List of 21 Flavorful Winter Vegetables

✦ Try successive planting of root crops like beets and radishes.
✦ Winter crops should be protected from pigeons, so provide suitable nets.

While most people consider gardening in spring or summer, a winter garden can give a variety of fresh vegetables for stews and pies. So, don't think your garden will be vacant in winter. There are many plants to be grown in winter. You just need to be careful about sowing and growing them. Check the specific harvest dates for your region before sowing them.

Plant your winter crops early so that they reach their maturity before the chilling frost. We've enlisted 21 of the most flavorful winter vegetables. These are extremely palatable besides being healthy. Ponder on.

Broad beans or fava beans are one of the most ancient beans grown. This food crop besides being pretty delicious, is very hardy, and hence, can withstand cold climate. Autumn-sown beans will get produced by early winters. Unlike other legumes, broad beans can grow in soils with high saline content.

Broccoli can be grown year round in a temperate climate. But it tastes sweetest in cooler temperatures. This leafy green plant grows best in fertile soil. You'll need to buy baskets of broccoli seedlings, and these should be fed with ample water.

Don't let the soil dry away. Seeds can be sown in early winter for spring harvest. If the head gets dark green in color, it's time to harvest it. Broccoli, an extremely healthy vegetable, can be used especially in soups and salads.

This is a traditional winter stock veggie. Plant from May to early June, and harvest from September to March. It is suitable to any garden soil in full sun. Sprouts are sweetest after frost.

Cabbage is a heavy feeder, so it requires ample amount of lime, and hence the pH value of soil should be greater than 6. Sow cabbage with seeds in late spring, for a winter harvest. You can also sow right through the winter (withstands cold climate) for a spring harvest.

Mulching the cabbage plant can protect it from heaviest of frost. They also need to be protected from caterpillars. When the head of cabbage feels firm, it's time to harvest it. Savoy Cabbage, the hardiest of all, is a perfect winter crop.

Another tasty winter vegetable! Owing to so many varieties, these can be grown in beds, containers, or even window boxes. Carrots require light, fertile soil. Plant it in mid-July for a harvest in fall. Late harvesting will give you sweeter results.

Believe it or not, cauliflower is a cold weather crop, though it grows year round. This plant can be sowed in mid-July for a fall harvest, and in September for harvest in spring.

This ugly-looking vegetable may not seem flavorful to you, but we tell you that looks are deceitful. Celeriac grows its best in cooler months of fall and winter. Sow seeds indoors. It requires well-drained soil with mild light conditions. It is ideal to plant this crop during July. Since this plant is shallow rotted, you need to water it regularly.

Chicory is a late fall crop. Endive is a bitter version of chicory, and grows well in fall and winter. But this crop is forcefully grown creating artificial scenarios, making them available year round.

The natural season of fennel is from fall to early months of spring. Like all cold weather crops, this crop tastes sweeter in cooler months, and tastes bitter in warmer conditions.

Kale is another winter crop loved by all. It is a wilder version of cabbage. This leafy vegetable has green and purple leaves. It tastes sweet in winter, and sweeter when exposed to frost. It is widely used in soups and is preferred as chips. Some traditional dishes include boerenkool and colcannon, which is a popular Halloween delicacy.

Leek belongs to the family of onions and garlic, and also has a similar taste to onions. Sow them from small seedlings. This hardy crop reaches its maturity in autumn months, usually. It is crunchy and firm when raw.

This is a close cousin of carrot. It should be pulled in January or early February after heavy frost, which turn them all the more sweet. It tastes similar to carrot and smells like fresh parsley. They impart a rich flavor when used in soups and stews, but they can be boiled, roasted, or fried too.

Radicchio is tasty but often misunderstood. It belongs to the chicory family, and hence, it has a slightly bitter flavor. It is a late-season winter vegetable. Although it requires low temperature to grow and impart the beautiful red color, it cannot bear freezing weather. Its bitter, spicy taste softens and blends when roasted or grilled.

Winter radishes are more interesting than its summer varieties. Daikon is a popular winter variety. It is mostly eaten raw in salads. Try blending it in butter and salt, which would create a spicy, yummy radish. This cool season crop requires sandy loams with a pH value between 6 - 7. Pull them when they are tender and younger, else they may crack and split.

Sweet potatoes are normally sold as yam. Their growing season is from late summers through winters. They should be overwintered indoors when temperatures fall below 40°F, as they cannot tolerate frost. Provide well-drained soil with ample sunlight for best production.

Turnips grow best in a cooler climate. This taproot becomes woody if exposed to hot temperatures. They should be typically planted in late spring before the last frost to harvest in winters. But they can also be planted in summers for a second fall harvest. They possess a strong flavor like that of mustard greens.

All the varieties of winter squash do well in early fall and last up to winter. In fact, they are a staple food in spring and winter. Winter squash can be cooked―baked or pureed. The popular butternut squash has a nutty flavor. Go for the ones that are heavy in size. They have a longer shelf life, making a great late-winter crop.