10 Plants You Can Winter Sow in Raised Garden Beds

Winter sowing is an excellent way to get a jump start on your spring kitchen garden. Raised beds can make it easy to start the spring growing season with a healthy garden. All you need to do is plant spring seeds directly in the soil, even if it is not yet the right time for those plants to grow. The seeds will remain dormant in the soil throughout the cold season and then sprout when the soil warms up.

Still confused about winter sowing? Read on to discover more about this planting method and the best vegetables and herbs for winter sowing in raised beds.

What is Winter Sowing

Winter sowing is a process of planting your seeds in late fall or throughout the winter months and getting your garden ready for spring. Cooler temperatures encourage root development in plants rather than green growth. This means your seeds will already have developed roots by the time spring arrives. They are then able to put more energy into growing strong and large.

Winter is the best time to start seeds before weeds and pests appear. By winter sowing, your seeds germinate faster and sprout earlier. Winter sowing lets you start your spring garden as early as possible. The time savings from not having to start your seeds indoors are enough of a benefit on their own.

Why choose raised beds for winter sowing? Raised garden beds make winter sowing more convenient and successful. It is super easy to cover them with protective structures like row covers during frost, which eliminates the need for additional containers. The soil in raised beds warms up faster in the spring, enabling earlier germination. With raised beds, you only need the top 1-2 inches of soil to be workable (not frozen) to be good to go.

Best Plants to Winter Sow in Your Garden

Now, let's look at some vegetables and herbs that you can winter sow in your raised bed vegetable garden.

1. Carrots

Carrots are an impressive cool-season crop, perfect for fall planting and winter sowing. They don't mind a little bit of frost, and a light freeze sweetens the taproot. Carrots need somewhere between 60 and 90 cool days with temperatures ranging from 45 to 75°F to develop their tasty little roots.

Plant seeds 1 to 3 inches apart, depending on the desired taproot. You must know that carrots germinate at above 55°F or so, so your winter-sown carrot seeds will sprout in the spring. However, fall-planted carrots will start to grow, and cold weather will sweeten the taproots.

Learn how to grow carrots in your garden.

2. Radishes

Radishes are one of the best crops for winter sowing, which are so easy to plant and grow in the raised bed garden. They love the chilly weather and short days of early spring. Radishes can tolerate frost and snow well, like a champion.

Space your radish seeds a couple of inches apart, or as wide as you want the mature root to be. Your radish winter-sown seeds will germinate as soon as the soil temperatures reach 50°F. They are better suited to growing in raised beds than in containers like milk jugs, since root crops don't transplant well.

3. Spinach

Spinach is a tender and tasty cool-weather leafy green to winter sow in raised beds. Winter sowing spinach produces beautiful, robust spinach plants. This crop prefers to grow in temperatures ranging from 45 to 75°F, but it can also tolerate colder temperatures and frost. A frost sweetens up its leaves, like many leafy greens. It removes its bitterness. This is one of the many reasons spinach has long been grown in greenhouses, tunnels, and cold frames over the winter.

Space your spinach seeds about 1 to 2 inches apart in rows. You can start harvesting early if you want baby greens. Plant every couple of weeks during the season to ensure continual harvesting.

Read More: 10 Winter Gardening Ideas for a Beautiful Winter Yard

4. Lettuce

Lettuce is another winter leafy green you can winter sow or plant in the fall to harvest throughout the colder months. This wonderful crop grows in temperatures between 50°F and 70°F.

Winter-sown lettuce seeds will sprout once the soil warms to around 50°F (10°C). When the soil warms up enough for the lettuce seeds to sprout, these small plants will take off and be ready for the first leaf harvest. Since the soil in raised garden beds warms faster, it means these plants will germinate earlier.

'Marvel of Four Seasons' lettuce is an amazing French heirloom variety. Its leaves are green, closest to the ground, but turn to a stunning ruby red at the ends.

Learn all about growing lettuce in your kitchen garden.

5. Beets

If you live in a warmer zone, the best time to plant beet seeds is during your winter months because they love cooler weather (45 to 65°F). For other climates, beet seeds can be sown in gardens as soon as the soil is workable in the late winter or early spring. Since beets are cold-tolerant, don't panic if you expect a few more frosts this season.

'Chioggia' beet is an Italian heirloom beet variety that tastes wonderful from root to tip. You can cook its green tops like other leafy greens. The roots are also sweet and tasty, whether raw or cooked. Beets are highly nutritious and a wonderful addition to any garden.

6. Arugula

Arugula is an incredible, fast-growing little plant that loves chilly weather, and like hardy winter greens, a frost enhances its flavor. It can quickly sprout in cool soil and handle hard frosts.

Wild types of Arugulas have a stronger flavor. It's delicious raw and cooked, and pairs well with a variety of dishes. 'Rocky Arugula' is a wild variety known for its high flavor.

Arugula is also heat-tolerant, and it can keep producing in the fall long after the first frost. If you want lots of tasty, nutritious leaves for spring salads, spread those arugula seeds in your garden beds as soon as possible. Harvest early and often for small, tender leaves.

7. Cabbage

Cabbage, like most brassicas, thrives in cold weather, and winter is the perfect time to sow cabbage seeds in your raised beds. If you live in a colder climate, you can wait until closer to March. However, December through February is an excellent time to start seeds in most climates.

Cabbage is frost-tolerant, prefers cold weather, and sweetens with frost. If you love red cabbage, 'Red Acre' is a gorgeous, jewel-toned cabbage. It is also compact, which makes it ideal for winter sowing in raised beds.

8. Broccoli

Broccoli is another member of the Brassica family that loves chilly weather. Planting it in winter lets you get ahead of the season. You'll have plenty of time to let heads grow large and plump and harvest for a long period. This veggie is not frost-sensitive. It only improves the flavor.

'Belstar broccoli' is a stunning variety for warmer climates where other types bolt. This one will perform at its best because it can be sown throughout the winter. The primary broccoli heads are large, followed by numerous side shoots. Plant broccoli anytime from fall to spring, depending on your region.

9. Oregano

Oregano is an aromatic herb that is great for winter sowing as its seeds benefit from a cold stratification period. The fragrant oregano leaves make everything smell and taste better. It is incredibly easy to grow and produces attractive purple flowers that pollinators love.

Oregano is winter hardy across most of the United States. It's a hardy herbaceous plant, and some varieties are super ornamental. If you love to add herbaceous flowers in your raised garden beds, ornamental oregano is an ideal choice. They also need some sunlight to germinate, so gently press them into the soil where the light can reach them.

10. Chives

Chives are another hardy herb with long green leaves and a mild onion flavor. It is a must-have for the herb garden. These tender onions, with their subtle flavor and pungent scent, are highly versatile. Tall, thin green shoots produce lovely purple blooms if you let them. Bees love these flowers, so they attract pollinators to your garden beds.

Since chives are cold-tolerant, they are ideal for winter sowing in the late cold season, about one to two months before the last frost date. What's more? Chives are a cut-and-come-again type of onion that can be chopped and used again. When you harvest them, leave a tiny white base intact, and they will regrow.

Tips for Winter Sowing in Raised Beds

Keep these tips in mind before starting this magical gardening practice.

• Always start sowing on a smooth soil surface of raised beds. Before planting, rake the soil, break up large clumps, and remove any debris to have a smooth, flat surface. Most seeds are tiny, and you surely don't want them to get lost in debris, soil pits, and troughs.
• Use a planting line or a twine to ensure your winter-sown plants grow in a straight row in spring.
• Use a seed spacing ruler to plant tiny seeds easily, like spinach, carrots, lettuce, and mustard, in the garden.
• You can do winter sowing from December through February, depending on your climate and location. Most seeds need several months of cold weather to break dormancy.
• Cover your raised garden bed with a simple cold frame or row cover to warm up the soil enough to germinate the seeds and extend the growing season in spring.
• Use plant tags to mark the spot where you have sown seeds.
• There is no need to water seeds right after planting in winter because it will wake them from dormancy. We shouldn't let seeds sprout until the soil temperature is right for them.

Read More: Winter Garden Tips and Maintenance for Beginners

The Bottom Line

Winter sowing lets you garden in the middle of winter. Now it's time to do some winter sowing to accomplish so much in your garden with only 5 minutes a day. All you need to start is cold-tolerant plant seeds, high-quality garden tools, raised beds, and good-quality soil.

Whether you want to grow something to beat the winter blues or just try something different, this practice is a terrific way to get a small boost of good gardening endorphins at a time when they're hard to come by. It would make you smile every time to know that, despite the cold and the thick layers of snow hugging the garden beds, something great is happening inside, bringing joy in the most meaningful way. Happy winter sowing!