Try boosting your self-sufficiency off your garden this year by growing some classic winter storage crops that take minimum effort to keep throughout winter without needing to bust out the canner!
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Classic winter storage crops go hand in hand with a victory garden planted to provide food security in uncertain times. Tune into the related podcast episode below or read on to find out 19 winter storage crops you need to plan into your garden this year.
What are Winter Storage Crops?
Many summer vegetables and fruits need some level of processing to store them for enjoyment over the cold winter, making tomato sauce or canning peaches are two preserving methods that come quickly to mind. Winter storage crops, on the other hand, are vegetables, fruit, nuts or grains which can be kept throughout the winter months without additional preserving steps like canning, freezing, dehydrating or freeze-drying.
Crops that are traditionally stored overwinter in this way are usually:
- root vegetables
- hard-shelled squashes
- head forming crops (like heads of cabbage)
- nuts
- seeds
- grains
Why Grow Winter Storage Crops?
Growing winter storage crops can really cut back on the amount of stress that canning season can bring! You don’t need to be hauling the canner out every night after work to preserve that evening’s harvest or worse let it rot and go to waste. Let alone try to get inventive with all those pickles in recipes.
Although the crops have some basic storage requirements, if you have a basement, garage, shed, window well or room which is kept cool you can leverage these spaces to store your harvest. In mild winter areas like my homeland of the UK, some of these crops can be kept in the ground and harvested fresh out of the garden!
Winter Storage Crops To Grow
Take advantage of winter and start planning your garden now to include some of these crops to enjoy throughout the next fall and winter.
1. Garlic
Easy to grow and relatively trouble-free, garlic is also a great winter storage crop to try in your garden. Plant individual cloves in fall and leave in the ground over winter or plant early spring and harvest in early July. Garlic really is pretty easy to plant and you can see how to do it step by step in this video:
In summer, pull your garlic and let it dry or cure in a cool dry location to help the protective papery layers form. Cut the leaves and roots or braid and hang up in a cool dry location. We keep ours in a basket in the basement and have enough garlic to never have to buy it from the grocery store!
Varieties to try: California White, Music, Khabar, Corsican, Arsia, Chesnok Red
2. Onions
Onions need a long growing season to reach maturity to make sure you choose a variety that suits your climate. Long day onions tend to do best in northern climates whilst short day onion types do better in southern climates.
Cure your onions after lifting them then braid and hang or cut the leaves and store in net or mesh bags.
Varieties to try: Ailsa Craig, Wethersfield Red, Stuttgarter, Texas Early, Walla Walla
3. Shallots
Highly sought after by gourmet chefs and foodies alike, the shallot is grown and stored like an onion. Shallots are smaller, more tapered than onions and grow in clumps but don’t let their small size put you off growing these beauties! They make the best-ever pickled onions in malt vinegar!
Varieties to try: French Red, Grey Griselle
4. Celeriac
Also known as celery root, the humble celeriac is a popular vegetable in Europe but not widely known here in the US. Celeriac tastes like celery and despite its rather ugly appearance, celeriac is very versatile in the kitchen and stores well in a cool, moist location.
Lift celeriac in fall before the first hard frost. Trim the leafy tops to 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) and store with soil and roots intact. Place in perforated bags in the fridge or pack in damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
Varieties to try: Prinz, Mars, Giant Prague, Monstorpolgi, Tellus
5. Rutabaga (Swede)
A member of the cabbage family, rutabagas are not often found in grocery stores here in America but are seen in every supermarket in England! Also known as swedes, us Brits mash them with carrots as a side for a Sunday roast but there are other ways to eat them!
Rutabagas are a long season crop needing more than 90 days to reach full maturity and a good size. Often started in summer and transplanted out to harvest in fall, rutabagas can take a light frost or two but don’t take hard freezes as we get here in the US very well.
Lift the rutabagas and trim the leafy tops and tap roots to about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Store in cool, moist conditions such as packed in damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
Varieties to try: Cairnes Family, Joan, American Purple Top, Helenor, Gilfeather, Magor Dunne
5. Potatoes
It would not be a post about winter storage crops if we didn’t mention potatoes!
Easy to grow in small spaces in bags or containers as well as in the ground, no victory garden would be complete without a crop of potatoes! Different varieties last longer in storage than others. Baby or new potatoes have thin skins and don’t last in longer-term storage but bigger main-crop or late season spuds like russets last longer.
Keep potato tubers in the ground at least 2 weeks after foliage has died back to allow the skins to set. Protect the ground from freezing. Dig up the potatoes and allow skins to air dry for a day somewhere protected and out of the rain. Don’t wash the dirt off potatoes or put wet tubers into storage – they will go bad quickly!
Store potatoes in mesh bags, crates, vented boxes or paper sacks. Keep them somewhere cool, dark and moist.
Varieties to try: Yukon Gold, Red Norland, Purple Viking, Kennebec, Elba, Burbank
7. Beets
Beets are one of those crops that help bridge the hungry gap between winter and late spring. They grow quickly in the right conditions and are ready to harvest in 55 to 65 days.
Lift beets in fall, before the first hard frost of the season when they are no more than 3 inches in diameter. Trim the tops to 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) tall and cut off the taproot just before storing. Pack into damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
Varieties to try: Shiraz, Lutz, Chioggia, Touchstone Gold, Detroit Dark Red, Bulls Blood
6. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes need a long, warm growing season but provide both edible tubers underground and edible leaves.
The tubers need to be dug out of the ground, taking care not to skewer them with a garden fork. Harvest the sweet potatoes on a dry day and let them air dry for about 2 weeks indoors in an area with good ventilation and relatively high humidity to cure the skins. After the curing, carefully brush off any dirt then store the tubers in paper bags, boxes or mesh bags in temperatures of 55 – 60°F (12 -15°C).
Varieties to try: Beauregard, All Purple, Carolina Ruby, Georgia Jet, Diane, Bunch Porto Rico, O’Henry
8. Turnips
Another victory garden staple, and children’s book classic (seriously, The Enormous Turnip
Store in cool, moist conditions such as packed in damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
Varieties to try: Purple Globe, Tokyo Market, Golden Globe, Aprovecho Hardy
9. Parsnips
The large sweet roots of parsnips are better after a frost where they become super sweet and perfect for roasting as a side dish.
Parsnips must be planted early spring and need a long growing season before harvesting in fall, or if you live in a mild climate, leave in the ground over winter.
Trim tops to 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) then pack into damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
Varieties to try: Half-Long Guernsey, Hollow Crown, All American, Student, Albion, Lancer, Bedford Monarch
10. Carrots
Larger carrots last longer in storage and are usually planted later in the season and lifted in fall before the first hard freeze. In mind areas, carrots can be grown over winter and are oh-so-sweet they are like candy!
To store carrots, they need cool, moist conditions so trim tops to 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) then pack into damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
Varieties to try: Bolero, Naval, Gniff, Kuroda Shinn, Danvers, Oxheart
11. Winter Squash
There are a few types of winter squash available and many are absolutely delicious! The pepos which include acorn squash, Halloween pumpkins, sugar pumpkins, delicatas and spaghetti squash store for the least amount of time, the maximas family that include hubbards, buttercups and turban squashes which keep for 3-4 months then there is the argyrosperma family that has the long-lasting cushaw squashes that can keep for 6 months and finally the moschatas family of squashes that can keep for around 4-6 months depending on the variety.
Cut the fruits from the vines carefully and cure in the sun for about a week or cure indoors in a warm room with good ventilation, carefully turning squashes over frequently so all parts of the skin can be exposed to the air to cure. Store on shelves or in sturdy crates in cool temperatures 50 – 60°F (10-15°C) in a dry room.
Varieties to try: Sweet Meat – Oregon Homestead, Waltham Butternut, Musque de Provence, Table Queen, Amish Pie, Blue Hubbard
12. Salsify & Scorzonera
Two different crops but very similar in growing and storage! In mild climates, these can be perennial crops coming back year after year and are better harvested after a frost and kept in the ground under plenty of mulch. But, if you need to lift them in fall, trim tops to 1/4 inch (0.5 cm) then pack into damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
Varieties to try: Sandwich Island Mammoth, Fiore Blu, Hoffman’s Schwarze Pfahl, Duplex Russian Giant
13. Cabbage
Many late-season cabbages can be kept in the ground over winter. It is the late-season cabbages which also store better whilst early varieties can be made into sauerkraut.
To store cabbages, harvest firm heads and store with some of the tougher outer leaves. Keep cool and moist. Check the heads regularly and remove spoiling leaves.
Varieties to try: Winter Savoy, Brunswick, Storage No. 4, Premium Late Flat Dutch, January King
14. Drying Beans
Soup beans or drying beans can be climbing or pole beans or compact bushes. Sow beans after all risk of frost have passed. Sow a number of beans because you need to leave the pods on the plant until they become dry to harvest as soup beans.
Shell the beans from the pods and allow them to dry more indoors. Store in paper bags, glass jars or plastic containers.
Varieties to try: Black Valentine, Maypole, Good Mother Stallard, White Marrowfat
15. Apples
There are many different varieties of apples and some have longer storage than others. If you can stock up on varieties known to store from a local orchard or grow your own on a fruit tree in your backyard then adding fresh fruit to the winter storage crops is a smart move.
Store unbruised fruit by wrapping in newspaper in shallow boxes or crates somewhere cool and moist. Check them often and remove any beginning to spoil. Try to keep apples away from other produce you are storing. Apples give off ethylene gas which makes other vegetables and fruits ripen faster, decreasing their shelf life.
Varieties to try: Cortland, McIntosh Red, Braeburn, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Arkansas Black, Golden Russet
16. Pears
Just like apples, there are many different varieties of pears and some have longer storage than others. If you can stock up on winter varieties of pear from a local orchard or try growing your own on a fruit tree in your backyard.
Store unbruised fruit by wrapping in newspaper in shallow boxes or crates somewhere cool and moist. Check them often and remove any beginning to spoil. Try to keep pears away from other produce you are storing. Pears give off ethylene gas which makes other vegetables and fruits ripen faster, decreasing their shelf life.
Varieties to try: CAnjou, Bosc, Comice, Winter Nelis, Highland, Conference
17. Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi is part of the brassica family and popular in Europe. Harvest them for storage when the taproot is still round and remove stems and tops.
Store in perforated bags in cool and moist conditions.
Varieties to try: Early White Vienna, Azur Star, Gigant, Kossak
18. Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes)
A native perennial of North America, sunchokes are really easy to grow. In mild areas, they can stay in the ground over winter and harvest in early spring! It can’t get easier than that!
For harsh winter areas, lift the tubers in fall and store in cool, moist conditions by packing into damp sand in a sealed container like a lidded bucket
Varieties to try: Red Fuseau, White Fuseau, Stampede, Waldspine, Red Rover, Clearwater.
19. Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)
Chickpeas are a staple in many parts of the world, particularly in India and the Middle East. They lend themselves well in the kitchen to so much more than just added to salads.
Chickpeas tolerate cooler soil temperatures and can be started earlier than traditional beans. Leaves contain skin irritants so be sure to wear gloves. For the harvest, pull the entire plants and allow the beans to ripen before processing. Collect beans that are fully dry. Shell by hand and allow them to dry more indoors. Store in paper bags, glass jars or plastic containers.
Varieties to try: Myles, Kabouli Black, Black Sicilian
Where To Buy Seed For Winter Storage Crops
At the time of writing this post, the seed world is being visited hard as new gardeners are beginning to take control of their food and start growing a victory garden in their backyard. As such, a number of popular seed suppliers are not taking new orders for seeds so it is necessary to diversify where we as home gardeners source our seeds from. I get my seeds from the following non-GMO seed suppliers:
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
What’s your favorite winter storage crop to grow in your victory garden?
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