivia
Among the more than 30 different types of endive are many varieties that you can grow as winter endive. The tender endive leaves can be prepared as a salad or cooked like spinach.
- Sowing: from mid-June to early August
- Harvest time: depending on sowing time and variety from August to December/ down to -5 °C
Feldsalat – Valerianella
Lamb’s lettuce can be grown in the garden bed, raised bed or balcony box. The main thing is that it gets a sunny place and the soil is rather poor in nutrients.
- Sow: in late autumn, around the beginning to mid-September
- Harvest time: November to January, on frost-free days
Chard – Beta vulgaris var. Cycle
As a winter vegetable, you should grow leaf chard, as it is significantly more winter hardy than stem chard. With a protective fleece cover you can extend the harvest time.
- Sowing: April to June
- Harvest time: until the first frost
Winterkresse – Barbarea vulgaris
The vitamin-rich lettuce herb with the typically hot aroma is also known as Barbarakraut.
- Sowing: July and August
- Harvest time: well into winter
Winterportulak – Claytonia perfoliata
Also known as common plate cabbage, Cuban spinach and winter postelein.
- Sowing: September to March (can also self-sow)
- Harvest time: 6 to 8 weeks after sowing, preferably before flowering
Winterspinat – Spinacia oleracea
Late in the year you should only plant hardy, hardy varieties. Nevertheless, the bed should be covered from severe frosts.
- Sowing: August to early October
- Harvest time: approx. 8 weeks after sowing until spring
Winter-Zichorie – Cichorium intybus
If you live in a mild region, consider planting these -12°C hardy leafy greens and you’ll have fresh leafy greens on hand all winter long.
- Sowing: June to July
- Harvest time: all winter months
cabbage
Blumenkohl – Brassica oleracea
The white cauliflower and the green-headed romanesco are two types of vegetables that you can also plant in this country as winter vegetables.
- Sow: June to July, transplant in August
- Harvest time: from April
Broccoli – Brassica oleracea var. Italica
Particularly hardy breeds come from England. If you plant these, you can close the winter supply gap with these vegetables.
- Sowing: July; Planting in August and September
- Harvest time: about 10 weeks after harvest, constantly cut fresh sprouts
Kale – Brassica oleracea
There is definitely a place for these vegetables in every garden or raised bed, because they are planted when other vegetables have long been cleared.
- Planting time: mid-July to early August
- Harvest time: from the end of October to the end of winter
Kohlrabi – Brassica oleracea var. Gongylodes
Yes, the kohlrabi is not just a spring vegetable! Check out the garden center for late varieties to grow for the winter.
- Sowing: early July to early August
- Harvest time: depending on the variety from autumn to spring
Brussels sprouts – Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera
Many types of vegetables go well with a hearty winter roast, but the Brussels sprouts are the star. It cannot be topped when it comes to freshness from your own raised bed.
- Plant out: second half of June
- Harvest time: September to March, depending on the variety
Rotkohl – Brassica oleracea convar. capitata var. rubra L.
For a late harvest, you should plant the red cabbage as late as possible. In the cellar, the heads remain fresh for many more weeks.
- Plant out: late May to mid-June
- Harvest time: end of September until the first frost
White Cabbage – Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba
In a raised bed, where previously cucumbers or beans have borne their fruit, the cabbage is the ideal follow-up culture.
- Plant out: from October
- Harvest time: from spring
Wirsing – Brassica oleracea convar. capitata var. Savoy L
In addition to early and late varieties, there are also winter varieties of savoy.
- Sowing: March to April
- Harvest time: from the end of September to February (depending on the variety)
root vegetable
Potatoes—Solanum tuberosum
The potato is to be regarded as a winter vegetable in that its tubers can be stored for a very long time. Planting late varieties is recommended for this purpose, as they have a thick skin.
- Planting: April to mid-May
- Harvest time: mid-September to late November
Knollensellerie – Apium graveolens var. Rapaceum
In the cold season, celeriac from your own garden becomes an integral part of a warming soup.
- Sowing: March
- Harvest time: autumn until the first frost
Carrots – Daucus carota subsp. sativus
Many gardeners are used to growing carrots in the spring. But carrots also grow in autumn/winter if they get light and the ground isn’t frozen
- Sowing: September and October
- Harvest time: 10 weeks after sowing
Pastinaken – Pastinaca
The tuber, which can be used in a variety of ways in the kitchen, becomes particularly aromatic in a humus-rich soil. The first frost night ensures a milder taste.
- Sowing: March to April
- Harvest time: from the end of October, on frost-free days
Rote Beete – Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris Conditiva Group
The beetroot is considered to be one of the healthiest plants that we can get in our home garden. After the harvest, it stays fresh in the cellar for up to five months.
- Sowing: June
- Harvest time: October to November
Schwarzwurzeln – Scorzonera
A delicious winter vegetable is hidden under the brown-black skin, which you can easily plant in your own garden. Since voles also love salsify, they are safest in a raised bed.
- Sowing: from March
- Harvest time: October to April
Steckrüben – Brassica napobrassica
Rich in vitamins and low in calories, these are the two greatest advantages of swede. Taste is discussable.
- Plant out: May to June
- Harvest time: October to at least December
Topinambur – Helianthus tuberosus
A vegetable that can bathe the garden in a sea of yellow flowers. But be careful: the vegetable has a strong urge to spread.
- Plant out: tubers from early March to May
- Harvest time: from September to the end of winter
Winterrettich – Raphanus sativus L. var. Sativus
A raw addition to salads or cooked as a vegetable.
- Sowing: late July to early August
- Harvest time: as long as the ground is not deeply frozen
Root Parsley – Petroselinum crispum subsp. Tuberosum
This tuber should not be missing as a flavoring agent in any vegetable soup. After harvesting, uncleaned roots can be stored in moist sand and at 2°C for up to six months.
- Sowing: March and April
- Harvest time: November to December
Other vegetables
Chicory – Cichorium intybus var. foliosum
An unusual winter vegetable where it is not the harvested beet that is eaten, but the tender yellow shoots during the storage period.
- Sowing: May and July
- Harvest time: turnips from September to November, shoots all winter
Knoblauch – Allium sativum
You can already grow garlic in the fall, then by spring it will have gained a small head start. Mature tubers harvested in summer can also be stored all winter.
- Sow: spring or autumn
- Harvest time: spring fresh green; Tubers from summer after the leaves have withered
Porree – Allium ampeloprasum var. Leeks
Provide a sunny spot and pile up the plants, then it must work with these winter vegetables.
- Plant out: May to June
- Harvest time: all winter
Onions – Allium cepa
Stored cool and dark, onions from our own harvest are available throughout the winter. But onions can also be planted in autumn , which are then only harvested in the following year.
- Sowing: March to April / autumn
- Harvest time: August to October
