Top crops you really should try growing this fall & winter

With a little bit of planning, and preparation you can grow vegetables well into the winter months or even year round.

November 04, 2024

Having a thriving vegetable garden doesn't have to end when summer does. With a little bit of planning, and preparation you can grow vegetables well into the winter months or even year round if you live in a warmer climate down south.  But regardless of where you live, there are a few crops you can count on to withstand cooler temps, frost, and even sometimes snow.  

Did you know that there are vegetables you can plant now that will only become sweeter and more delicious if they go through a frost? 

When a frost comes into contact with a lot of these cool-season vegetables, they naturally react to the cold and produce extra sugars which can make some of the more bitter tasting vegetables taste rather sweet.

Prepare now to have the garden you've always wanted during Fall/Winter! With these crops, put the fear of your plants being damaged or destroyed aside. When Winter weather rolls around, these vegetables will do well & actually THRIVE!

Here is a list of our favorite frost hardy vegetables you really should try growing this fall and winter:

1. Beets 

Although beets grow well during warm weather, the seedlings are established more easily under cool, moist conditions. 

Broccoli plants thrive in cool temperatures, they have been known to survive temperatures as low as 28 F.

The plant will withstand frost and can be harvested until a hard freeze strikes. The best-quality sprouts are produced during sunny days with light frosts at night.

Cabbage can withstand frost down to 20 degrees or even 15 degrees F.

Carrots can survive temperatures as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit, but prolonged periods of cold results in long, pale roots.

Cauliflower can survive temperatures as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit!

Celery tolerates light frost only.

Collard greens are the most cold resistant of any plant in the cold-hardy Brassica family.
Collards can withstand winter temps. down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit and they usually come through the cold even more flavorful.

Onions are as hardy as they come. Frosts, freezing temperatures and snow will not kill them.

Frost damage on leafy vegetables doesn't render the plant inedible like a disease. You can harvest non-damage parts by cutting away brown areas and edges that are frost damaged and save just the leaf parts that are uninjured and your plant will continue to grow. 

11. Kale

Snow can protect plants from extreme cold so that they stay in the garden longer. Kale is one of these plants! Very cold-hardy. 

12. Leeks

Leeks are very cold-tolerant, most likely to survive plunges to 0 °F!

When spent days under the cover of snow they have been known to emerge in perfect condition once the snow melts.

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Parsnips are generally tolerant to 0 °F and will sweeten in flavor if hit with a light frost or two. 

15. Radish


Radishes thrive in the cooler weather when frost can be a threat to other crops.  They can survive hard freezes as well. 


When exposed to light frost, rutabagas can actually taste sweeter. To extend the harvest season & protect the crops from heavier frosts, just add a thick layer of straw.

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Grows slowly through the winter but will always bounce back in early spring.

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Swiss chard is very cold-tolerant, & can survive dips to 15 °F without any protection.

Turnips lose much of their spiciness and accumulate sugar when they mature in cold weather.

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