Winter Vegetables to Grow in Tennessee. Growing veggies in your garden provide nutritious, satisfying, and cost-effective eating, but it can be difficult to determine which crops will produce a mature, tasty harvest, especially during the chilly winter months. Some of the best fall and winter veggies you may plant mature during the cold-weather months, while others can survive the winter and sprout in time for a warm-weather harvest. Whether you have a green thumb or are a newbie gardener, planting a garden that can weather fall and winter conditions is an easy way to improve your meals and give an engaging leisure.
Garlic is only one of the plants that can withstand cold weather. The bulb, which is used in a variety of delectable dishes, will give convenient storage for your favourite meals. For a healthy harvest in the spring or summer, simply seed this crop in the fall, about six weeks before the first frost of the season. Other fall vegetables to grow are sturdy, leafy greens such as cabbage and mustard greens. These can withstand the worst winter weather conditions, including snow, rain, and ice-cold temperatures.
Aside from planting the appropriate fall and winter veggies, there are several safeguards. There are steps you can take to ensure your garden flourishes. “A small greenhouse, or a greenhouse-like protective cover, can allow these plants to grow in temperatures below freezing, and even in light snowfall,” explains Deborah Miuccio, product research and testing coordinator at Gardener’s Supply Company. “This gives people the chance to cultivate their own food all year.” Experts explain which crops to plant in your fall and winter vegetable gardens, regardless of the weather.
Winter Vegetables to Grow in Tennessee
1. Asparagus
Harvest-ready asparagus may not appear until a year or two after planting because to a lengthy gestation period. The plant may survive numerous winters while producing fresh produce. “Asparagus can be planted in the autumn for a spring harvest,” adds Todd Carr, former Martha Stewart Living senior garden editor. “Because it is a perennial, it blooms in the spring when it is cold outdoors.”
2. Garlic
Garlic is a frost-resistant bulb that can be planted six weeks before a hard freeze for maximum growth. “For planting, the earth must be unfrozen and useable,” adds Carr. But it can survive the cold.
3. Mustard Greens
Don’t be fooled by their delicate appearance; fruitful, fast-growing mustard greens can withstand frost and temperatures several degrees above freezing in your vegetable garden. Carr recommends starting the plant indoors in the fall and moving it outside after germination.
4. Radishes
According to Carr, robust and rugged radishes respond beautifully to sunny weather with crisp temperatures as low as 50 degrees. It’s a great vegetable to plant in the fall if you live somewhere that doesn’t get too cold in the winter. However, the veggie can still thrive during frosty spells.
5. Peas Vegetables to Grow in Tennessee
Peas can withstand freezing temperatures and prefer mild to cool weather, according to Carr. The nutrient-dense vegetable is an excellent choice for your fall garden.
6. Lettuce
Brisk temperatures suit robust lettuce, whose seeds can be sown in the fall for a harvest between one and three months after their initial planting. “If the seeds you are working with are small, you can mix them with sand for greater visibility,” Carr advises. “You can see where the seeds are going when you set them out in rows.”
7. Cabbage
This delicious leafy green will not be harmed by cold weather, making it an excellent fall vegetable to plant. Cabbage thrives in frost and is ready to harvest in the winter. “[Areas like] southern California can start these from seed in September,” Miuccio says.
8. Broccoli Vegetables to Grow in Tennessee
“When very hot weather strikes, the [brassica] veggies bolt, which means the vegetable produces seed, reducing the crop,” Miuccio explains. This fall vegetable, like other plants in the genus, thrives away from intense heat and when planted 10 to 12 weeks before the first frost.
9. Kale
Sunlight and moist soil will aid in the growth of healthy kale for winter harvest. However, when preparing your fall vegetables to plant, such as this one and other brassicas, you must protect them from a specific pest. “To prevent the cabbageworm’s small white butterfly from laying eggs on the plants, simply cover the plants with summer-weight fabric over hoops,” Miuccio advises. “This is a simple, natural solution.”
10. Cauliflower Vegetables to Grow in Tennessee
This plant grows in 50 to 80 days on average. For a strong winter harvest, this crop, like other brassicas, should be put in the ground nearly 10 weeks before the first frost. Remove plant waste from your winter vegetable garden to maintain this cold-weather brassica crop healthy—this will also help keep mosquitoes away over the winter.
