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| 4 season onions |
Saturday, September 19, 2026
The winter garden can provide food all the way to spring. There are even root crops you can leave in the ground all winter.
If your want to ramp up the flavor and nutrient value of your winter meals, consider planting the season’s last garden with some hardy plants can be pulled right out of the snow for fresh eating like carrots and onions.
There are a few root crops that will survive the entire winter in the ground. You only have to worry that the ground will freeze so hard that you can't get to them! Give them a good coat of mulch to minimize the days you can't pull a harvest.
There are a few root crops that are hardy enough to leave in the ground are parsnips, carrots, winter hardy beets, winter hardy turnips, winter hardy radishes, overwintering/perennial onions like Welsh or Egyptian walking onions, rutabagas, shallots, and garlic. Give them a warm blanket of mulch or straw for added protection.
Most root crops prefer to be started from seed in place. For onions, shallots and garlic, sets are the quickest way to harvest. You may be able to find garlic and shallot sets this time of year in big box stores. If not, you can find them on line.
Make sure to add a scoop of finished compost to planting holes and organic fertilizer to add nutrients to soil that may be depleted after the summer harvest and less available due to the chilly temperatures. Espoma is readily available at most big box and hardware stores. For greens type veggies, the general vegetable garden fertilizer is a good choice.
Choose the Right Varieties
In addition to choosing the right plants for cold-weather harvests, you can also increase winter harvests by planting specific varieties. Look for varieties marketed as: winter-hardy, frost tolerant, overwintering, for every season, year-round, remarkably cold hardy, etc.
Because daylight hours are getting shorter in the fall, you will need to add about 2 weeks to the “Days to Harvest” your seed packet gives as the seed packet dates are based on spring planting. Plants grow slower in fall because the days are getting shorter instead of longer.
The list below starts with the produce that will be ready for harvesting the quickest. You will want to get the slowest growers (at the bottom of this list) in the ground in August; you may be able to continue sowing seeds of some of the fastest crops into October or beyond. If they don't sprout now, there is a good chance they will sprout in the spring when the conditions are right. Those that are planted as transplants can be ready 2-3 weeks sooner than the dates listed below.
If sowing seeds, be sure to keep the soil moist. Seeds sown in the fall have the same needs as seeds sown in the spring. Outdoor seed starting tips If you are starting your seeds indoors, you will have to harden the seedlings before planting for the colder temperatures outdoors. "Hardening off" seedlings
Varieties for In Ground Winter Gardening
1-Radishes Easy to grow crispy, peppery radishes
Ready for harvest in: 3 to 9 weeks
Can survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: For small and fast maturing radishes, broadcast seed directly in beds, or use chicken wire as a guide to space seeds 1 inch apart. Harvest after a few weeks in the ground and before the bulb becomes too hot and fibrous. You can sow seeds once a week for continuous harvests.
2-Turnips All about turnips
Ready for harvest in: 5 to 10 weeks
Can survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Harvest when roots are mature, but before they become bitter. A “neck” will begin to form when the root has reached maximum size, and quality will decline as the neck elongates.
3-Beets All about beets
Ready for harvest in: 7 to 11 weeks
Can survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Harvest when roots reach desired size. Greens can also be eaten. Remove greens when harvesting the roots. Will keep in frig for 1-2 weeks.
Ready for harvest in: 8 to 11 weeks
Survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Carrots don't appreciate being transplanted. Sow directly in the garden or pot. You can use the thinnings as tasty baby carrots and salad additions. If you do start in a pot to transplant, handle the transplant carefully and make sure its main root is pointing straight down when transplanted. Harvest mature roots at maximum diameter while they are still sweet.
5-Rutabaga All about beets
Ready for harvest in: 7 to 11 weeks
Can survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Prefer well drained soils. abundant with potash and phosphorus. Harvest after at least 2 good frosts. Sow seeds 6" apart in rows 18" apart.
6-Parsnips All about beets
Ready for harvest in: 17 weeks
Can survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Prefer loose organic soils for straightest roots. Harvest in early spring before tops begin re-growth for tastiest roots. Sow seeds 3" apart, 0.5" deep in rows 18" apart.
7-Garlic, Onions and Shallots It is garlic, perennial onion and shallot planting time!
Ready for harvest in: Next spring for mature bulbs, 6 weeks for green onions
Survive frost: Yes
Fall planting notes: Garlic, perennial onions, and shallots like loose, rich soil. To have onions all winter, choose perennial type onions like Welsh, potato or Egyptian Walking onions.
Harvest Longer
In fall, promote faster growth by packing plants a bit more tightly than you might normally do. You can extend your growing season by adding thick layers of mulch around plants, or by using season-extending techniques such as row covers. When nights get chilly, protect plants by covering them with a cloth or blanket, portable greenhouse or cold frame. Extend the season with protection for plants
The fifth strategy is to grow edibles that can be easily canned, frozen or stored. For those that don't have freezer space, here is a list of crops that can be stored without an appliance. If you didn't include these in this season's gardening season, add them to the list for next year. 24 No Tech Storage Fruits and Vegetables
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