Gardening in the Winter: Methods for Growing in Cold Weather

Written by: Luke Marion

Published on January 20, 2026

Updated on January 20, 2026

Winter is a time of reflection, garden planning, and peace while we watch the silent snow fall on our gardens. However, it can also be a great time to learn more about how your garden copes with winter conditions and how winter actually benefits your garden.

A man harvesting kale from the garden in the winter.

Even with our cold Michigan winters, there are gardening methods that allow me to harvest food year-round. From cold frames to greenhouses to wintering crops right in the ground, I’m debunking the myths about gardening in the winter.

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Year-Round Gardening

Depending on where you live, some of you may have the capability of growing outside in your garden year-round. Others, like myself, live in the wintery north, so we need a little help to grow all year.

I am very blessed to have a greenhouse now, but I have a lot of years of experience gardening without one. Don’t count yourself out of gardening in the winter if you can't buy a greenhouse kit now. You can still use winter sowing and other methods listed below to extend your growing season.

How Winter Benefits The Garden

If you garden in a climate that gets winter weather, you have probably heard or maybe even believed some of these myths about winter and your garden, but the news isn’t all bad. Winter actually helps your garden!

Myth	Reality
Snow is bad	Snow isn’t bad for your garden! Snow insulates and protects the soil so that it doesn’t freeze as deeply and the cold doesn’t harm soil bacteria and fungi. Snow also contains atmospheric nitrogen, which means that snow fertilizes your garden with nitrogen when it melts! That’s why snow is called “poor man’s fertilizer”.
Soil isn’t active in the winter	Soil bacteria and fungi stay alive in the winter (especially if protected by snow or mulch) and continue to break down organic material.
Cold is a gardener’s enemy	The cold is not your enemy! Cold weather is actually essential for controlling any type of pest that overwinters like aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, cabbage moths and more. Mild winters equal tons of pests the next growing season.
The garden is done when winter arrives	You don’t have to pull up all of your crops before winter! As you can see in the video above, I am harvesting beautiful, sweet kale from underneath the snow. This kale is surviving even through the winter conditions because it is a cold hardy plant. Grow cold hardy leafy greens in your fall garden (like kale, spinach, swiss chard, and arugula) so you can continue to harvest them in the winter months.

Methods for Gardening in the Winter

Still think it is impossible to garden in the winter where you live? Think again! You know what they say, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”, and gardening in the winter is no different.

Here are some tried and true gardening methods and equipment that can allow you to keep gardening even after the snow falls.

Leaving Crops in the Ground During Winter

If I harvest root crops in the fall and take them indoors, I have to have space to store them and the right conditions to preserve them. Instead, I like to use my garden like a root cellar to store certain types of fresh root vegetables.

My grandfather used this method successfully for decades! Here are the root crops that can be left right in the ground during winter to harvest whenever needed:

If you want to use this method, I recommend mulching the plants in the fall with 6 to 8 inches of leaves and a tarp (to keep the leaves from blowing away). Any snow that accumulates will also act as an insulator, keeping the soil warmer than the ambient temperature.

Whenever you are ready to harvest your root crops, pull the snow and tarp off, and push the leaves back. The soil should stay unfrozen, and you can simply dig up your vegetables like you would in the fall!

Row Covers & Frost Blankets

I’ve been using frost blankets on plants for a few years now, and I absolutely love them because they are so easy to use and make a remarkable difference! Long gone are the days of using bedsheets, heavyweight fabrics, or other covers overtop my plants to try to save them.

I think that frost blankets are gardening tools that every gardener should have! You don’t need to be a market grower to appreciate how they help extend your growing season in the spring and fall by protecting your crops from damaging frost. They can provide 10°+ of freeze protection while holding in heat and allowing some rain and sunlight to penetrate through.

Milk Jug “Cloche”

Cloches are small protective covers usually made of glass or rigid plastic that can be placed over plants like a miniature greenhouse to protect them from frost, cold, wind, and pests; they keep plants a little warmer during cold weather. In my blog post on winter sowing, I shared how to turn an empty milk jug into a cloche for seed starting.

I use them to germinate seeds faster than seeds sown directly in the garden would germinate. This method works great for seeds that need cold stratification, extends my spring growing season, and eliminates the extra work of starting seeds indoors, potting them up, hardening off seedlings, and then transplanting them in the garden.

Cold Frames

A cold frame is simply a bottomless box with a transparent, slanted lid placed over garden plants to protect them from cold temperatures. It traps heat inside, lets sunlight in, and protects plants and soil from harsh winter weather conditions.

Growing lettuce through the winter in my raised garden beds has been a mission of mine. Winters can get as cold as 0°F where I live, with lots of snowfall, but with a DIY cold frame and the power of the sun, I can harvest lettuce and greens throughout the winter.

Low Tunnels

Low tunnels (or caterpillar tunnels) are exactly what they sound like: short, temporary structures that create a tunnel over a garden bed or row. They are a popular choice for gardening in the winter because they trap heat and effectively protect crops from the elements.

You can build your own low tunnel using hoops made of PVC or metal, covered in plastic. MIgardener also sells the All-Metal Caterpillar Tunnel kit, which combines the simplicity of traditional caterpillar tunnels with the durability of a hoop house.

Hoop Houses, High Tunnels & Greenhouses

Building a hoop house, high tunnel, or a heated greenhouse is the ultimate solution for cold-weather gardening- if you can fit one in your space and budget. A hoop house, or high tunnel, is a semi-permanent greenhouse structure used to protect crops that are growing in an in-ground garden, while greenhouses are generally permanent, heatable, and often have benches or raised beds to grow in.

Check out the MIgardener store to find a variety of high-quality hoop house and greenhouse kits that will fit a wide range of budgets. Then use our free resources to learn about greenhouse gardening and how to heat a greenhouse.

Cold Hardy Vegetables

These hardy crops are great choices for cold-weather growing in your cloche, cold frame, or hoop house:

What grows in winter?

Cold hardy crops, like the ones listed above, don’t necessarily keep growing through the winter, but they can survive in winter weather, allowing you to harvest them for fresh eating throughout the season.

What can grow indoors during the winter?

Lettuce and herbs are good choices to grow indoors in the winter. They usually only need a pot of soil and a sunny window.

Should you water the garden in the winter?

Plants need water, however when it is super cold plants don’t take up as much water as they would in the summer. I water our garden only if there is no snow and the soil is thawing, because this can cause tender root tips to dry and cause damage. Watch this video on watering the garden in winter to learn more.