Homegrown vegetables offer year-round delights; it needn’t stop when winter arrives. Even when the temperatures drop, winter root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, celeriac, and Jerusalem artichokes offer hearty harvests in the colder months.
To enjoy these seasonal vegetables, you often need to take steps to ensure they remain in top shape for your festive plates. In areas with milder winters, you can overwinter root vegetables in the ground to lift them as you desire over the season. Gardeners in colder climates, though, may need to lift and store them to see them through winter.
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How to store winter root vegetables – in or out of the ground
As highlighted above, whether you keep winter root vegetables in the ground or out will depend on the extremes of winter in your US hardiness zone and your soil type. There is a great selection of vegetables to overwinter for bountiful harvests 12 months a year, but most will need protection from the elements.
Another important tip is to remember to cut back on watering during winter (many won’t need watering at all) and don’t feed plants until early spring.
1. Cover crops with straw
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This was my simple go-to method for protecting carrots, parsnips, celeriac, and rutabagas in winter. It was a quick and easy way to extend the season and ensure I could harvest these roots throughout the winter. A thick layer, at least six inches, of straw on top of the crops, before the ground freezes solid, keeps them in good nick and also makes harvesting easier.
The straw insulates the ground, preventing it from freezing. This stops the roots from going mushy due to continued freezing and thawing. Mulching also makes it much easier to harvest parsnips or carrots, as it can be laborious attempting to lift such deep-rooted vegetables from frozen ground without damaging them.
This technique can be used on winter root vegetables in climates with milder temperatures and frosts. You can get a straw bale at Walmart to spread around your winter root vegetables, whether they are growing in the ground or in a raised garden bed. If you can’t get straw or want a free alternative, shredded leaves are a freely available fall mulching material that can be used as an alternative to straw.
If you live in exposed areas with strong winter winds, covering the straw mulch with frost cloth or an old bed sheet can stop the mulch from blowing away and uncovering the root crops underneath.
2. Use low hoop tunnels
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Covering crops with hoop tunnels can be done in conjunction with mulching in colder zones or as a standalone DIY cloche idea for milder winters, as it creates a warmer microclimate and protects plants from frost. It can be used to extend the season for carrots, beets, or turnips, or provide a protected enclosure for winter for carrots, parsnips, celeriac or rutabaga.
Such a DIY mini greenhouse can be easily constructed over plants by pushing hoops into the ground and covering them with frost cloth (also known as horticultural fleece) or sheets of clear plastic. I have often cut PVC irrigation pipes to size to make hoops, but I think an easier option for home gardeners is to buy a hoop tunnel kit, such as this hoop kit at Amazon.
The edges of the plastic or fleece covering need to be secured to the ground, either with garden staples or heavy bricks and stones, to trap heat and prevent it from blowing away.
Whether you cover the crops with straw, leaves, or compost underneath the tunnel is up to the individual gardener, and will depend on how cold it gets over winter and the availability of the mulching material. Personally, I would opt for a layer of straw for an extra layer of protection and peace of mind.
3. Lift and store roots indoors
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Lifting and storing winter root vegetables is advisable in climates with extreme frosts and snow. But it is not just the cold that can damage winter root vegetables; if you have a heavy soil type that sits very wet, then it is better to lift them so the crops don’t rot in cold, sodden soil over winter.
You don’t want to lose your precious harvests after caring for vegetables for many months, so start lifting them ahead of the frosts in cold regions. Inspect all roots when you lift them, and store only unblemished ones. Cut off the foliage and brush off loose soil in preparation for storage, but don’t wash the winter root vegetables, as it will reduce their storage life.
A root cellar, a cool underground structure, is a perfect place, but not a common household feature. A shed, garage, or cellar makes an ideal alternative to store winter crops, as such a location needs to be frost-free and dark. Place the root vegetables in boxes of lightly moist sand, sawdust, or compost, but do be careful so that the vegetables don’t touch each other.
Check the box over winter, and remove any vegetables that are getting soft or showing signs of rotting, so they don’t impair others around them.
FAQs
Will beets overwinter in the ground?
When you grow beets, they can overwinter outside, but will need protection from freezing temperatures. In milder climates, covering them with frost cloth or a mulching layer of straw or leaves will shield the roots from damaging frosts. Beets can withstand temperatures to 28°F for short periods, but are damaged by prolonged exposure to cold or cycles of freezing and thawing.
Can parsnips be left in the ground over winter?
Parsnips are hardy winter root vegetables that can overwinter in the soil. Indeed, when you grow parsnips, they taste better after a few frosts, as the starches in the roots are converted into sugars, giving the roots a sweeter flavor. Mulching the roots with straw or compost is a simple way to make harvesting easier and prevent them from getting damaged by freezing and thawing.
Can I leave carrots in the ground over winter?
Yes, when growing carrots, they can be stored in the soil over winter in milder climates or those with well-draining soil. The ideal way to do this is to mulch the bed with straw or chopped leaves, or cover the rows with low tunnels to insulate the roots in the soil.
Growing vegetables can be a year-round pleasure. Not only can you harvest lots of vegetables in December for festive meals, but there is also scope to plant some crops this month to get a head start on next year’s growing season. My guide to vegetables to plant in December reveals seven such crops you can sow this month. This selection gives quick harvests over winter, and also earlier pickings come spring.
This frost cloth can be used to cover rows of winter root vegetables, as it provides up to 28°F frost protection.
A digging fork is an ideal tool for harvesting winter root vegetables and also spreading straw or leaf mulch around crops for frost protection.
This garden hoop kit comes with 24 pieces, each 17 inches in length, to connect and bend into the soil for a low hoop tunnel to protect vegetables.