12 Vegetables You Can Grow in Winter

If grocery-store produce has you wishing for something fresh from the garden in winter, consider this: you can grow a surprising number of vegetables throughout the winter in our moderate south coast BC maritime climate. (Article continues below slideshow.)

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Winter Salad Greens include arugula, bok choi, chicories, lettuce, mache, mustards and spinach. They grow slowly due to low light. Mulch well, and harvest as baby greens or braising mix.

Broccoli can survive most cool maritime winters but may not tolerate sustained freezing weather. Plant a sprouting broccoli variety for a continuous crop of side shoots throughout the winter.

Brussels sprouts are very hardy, and frost makes them sweeter. If you plant in June, they are ready to eat by November or December.

Certain carrot varieties, such as Danvers, store well in the ground. Sow in July, size them up by October, and pull them fresh in the winter.

Chard is frost-hardy and will make it through most winters. Sow from April to June for fall and winter harvest.

Collards are hardy and survive all winter in a coastal marine climate. The large leaves make good wraps.

Kale is one vegetable you can count on throughout the winter. It is easy to grow and hardy, even in freezing temperatures. The leaves become sweeter after a frost.

Leeks are a great onion substitute that grow fresh in cold weather. Slow to mature, they need to be planted in the spring for the fall and winter harvest.

Curly parsley reliably survives the cold, even on frosty days, and provides a leafy garnish. Hamburg parsley, grown for the root, can be harvested from September to March and cooked like any root vegetable.

Parsnips are similar to carrots. If well mulched, they will store well under the winter soil and provide a delicious root vegetable for roasting.

Scallions are Spanish onions that due to low winter light do not form a bulb during cold weather. Protect with mulch and pull them fresh throughout the winter.

Turnips can be a good early winter root crop. Pick them small for milder flavour. Best grown under a cloche or tunnel.

Certain vegetables, like kale and Brussels sprouts, thrive in winter temperatures and actually become sweeter after a frost. Others, with mulch and season extension can usually make it through the winter, even when temperatures dip below freezing or snow stays on the ground for more than a day.

Low light levels and cold will slow growth, so don’t expect to harvest as often as at other times of year. The trick is to plant a lot and make up in abundance for what the winter light cannot produce in size. For example, harvest winter greens as “baby salad greens” or braising mix, rather than expecting large heads.

Start planning in midsummer for your winter crops. Most vegetables (with the exception of leeks, which go in early) need to be planted by July or August to develop sufficiently before the cold sets in.

The guide below shows seed planting and harvest times for winter vegetables in southern maritime British Columbia.

Planting & Harvesting Winter Vegetables in South Coast BC

More on gardening:
10 Tips for Year-Round Vegetable Gardens

Grow a Climate Change Resilient Garden

Growing a Patio Lemon Tree in Winter