Vegetables that live through winter

[reed]

I hope folks will post here their experience with things that survived winter and what their winter was like. I'm in Indiana and the max cold temp this year was -15⁰ F. 

Last fall I planted:
Garlic bulbs - all survived but a few pushed up out out of the ground

Long Island Brussels Sprouts - none survived

Green and Purple Sprouting Broccoli - none survived

Danish Ballhead Cabbage - none survived

Red Russian, Dwarf Siberian and another kale, one survived (the one that lived was stepped on and broken off last year so it only had a root, it is shooting up now vigorously, I wonder if not having any top to freeze is what saved it)

Royal Chantenay  Carrots, about a dozen survived, YEA! now I know with better care I might be able to pull off winter carrots. I transplanted them to a special spot to try my first attempt at carrot seeds. 

Purple Top Turnips - last winter was colder and for longer period than this but less turnips survived, maybe 5% but that's enough for some seed. The bigger ones seem to have heaved up out the ground badly.   

To avoid the hot dry part of the year I want to learn how to garden and to develop things that will live and or self seed through winter for harvests in early spring and or late fall. 


 

[philagardener]

My garlic and onions seem fine and are sprouting (under the snow!)

Kales took a beating. Dwarf Siberian is among them. I don't know what may grow back from the roots and haven't really been out to evaluate that bed yet.

Snow and ice took down my deer fencing - repairing that is first order of business.

I didn't leave any carrots in the ground but may have had some Asian radishes make through. I'd love to be able to pull those from a low polytunnel through the winter so will try to collect seed from the survivors to restart next Fall.

Figs - had a bunch of hardier varieties started from cuttings last year. None made it despite being buried under a blanket of dried leaves in a trench. We are marginal for these and young plants are tender for the first few years; our last two winters have not been helpful for getting these established. Maybe next winter will be mild!

[flowerweaver]

It's very different in the southwest. We get down to 10F, but usually only a few nights, warming to above freezing in the daytime. Typically more like 22-28 at night. This winter we had three consecutive days that did not warm above freezing. All brassicas, garlic, onions, and even lambsquarter sprouts survive this freeze-thaw with no ill effects. With care some locals wrap tomatoes and keep them alive.

[ferdzy]

Garlic, never any problem. Onions and leeks don't seem to be a problem either, although I am waiting to see about some that did not die down before winter came. I have to wait for the snow to melt first.

Our low temperatures are almost exactly the same as yours. We've had all kinds of brassicas including cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, and rutabaga (only sorta a brassica, I know) survive. Cauliflower has not survived. Radishes don't survive. Carrots, celery and celeriac, fennel, spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard, and beets; all usually just fine.

In general, I think good snow cover is more important than lowest temperature. Also, spring is when things die - the snow melts, they are left exposed, warmer temperatures get them growing and then sudden drops in temperature will do them in. I've gone out in the spring and rejoiced over many a survivor in March just to be pulling out the corpse at the end of April.

The other killer of plants that would otherwise overwinter is mice - they will go for beets and Swiss chard in particular, but I suspect that carrots, brassicas, and celery would not be beneath their notice. I have not worried about them eating my veggie roots, because I figure it's at least keeping them away from my shrubs and trees. However annoying it is to lose potential seed stock or spring veggies, it's a lot cheaper than replacing trees.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Mar 23, 2015 4:13:33 GMT -5 reed said:

I hope folks will post here their experience with things that survived winter and what their winter was like.

My winter was mild (for here). There wasn't a snow storm that required shoveling the driveway. Though I did throw some salt out a couple times. And there were a couple of times that I brushed snow off the vehicle. Snowcover in the fields came and went, but maximum depth this year was around 8 inches or less. The big snow storm occurred on Christmas eve, so when we went shooting the next day we were 4 wheeling through fresh powder to get to the range, and didn't stay long cause the kids that had flown in didn't bring proper footwear. Had a blast though.



There were tons of volunteer peas first thing in the spring. They had various amounts of frost damage, from almost none to completely dead. I made some fall plantings of peas that went into winter as small plants. They were a cold tolerant trial, so about 2% survived in great shape. The rest died.

There are a few volunteer favas. About half are growing great. About half were killed by frost.

There are some volunteer garbanzo beans.

Cilantro and lettuce germinated very early.

Last fall I tilled under the turnip weeds and the carrots that I didn't harvest. They survived the winter and were growing great first thing in the spring. I transplanted them into seed beds. I didn't grow any other brassicas last year except radishes. They were flowering when I tilled them under. I haven't found survivors or volunteers.

The garlic and onions survived fine. I've been harvesting the Egyptian Onions for 6 weeks or so.

Some Swiss chard plants went into winter.. Most of them are now dead, but a few survived.

I'm growing some pecan seedlings. About 1/3 of them suffered frost damage, and so were culled.

One of these years if I get my act together I want to plant winter spinach. For lunch I am eating spinach that was grown overwinter in the greenhouse (walk-in cold-frame)

Violets and crocus were flowering first thing in the spring. There were some weeds like sorrel, dandelion, and something unknown that seem edible.

[Al]

The winter was mild here in Edinburgh, a few cold snaps when the mercury dipped down to minus 3C or thereby. Not much snow. Lots has started to grow in the last couple of weeks, a neighbour's birch tree has a flagon hanging off it half full of sap.
Egyptian onion, garlic, chives, garlic chives, leeks, shallots, kale, sprouting broc., Savoy cabbage all over wintered well. My broad beans were mostly killed off, they were just a trial green manure. My bay tree & olive tree very healthy, back from death's door after the 2010 big freeze. The olive was actually tossed on the midden, but then put out some new shoots & is now quite a bush (in the greenhouse) with some tiny fruit.
In the greenhouse Green Mountain bulbs planted in pots in Nov. are pretty big plants now. Cauliflower plants in modules pulled through & are now sturdy 6" high plants ready to set out. August sown Zebrune onions are alive but the spring sown seedlings have caught up & are the same size.
Today made a brassica cage out of the kids trampoline (bad dad) & sowed turnip, komatsu spinach & icicle radish; first outdoor sowing.

[philagardener]

Mar 23, 2015 8:35:50 GMT -5 ferdzy said:

Also, spring is when things die - the snow melts, they are left exposed, warmer temperatures get them growing and then sudden drops in temperature will do them in. I've gone out in the spring and rejoiced over many a survivor in March just to be pulling out the corpse at the end of April.

I also think that many things sprout but the root systems have been killed off - maybe just rotting in the ground (I've got a lot of clay) - and that is another reason they don't make it.

[ferdzy]

Yeah - that is something I forgot to take into consideration. Many things will survive with very sharp drainage (which I have) that won't survive in heavier soil.

[littleminnie]

I'm Minnesota zone 4. It gets to -30 sometimes. I generally easily overwinter spinach, scallions, parsnips, carrots, parsley, sage, thyme, oregano, chives, lavender sometimes, mint, lettuce and sometimes Siberian and Russian kales. I cannot overwinter broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels, celery, beets, chard, usually onions, kohlrabi, rutabagas and turnips. Rutabagas and turnips seem close to possible and onions sometimes make it but I generally just replant them in spring out of storage.

[oldmobie]

The rhubarb and strawberries, and it looks like the grape, have survived. Probably the blueberry and blackberry too, but I haven't checked. A few onions that got left out, my start of garlic chives, and the garlic bulbils I got from kazedwards overwintered and are growing back out. (I read how invasive garlic chives can be. They'e in a tub, hopefully contained.)

This is zone 6 in Southwest Missouri, Springfield/ Joplin/ Branson area.

[kazedwards]

My walking onions have overwatered well and are now growing like crazy. The strawberries did well and are now starting to grow. I planted garlic late and due to freezing and thawing a lot of it was pushed to the top of the soil. About 60-70% survived, posibly more. I also had a lone carrot make it. It was a volunteer from last year. It was pulled when preparing the beds this spring. I also had a kohlrabi that made it that was pulled when the carrot was.

On the border of zone 5/6 Northwest Missouri- Kansas City area

[reed]

My walking onions and established garlic do fine. Horseradish and rhubarb seem to like it cold as does asparagus. All the fruit trees, berry vines and grapes are perfectly happy but occasionally get their new buds nipped by late frost or freeze. You don't get much in the years that happens but the plants recover.

I also have the heavy clay soil, never thought of that as a factor in overwintering. I'm also on a ridge, fully exposed to the wind. I'm thinking though with carrots if I select from ones that do live and in future plant in amended soil and maybe some mulch I should be able to pull it off.

Sounds like Joseph really has it down on overwintering and volunteer things. Unfortunately until now I haven't realized the value of those things that lived or reseeded by themselves and most times just tilled them up cause they were not in the right place or whatever. That isn't going to happen anymore. I do always have plenty of dill and sunflowers, I save some seeds just in case and occasionally plant some but mostly they just do their thing and I transplant to the proper spot each year.

[reed]

Joseph Lofthouse, looks like we kinda traded winters, want to trade back?

Pecan trees are near and dear to me, we have at least half a dozen different strains around here based on size and flavor, all being smaller and tasting better than the southern ones. Glorious trees! They are all very hardy, survived the "real winter" back in the 70's just fine and all the prior 100 or more in some cases. If you want, make a note to remind me and I will gather you some up next fall. 

I'm a pecan pusher, I like to distribute them as much as possible to make up for their various "owners" lack of respect. They murder them for no reason I can understand.   

[iva]

Garlic, garlic chives, shallots, chives, parsley and parsley seedlings, sugar beets (one as huge as my head, others were more carrot like), a single yellow radish (it will be left to flower and go to seed), miners lettuce, oyster root, some lettuces and silver beet seedlings made it through the winter. Even some callendula seedlings survived the winter (quite some snow and temps down to -15 degrees Celsius).
Beets and kale left for seeding were killed by the first freeze after the snow melted. Carrots would do fine here over the winter but they don't grow well in my garden at all...

[philagardener]

Mar 23, 2015 21:16:44 GMT -5 oldmobie said:

I read how invasive garlic chives can be. They'e in a tub, hopefully contained.

oldmobie , remember to clip the blossom heads later in the season if you don't want them to spread - they self-seed prolifically!