It’s tough to get excited about winter gardening. Maybe it’s the sheer challenge of growing plants in the face of cold, short days. Or maybe it’s the fact that most of our favorite fruiting crops like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and eggplant won’t grow. Or perhaps it’s simply the unpleasant prospect of tending the garden in a winter storm.

So what’s the ambitious homesteader to do? Well, don’t opt out of the season if your goal is to grow as much food as possible for your family. Instead, fill up your dirt with the most incredible varieties of cold-hardy greens that will keep even the most tomato-obsessed family excited to continue through the cold months.

With proper planning and plenty of experimentation (and maybe some low poly tunnels), it’s very possible to keep an abundant harvest going well into cold months! Many of the greens listed here will actually handle a hard frost and even snow so be sure to check them out individually.

  1. Kale like Russian Kale
  2. Bak Choy like Yellow Heart Winter Choy
  3. Mizuna like Early Mizuna
  4. Mibuna like Early Mibuna
  5. Swiss Chard like Rainbow Swiss Chard
  6. Komatsuna
  7. Chinese Cabbage like Tokyo Bekana Mustard or Chirimen Hakusai
  8. Tatsoi
  9. Lettuce like Tango Leaf
  10. Sorrel like Red Veined Sorrel
  11. Radicchio like Rouge De Verona
  12. Hybrid Komatsuna + Tatsoi like Chijimisai

Best Greens to Plant in a Winter Garden

Kale like Russian Kale

Cold-hardy (duh!) and fabulously tender baby greens make this variety a great pick.

Bak Choy like Yellow Heart Winter Choy

Sometimes considered an ornamental for its striking color change after a hard frost, this variety is one of the more cold-hardy greens.

Mizuna like Early Mizuna

Delicious, fast-growing, and capable of producing continuous harvests make these Japanese greens a real delight to grow.

Mibuna like Early Mibuna

Very similar to Mizuna with a subtly stronger flavor.

Swiss Chard like Rainbow Swiss Chard

Add a beautiful pop of color to your mix with Rainbow Swiss Chard. Plus, swiss chard is generally easy to grow!

Komatsuna

An extremely hardy green and another option with a mild mustard flavor.

Chinese Cabbage like Tokyo Bekana Mustard or Chirimen Hakusai

These two make excellent ingredients in a stir fry with the latter being sweeter and the former more peppery.

Tatsoi

Tatsoi is a popular salad mix component but is broadly versatile in the kitchen with a similar taste to spinach.

Lettuce like Tango Leaf

Tango Leaf is a popular home-gardener choice and a solid pick to boost your overall yields with productive winter lettuce.

Sorrel like Red Veined Sorrel

Another super-hardy green that can actually overwinter in many zones. Somewhat tart in flavor, but excellent in balance with other greens (yay for variety!).

Radicchio like Rouge De Verona

Very pretty and more than a little bitter. I’ll say that it has been one of the best germinating plants I’ve ever seen.

Hybrid Komatsuna + Tatsoi like Chijimisai

A newer hybrid of two of our earlier options combining some of the best qualities of both!