Even after many a freezing cold night here in Nashville, Tennessee, zone 7 (and even after I got far, far behind on my garden chores), my garden still has so many things for me to harvest.
Here are 12 cool season plants you can harvest even after there’s been freezing temps in your area. If you live in a warmer climate, these plants could very well thrive and produce throughout your entire winter months. For those of you in colder climates, you can further extend your enjoyment of these plants with garden covers like frost cloth or hoop houses, or with more substantial structures like cold frames.
The months after your first frost date are kale’s time to shine because the pests that like to chew holes in your leaves have mostly been killed off. My kale plants thrive in the winter months here in Nashville. The leaves look healthy and pest-free, and the plants have new leaves coming from the center.
Toscano kale, AKA dinosaur kale, is a great kale variety to grow in winter. It has bumpy cabbage-like leaves that can handle the cold down to about 20°F without frost protection. These plants also do great in hotter weather, and they’re my favorite type to grow for making kale chips.
Red Russian kale and Winterbor kale are even more winter hardy than Toscano kale. I love growing Red Russian kale. The leaves are so tender and sweet, though you will have a bit more pest issues with these plants before wintry weather strikes.
No matter which type you’re growing, you’ll find the leaves actually taste a bit sweeter after a freeze. Maybe that’ll entice you to fill up on lots of kale leaves this winter.