Grow a Winter Garden

There are many benefits to living in the southern United States. Access to beaches, a slower pace of life, small country towns, quaint accents… and a 12-month growing calendar!

That’s right. In most areas, you can grow a kitchen garden year round! While our summers can be brutal and make it hard to keep things alive, our winters are often very pleasant and can be filled with an abundance of produce in our garden.

Let’s take a look at how you can be successful growing over the winter, plus good options for planting.

Navigating the Winter Garden Weather

Most of the southern United States resides in USDA zones 6/7 through 10. Some areas get a bit of snow and many get freezing temperatures here and there, while others almost never freeze and stay fairly mild. If you don’t know what area you are in, you can look here. 

The great news with this is that it is reasonable to grow lots of things over the winter.

The first step after determining what zone you are in is to look at your cold, cool, warm, and hot seasons by month. The winter months should be anywhere from warm to cold.

Cold Season

In a cold season, the average temperature stays below 35 degrees Fahrenheit, which means there are going to be lots of freezing temperatures and perhaps snow or rain. While you can grow in these conditions, it will be difficult without some sort of cover. Some plants do well with some freezing or snow, but others will die. We will discuss this in more detail below.

Cool Season

In a cool season, the average temperature stays between 35 and 65 degrees. This is a wonderful season and many things will grow well in your kitchen garden.

Warm Season

The warm season is also excellent, with temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees. 

Chart Your Winter Garden Weather

Look at your zip code and make a calendar for yourself for the year. Write down each month and the average low and high temperatures, and determine what season each month is. Also make note if there are any unusual wet times, and mark your first and last frost dates.

For example, in my area of Spring, TX, I am in USDA Zone 9a. October and November are usually warm, with a cool season between December and March, when it warms back up. My average first frost date is usually at the end of November, and the last is at the end of February. This will help guide you on which winter garden plants to grow and when to grow them. 

Let’s take a look at what all you can grow in a winter garden in the south. 

The Best Vegetables for a Winter Garden

As I said above, some of the best gardening you will do is in the winter months in the south. The weather is cooler, rain is more readily available, and plants are generally happier than in our hot, dry summers. Here are some great ideas for vegetables to grow:

Warm Season Vegetables:

arugula, bush beans, chives, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, kale, onions, peppers, pole beans, squash, strawberries, swiss chard, tomatoes, zucchini

Cool Season Vegetables:

arugula, beets, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chives, garlic, leeks, lettuces, kale, onions, radishes, rhubarb, snap peas, spinach, Swiss chard

The hardiest vegetables for winter are spinach, garlic, leeks, rhubarb, broccoli, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, arugula, radishes, mustards, and turnips. These plants can withstand freezing temperatures and perhaps even a light dusting of snow.

The semi-hardy veggies, which can withstand a light frost, include beets, carrots, lettuces, Swiss chard, peas, cabbages, cauliflower, and celery. Some of the top greens may die back, but the roots will be fine.

Notes on These Winter Garden Vegetables

One thing to think about is if you get a lot of rain in the winter. Sometimes being wet in the cold is what hurts the plant, not the cold itself. In this case, it may be a good consideration to grow under a plastic covering. You can make a low row cover using PVC pipe and greenhouse plastic while keeping it open to the sides. This will protect your plants from excessive rain or snow.

To keep the soil warm around your veggies, make sure you mulch. You can use traditional mulch or dried leaves, pine needles, cardboard, or even old newspapers.

Another thing to think about when planning and planting is how long it takes some vegetables to grow. Quick things like radishes, beets, and lettuces can be started at the beginning of the season outside and continued on until the spring. In my experience, carrots should be started early since it can take more than the allotted time to grow depending on how cool it stays over the winter. Garlic takes forever to grow, it seems—anywhere from 6 to 9 months. That is why it is planted in the fall and not ready for harvest until early summer.

I also recommend starting larger veggies inside 6 weeks before planting or buying transplants; things like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts will benefit from that jump start to grow well. 

One note on growing strawberries: For most of the south, your June-bearing varieties are going to do best. These are typically planted as bare roots in the fall (between October and November) and overwintered until spring when they will produce fruit for a couple of months. All they need is some mulch and the occasional frost cloth if it is going to be a harder freeze.

The Best Flowers for a Winter Garden

There are many lovely flowers that grow very well over the winter months. The ones to be planted and grown now are divided into three main groups: bulbs and corms, hardy annuals, and biennials.

Bulbs and Corms

Bulbs and corms include things like tulips, ranunculus, anemones, lilies, hyacinth, crocus, daffodils, and more. These flowers need vernalization in order to produce blooms, and some a lot more than others. Vernalization is the cooling during germination to accelerate flowering. Tulips especially need lots of cool hours, so much so that many of us throw them in the refrigerator and plant in later winter or early spring because we don’t get enough cold over the winter months.

Hardy Annuals

Hardy annuals are flowers grown by seed that are either started in the fall or later winter, and they grow, flower, and die all within one year. These include things like snapdragons, pansies, stock flowers, statice, yarrow, larkspur, sweet peas, poppies, feverfew, and more. I am growing lots of these this year, and will be succession planting many of them. I started my first rounds inside in late September and just transplanted them at the end of October.

Most of these beauties can take a light frost or even freezing temperatures, but it is important to make note of their hardiness zone. For example, in my experience, my pansies and larkspur never need covering, but my snapdragons are a little more tender.

Biennial Flowers

Biennial flowers are ones grown from seed that are planted in one year, grow, and then flower the following year. These include flowers like foxglove, hollyhocks, canterbury bells, sweet william, and more. They typically are started mid to late summer or fall, grow a small amount of foliage over the winter, and then explode with growth and blooms in the following spring or summer.

In my south Texas garden, the biggest biennials I plant are wildflowers. Plants like bluebonnets, bachelor buttons, tickseed, coneflower, Indian blanket, firewheel, Indian paintbrush, and more love the cold and require no care. I simply throw the seeds down, press them into the soil, leave them be, and come March, I have tons of beauties popping up all over waiting for the bees and butterflies to visit.

The Best Herbs for a Winter Garden

Winter can be one of the best times to grow herbs in a southern climate. Most herbs prefer a bit of cooler weather. Cool season herbs include cilantro, dill, lavender, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme. Warmer season herbs include basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, sorrel, and thyme. 

While many herbs can survive a light freeze, what can end them is too much moisture. I prefer to grow my herbs in pots so that I can move them under cover or indoors on the harshest days. You can, of course, grow them in raised beds, but keep a frost cloth handy if you are getting a deeper freeze.

Cover Cropping

If you have an area that you are in the process of rotating or won’t be planting in over the winter months, I highly suggest you consider a cover crop. A cover crop is one that you sow with the intent to leave to die into the soil or till in once the area is needed. Cover crops have many benefits, including maintaining soil integrity, fertilizing the soil, and preventing weed pressure.

There are two types of cover crops you can grow in winter: winter-killed or winter-hardy. Winter-killed cover crops, such as oats, are sown in the summer or early fall, put on lots of growth in fall, and then are killed back gradually over the winter. Winter-hardy cover crops, like winter rye, are planted in the fall, remain intact through the winter, and are typically tilled into the soil before spring planting. 

A Few Tips for Growing a Winter Garden

As I've said before, the winter garden is truly amazing. I've enjoyed some of my greatest successes in my Texas winter garden. Not to mention it is typically overall much more pleasant to be outside in December in south Texas than in July. I have learned a few tips for growing in the colder months in a southern climate that I hope will help you be successful as well.

Winter Garden Tip #1

Be prepared for abrupt changes in temperature. There’s an old saying in the south: “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.” Especially here close to the Gulf, we can drop 40 degrees in 24 hours. Before growing your winter garden, think of the worst and harshest weather you may encounter, and be prepared for it ahead of time so it doesn’t catch you off guard.

Winter Garden Tip #2

Expect that some plants may take longer to grow. Normally, carrots or broccoli should be ready between 60 to 90 days, depending on the variety. In the past, I have had to wait almost 5 months for them to be ready to eat due to fluctuations in temperatures over the winter. Too much heat for cooler season vegetables can slow their growth, and it may take much longer than you originally thought to harvest them. Be patient and let them grow.

Winter Garden Tip #3

Have a plan for protecting your tender plants from a freeze. I prefer to use designated frost blankets, such as these, but you can also use old bedsheets, blankets, towels, or anything cloth-like. Make sure you bring the cover all the way to the ground, and if you can, elevate it above your plants. Avoid plastic unless you are putting it over your cloth to protect against moisture. Plastic transfers too much cold or heat and can damage plants quickly if it is touching them. When the temperature warms up, remove the coverings to allow your plants some sun and air circulation.

Winter Garden Tip #4

Don’t fight your climate. No matter where you live, there will be plenty of things that grow well in your area. There will also be plenty of things that do not grow well. Don’t fight it! Yes, you can alter the temperature or growing conditions a bit with infrastructure, but in the end, you just may not be able to make something work. As much as I would love to grow apples, in my area, we don’t get enough chill hours for a tree to blossom and produce fruit. I have seen people try again and again and become frustrated when all they have are leaves. I say leave it be, plant a citrus tree instead, and buy your apples from the grocery store.

I hope all of this is helpful and will convince you that growing a winter garden in the south is highly worthwhile. If you're overwhelmed with the possibilities, start with something easy, like lettuces or greens. Throw some seeds in a pot and pick your own salad every week for the next 5 to 6 months. Let me tell you, they will taste better than anything you buy in a store!

Happy growing!

Dani Boss — Summer Skye Gardens

Dani is a Gardenary-certified garden coach and proud owner of Summer Skye Gardens in Spring, Texas. She loves giving tips for how to grow your own plants from seed or how to set up your own pollinator garden, complete with cut flowers and roses.

As a garden coach, she's passionate about helping families get started growing their own food with confidence and success in their very own backyard gardens. She offers design service, one-on-one coaching, and consultations.

Follow Summer Skye Gardens on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest to see how Dani is helping others grow in health and happiness. If you're in the Spring area, sign up on her website to receive a free seasonal planting guide and see how Dani can help you make your kitchen garden dreams come true!

Photo credits belong to Dani Boss and Gardenary.