If you would like to garden year-round then you need to learn the vegetables that can survive freezing. These 7 Veggies will survive and even thrive in temperatures under 32 degrees.
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We love to garden year-round at our place. We live in a Zone 6 garden and have pretty cold and snowy winters. But with the protection of some cold frames and hoop houses, we are able to get these 7 vegetables that survive freezing to produce all winter long!
7 Vegetables that can Survive Freezing
Check out this gardening tip video that I did on this topic:
Spinach
The first on our list of vegetables that can survive freezing is spinach. Spinach is one of the hardest and most productive vegetables that you can grow in the wintertime. If you live in warmer climates (Zone 7 and above) Spinach will often do well all winter and easily survive the few frosty nights that you have.
For those of you that live in colder climates, a hoop house or even better a cold frame will be required to keep your spinach protected during the coldest winter months. With a cold frame and the added help of a fabric row cover, spinach will survive temperatures as low as 0 degrees (Fahrenheit) for an extended period of time. Just be sure to wait until temps are above freezing before you harvest.
Carrots
Carrots are one of the vegetables that can survive freezing really well. In fact cold, freezing temperatures enhance the flavor of carrots a lot. For maximum production and survival, along with ease of harvest, I suggest that you also grow carrots in a cold frame. With a well built cold frame, you will find that the soil doesn’t often freeze. Even during really cold spells when the soil does freeze, it will quickly thaw when temps warm up a bit. Having thawed soil makes harvesting simple (instead of having to pry carrots from the frozen ground).
Kale
Kale, especially the curly leaf varieties (like vates & Winterborne) are one of the hardiest vegetables you can grow. We grow kale outdoors in the late fall and early winter and it will survive unprotected until temperatures are consistently in the teens at night. Add a hoop house and some fabric row cover
to your kale and you will find it will easily produce all winter long and into the following spring. Freezing temperatures also really enhance the flavor of kale, giving it a nice sweet flavor.
Mache
Also known as corn salad or lambs ear, Mache is one of the best vegetables that can survive freezing. This lettuce-like plant has a nice nutty flavor and is a great salad green when the outside temperatures are freezing. This is a very hardy green that will not only survive winters cold but will also continue to grow even when sunlight levels are really low. Mache is planted in early fall once the temperatures drop into the 60’s and 70’s. In zone 7 and above it can survive without protection. In colder areas, a hoop house or cold frame will be needed to keep it living all winter.
Swiss Chard
This hardy plant will produce all winter when protected by a hoop house (for taller plants) or a cold frame. Smaller leaves have a texture similar to spinach and can be cooked as greens our used as an add into salads. As the winter starts to turn to spring Swiss Chard will really take off again. It will produce the large leaves and thick stalks we are used to from this garden goodie.
Claytonia
Not many people are familiar with Claytonia. It is Native to California and is often called Miner’s lettuce because it was used by gold miners to supplement their meager winter diets. Claytonia is another plant that will continue to grow even when daylight hours are less than 10 hours a day. This is a leafy green that can be used in salads. All of the plant can be eaten, even after it has flowered. It does well in warmer areas unprotected, but in colder climates protect if from the harshest weather with at least a hoop house.
Parsley
Parsley is, of course, an herb not a veggie. This great plant is quite hardy and with protection can survive the winter in gardening zones as low as 4 or 5. Smaller plants seem to survive the winter cold better. Consider a later summer or early fall planting of parsley in a corner of your hoop house or cold frame. Just a plant or two is enough to keep your winter dishes looking great with a sprig of this delicious herb.
There are many other vegetables that can survive freezing to some degree or another. In fact, there are as many as 30 different plants that be frozen at least a few times and still survive. If you would like to learn more about winter gardening take a look at this article,
or better yet please buy my Year-Round Gardening Video course.
How to Sharpen Your Garden Shovel
Don’t forget radishes. I’ve many times planted them under a plastic tarp about eight inches off the ground on New Years Day and living in zone 6a they get frozen many times. But they are doing great when I pick them the latter part of March.
You can add cilantro to that list.
Yes, cilantro is related to parsley, carrots, too.
My list would be a little different. I have found that though the carrots themselves survive, the carrot tops are only somewhat hardy, and die off in freezing temps quickly. They might survive a couple of dips into freezing, but not more without protection. It looks like they can handle the cold, but not freezing rain… but maybe some other folk can comment on this.
But in Ohio i have had survive without protection: onions, mustard, parsley, and red cabbage. Oh… and collards lasted long. And though i do protect it, I have found some varieties of red lettuce also to be very freeze hardy, and they survived 3 polar vortexes with just a little protection. It gave me my earliest spring lettuce. I plant those in September.
I haven’t tried growing chard late in the season, though i have tried it early. I’ll have to try it now!
Can you cut the top off of a one-gallon milk or juice carton and place
e it over your carrot tops?
Yes, it won’t offer as much protection as a cold frame but would help some.
Don’t forget sugar pod peas, mizuna, pac Choy and lettuce. The trick where I live in a dry and hot northwest climate is getting seeds to germinate, and young starts to thrive in the 90 + temperatures of August. I have been using shade cloth with pretty good results. Also, planting lettuce and peas on the east edge of the corn patch seems to work. The corn plants dry up and allow more sun as the weather cools down and corn helps support the peas.
I live on north AL and my sage bush huge here after 4 years. Also finnel grows here very well in the winter and provides the swallowtail butterflies to lay their eggs in the summer months.
Sage never stops growing. Yea garden most of it lemon balm mostly they pineapple sage
Celery from celery
I’m in California #9
This is great to know.
Hi Rick,
I am not a huge fan of Kale either. FYI, Swiss chard is a great substitute for Kale in all recipes AND is more nutritious and tasty. Yes, you can pass on Kale and eat a variety of Swiss Chard. Hope this post is helpful to you and your family. MJ
This is the first time I’ve listened to these videos, but I have been thinking about extending my garden for a while.I have two raised beds and about 10 containers. There are carrots, kale, some pac choi, and parsley, but I’d love to raise more. I’ve also been thinking about row covers, so that I can start the garden earlier and keep it going longer. I’m excited about hearing more of your videos, and keeping in touch more. Thank you.
Add parsnips to the list of hardy root vegetables which improve in the cold. How do beets do in the cold ?
Beets do okay. I’ve been able to harvest them as late as December and the roots were still good quality.