5 Vegetable Seeds to Start in Winter

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Grow cold-hardy vegetables in winter

Winter can be a frustrating time of year, with weeks still to go before the start of the growing season. If you’re craving fresh homegrown produce, the good news is that many vegetables can be sown by late winter to be given a super-early start. Learn more.

Grow cold-hardy vegetables in winter to get a serious head start on spring. From mache to spinach to peas, here are five vegetables that can survive temperatures as low as 10°F (-12°C) and can be seeded by late winter. 

Many age-old farmers talk about “waiting for the light” before sowing seeds of cold-hardy vegetables in late winter. By mid-February, the daylight starts to increase quickly with each passing day.

Pea Shoots

Peas can germinate at temperatures as low as 39 degrees Fahrenheit, making them an excellent starting point. Growing peas for shoots is an easy way to get a fresh hit of flavor within just a few weeks. Pea shoots taste just like peas and are packed full of nutrients.

Pick a vigorous, tall-growing variety to give plenty of leafy growth. Start the seedlings off in a greenhouse or cold frame, sowing two to three seeds per pot or module cell. Once the seedlings have filled their modules, they can be planted out to leave 8 inches between each clump. Cover the newly planted shoots with horticultural fleece to help them get going. Pick little and often by snipping off just above the second set of leaves.

Salad Leaves

Some salad leaves are incredibly cold-hardy, including mache (also known as lambs lettuce or corn salad), Oriental leaves, such as mizuna and mustard, and the fleshy leaves of winter purslane (miner’s lettuce). When given sturdy protection from ice, snow, and cold winds, I have often seen these little guys survive temperatures as low as 10°F.

You can sow seeds inside a greenhouse, a cold frame, or under row covers or cloches. Or, you can sow into small trays with grow lights indoors. Space plants at least 10 inches apart to give them plenty of room. Pick just a few leaves from each plant at a time to avoid exhausting the plant.

Cabbages

Cabbage is another one of the big hearty vegetables. Starting off cabbage this soon in the season has its advantages: slugs are thinner on the ground, and you’ll enjoy a cut of vitamin-rich leaves by early summer—way ahead of spring-sown cabbages.

As with any early-sown vegetables, choose varieties suited to sowing in cooler weather. Sow into module trays, then plant out once the young plants have established, usually within four to six weeks. Plant them 9 inches apart.

Read more about how to plant cabbages by reading our cabbage growing guide.

Spinach

Spinach is the classic cold-hearty veggie and ready to sow under cover from late winter, as light levels start to improve from their midwinter low. Spinach is crammed full of vitamins and iron, making it a valuable crop for health as well as taste.

Sow directly into containers of potting soil or into modules (trays) or pots for planting out a few weeks later. Set three to four seeds per module for planting out 6 inches apart. When the plants are growing more vigorously, you can pick a few leaves from each plant at a time, allowing replacement leaves to grow. In this way, you’ll enjoy several harvests from each plant.

Read our spinach growing guide for more information.

Green Onions (or Scallions)

Hardy varieties of green onions, also known as scallions, can be sown directly into fertile, well-drained soil. Sow seeds thinly in rows 6 inches apart. The seedlings shouldn’t need thinning out if they are sown thinly enough. You can also sow three seeds per module to plant out at 3in (7cm) apart in both directions.

Place covers over your green onions to help them along. Depending on your local climate and weather, the first stems will be ready by mid-spring, when most gardeners will only just be starting to think about getting them underway.

Learn more about how to grow scallions.

Cold Protection

In most cases, you will need to offer your early risers some form of cold protection—particularly in snowy regions. The main priority is to raise the soil temperature high enough for successful germination while holding off the worst of frosts. Here are three types of setups (which each have pros and cons).

1. Cold frames block wind beautifully as long as they have a heavy lid that won’t cave in when loaded with ice, snow, or heavy rain. A cold frame is basically a bottomless box with a transparent roof to let light and heat in. You could even use an old glass shower door. Be creative! See how to make a cold frame.

2. Reinforced tunnels (hoop houses) made from arches of wire fencing or concrete reinforcing wire, covered with plastic securely tucked in at the edges, also do a great job protecting hardy seedlings. Simple hoops covered with plastic will not do; the wet snows typical of late spring will smash such a tunnel flat, and gusty winds can do wretched things to slack plastic tunnels. But if you already have tomato cages made from concrete reinforcing wire, you can easily bend them out into arches and then cover them tightly with plastic. When the weather turns very cold, I usually cover such frames with an old blanket to help them hold more warmth. See how to make a simple row cover tunnel.

3. Window frame toppers have become a favorite way to push the season because they offer the sturdiness of a cold frame with the convenience of tunnels. Old windows cleaned of paint work well. Add a coat of latex to seal in the old paint and re-caulk the panes before bringing them into the garden. It takes about ten minutes to install them, set up a frame of staked boards, and slip in a couple of windows. Ventilate these window-topped beds from the side, by leaving gaps in the frame, and/or from the top, by spacing the windows a finger’s width apart.

Protection Against Pests

It doesn’t take much to protect plants from hungry pests. In most cases, starting seedlings under cover will avoid slug and mouse damage. Make it easier to spot and destroy slugs by picking off any dead or yellowed leaves and by keeping the ground between plants free of weeds, then check regularly after dark or lay beer traps to drown them. If mice become a problem undercover, you may need to resort to a few strategically placed humane mousetraps - or talk nicely to the neighborhood cat!

Outside, birds such as pigeons and sparrows can attack young shoots of vegetables such as cabbage and peas. Don’t let them compromise your early start – set up netting covers if necessary to keep your crops safe.

With a little protection from the cold, there’s no reason to delay sowing until spring. Sneak a head start, and you’ll be harvesting fresh produce weeks in advance. Please share your own experiences of growing extra-early vegetables by leaving a comment below.

When you’re ready to start planning out your garden, use our online Almanac Garden Planner. Get a free 7-day trial for Mac or PC—and now tablets and mobile devices—so you can plan from your couch in the colder months and even bring out to the garden in spring.

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana. Read More from Catherine Boeckmann
 

Fran MacKenzie (not verified)

11 months ago

One year I planted some spinach late in the fall. It had just come up when snow was expected. I put freeze cloth over it and then it was covered with snow for the next 4-5 months. When the snow melted and I removed the cover I had huge beautiful spinach plants ready to harvest in April!!

SC Gardener (not verified)

4 years 9 months ago

I am a fairly new vegetable gardener, and have been able to grow Several types of vegetables in our raised beds this late Fall/Winter: cabbages, leeks, scallions, lettuce, sugar snap peas, spinach, kale and collards, radishes and garlic. No problems with bugs (like we do in the summertime), and very few weeds.
We harvested our cabbages in January by cutting off the heads and leaving the plant undisturbed in the soil, and they are all now sprouting several small cabbages on each stalk!
All our veggies have survived a few frosty nights, without any special protection; plus we get more rain in the fall and winter, so have not had to do any additional watering.
We have extremely hot summers here in Zone 8A, with periods of drought, and many, many types of insects- is a real challenge. Fall/winter gardening has been a wonderful (and much easier) experience!

Patty Aaron (not verified)

5 years 10 months ago

Why can't I put my address in and get a plant guide . It keeps saying that I have a wrong address

Hi Patty, We’re not clear which guide you are interested in getting. Can you provide more information? Or, just email us at: AlmanacEditors@yankeepub.com

Lynn (not verified)

7 years 9 months ago

...saving scallion roots is a great way to double down on grocery purchases during the winter! Cut 1" away from scallion on the too end and place 1/2 way in soil, 1/2 above. Water every other day or each day if soil becomes too dry. In 3-5 weeks, scallions are ready to harvest! Leave 1" behind for regrowth!

Lynn (not verified)

7 years 9 months ago

In reply to by Lynn (not verified)

--> typo in last post:

Cut 1" away from scallion on the root end... (not "too" end!) ;0!

Kevin Henley (not verified)

7 years 10 months ago

Due to health issues, last year I was noticeably delayed in my planting. When my growing season was at an end, my pepper plants were just hardy plants not producing plants. The plants looked so nice I couldn't let them freeze( as I live in Winnipeg, MB) so I talked to my oldest sister, she let me know pepper plants could be brought in over winter. Move ahead to February and I have five peppers on one plant and numerous peppers on other plants. Come summer I should have a delicious bunch of peppers. I have learned a valuable lesson and I will bring my plants in for future winters. Thank you for all your videos and gardening help, till next time, Kevin Henley

I really enjoyed the article. Although not in my country the same applies to all areas. We plant broccoli, cabbage, onions, lettuce and kale during the beginning of winter. We have to wrap it up in Jan - Feb, but right back growing sugar snap peas in early March. If you are not growing in the winter your missing out!