Fall, Mid-Winter & Over-Wintering varieties for the PNW (OP, OG, locally bred/grown seed is preferred). V.2.13 June 2006			Corrections and feedback please, to Nick Routledge, School Garden Project Nursery, Springfield, OR, fellowservant@yahoo.com
Crop	Sow	Eat	Variety, Sources and Comments
Arugula	Aug 15- Sept 15	F, W, ES	Even Star (FC), Sylvetta (FC). One of the easiest crops to grow and consistently one of the most popular greens in the winter garden.
Asian Greens and Vegetables		F, W, ES	Scores of winter hardy Asian vegetables and greens remain unknown/untested hereabouts. PNW Asian gardeners have a story to tell. Kitazawa Seed Company (KT) with a remarkably well-designed website, specializes. Sow Joi Choi Pac Choi (Terr) beg-August; Tatsoi/Tah Tsai (AL) mid-Aug; Kyoto Mizuna (Terr) end-August. Openapa (PS) is a locally-bred OP chinese cabbage.
Beets	Jun 15 - Jul 15	F, W, ES	Feuer Kugel (TT), Lutz Greenleaf aka Winterkeeper (TT) (Terr), Cylindra or Formanova (BC) (FC). Chioggia (Terr) and others will hold through mild winters. You can start beets on the early side - they will be larger but will tend to get a little woody - cylindrical beets tend to stay tender longer. Golden beets can be slower to germ.
Fall Broccoli	Jun 15 - Jul 15	F	Cold season broccolis don't handle the ravages of mid-winter well. Instead they are grown for Fall and Spring (over-winter) harvest. We have been reduced to the merest handful of reliable OP Fall broccolis - the economic drift toward hybrids has hit broccoli hard. Switch seeding from Summer to Fall varieties by mid-June. Nutribud (PS) (SOC), Umpqua (Terr) (SPC), Romanesco (PS), Waltham 29 (HM), Early Green (SOC), Calabrese (SOC), De Cicco (SOC).
Sprouting or Overwintering Broccoli	Jun - Jul 15	Jan - May	The British refer to what we call 'broccoli' (summer and fall varieties) as 'calabrese.' Instead, 'broccoli' has always been the name they reserve for sprouting/overwintering varieties, a very different type of broccoli, and almost completely overlooked hereabouts, which has long been been a mainstay of European winter gardens - maturing during the 'hungriest' period of the winter season, from the New Year into late Spring. The only varieties commonly available in the US are Rudolph Extra Early Sprouting (Terr) which will crop around December, Purple Sprouting (Terr) and White Sprouting (BG). But many others exist to fill the harvest gaps throughout the Dec - late May timeframe. For backyard gardeners not interested in a UK treasure hunt, PSR material, West Fork Wild (PSR), Spring Royalty (PSR), The Party 2001 (PSR) Spring Green Mix (PSR) and the Territorial blend of sprouting broccolis hold the best promise for a one-stop spread. For those zeroing in on specifics, try Nine Star Perennial (OC) (TM), Red Arrow (ET), Cardinal (ET), Early White (ET), Late Purple (OC). These are big plants in the ground for the better part of a year, even without taking them to seed: prepare your garden plans accordingly.
Brussels Sprouts	Late Apr - mid-Jun	W	Varieties are usually categorized according to the part of the winter in which they mature sprouts - early, mid and late. Seven Hills - mid (BG), Long Island Improved (PSR) (SPC), Bedford Series - late (ST), Noisette - mid (ET), Half Tall - early (OC), Darkmar - mid (OC), Hilds Ideal (GS), Evesham Special (GS), Groninger (FC), De Rosny (KP).
Burdock	Spring	F, W, S	Takinogawa Long (TT) and others (KT). Sow in Spring, then again in late June for a round of smaller roots that are easier to dig.
Fall Cabbage		F	Stein's Late Flat Dutch (Terr), Danish Ballhead (Terr)
Overwintering Cabbage	May - Jun	W, S	A very important winter crop. Some especially hardy varieties are bred to make it through the harshest winters - surviving being frozen solid for weeks at a time, without blinking. In most climates colder than ours, 'storage' cabbages are traditionally 'lifted' in October and stored in high humidity, for up to six months. Hereabouts, we can leave them in the ground. Savoy cabbages are recognized by their curly often bluish leaves and tend to be very hardy - Wivoy, one of the hardiest. January King series (Terr) (BG) (GS) (ST), Winter Furst (TT), Vertus Savoy (GS) (OC), Red Drumhead (BG), Vorbote 3 (GS), Savoy Di Piacenza Invernale (GS), Savoy of Mantovano (GS), Dauerwirsing (KP), April (ST), Offenham Series (GS) (ST), Ormskirk (ST), Wheelers Imperial (ST), Christmas Drumhead (OC), Holland Late Winter (NN), Wintergreen (NN)
Cauliflower	Jun - Jul 15	W, S	Cauliflowers are a very happy winter crop, even as they can be fussy to establish - this is a young plant you never want to stress either in flats or in the ground. Most varieties available here come from the UK. Because open-pollinated cauliflowers are particularly threatened just now by the drift to hybrids, and because overwintering cauliflowers, those requiring vernalization, are especially difficult to breed, we face the prospect of the wholesale loss of this OP food crop. Secure UK material in depth where possible. Many varieties are not made available to gardeners, but roundabout ways do exist for intrepid hunters to secure them. To hand, we have Galleon (Terr), Maystar (Terr), Purple Cape (BG) (Terr), Veitch's Self-Protecting (BG), Snowball (BG), Walcheen Winter (GS), Wainfleet (OC), Celebrity (OC), Napoletano Marzatico (GS), Prestige (DB), Evita (DB), Aalsmeer (NN). Territorial is attempting to growout and reintroduce the OP Armado series (dropped by their supplier) over forthcoming seasons.
Carrot	Jul - Sept	W, S	No winter hardy breeding work has been done for carrots, Stateside, in a very long time. Many of our carrots will stumble on through a winter, however, even as they can decline markedly as Spring progresses. Red Cored Chantenay (FC) is perhaps our best US bet. We have had modest success locally with Royal Chantenay (Terr) and Autumn King (Terr) in mild winters. Camberly (BG), James Scarlet Intermediate (BG), St. Valery (BG) and Yellowstone (AL), a yellow carrot, may hold promise, as does Top Weight (TT) an old English heirloom. Merida (Terr) is a winter-hardy hybrid. More local growouts, and research into European varieties are urgently needed. In my experience locally, cultivated carrots flower a full month before wild carrot, significantly reducing the oft-touted 'difficulties' of closing the cycle hereabouts. To improve recognition of off-types, perhaps avoid saving seed from white carrot varieties such as Kuttiger (Terr). Sowing seed earlier means eating bigger carrots.
Corn Salad	Sept	W	Vit (AL), Verte de Cambrai (FC) (KP),Coquille de Louviers (KP), d'Etampes (KP), Large-leaf Round (FC). Takes a long time to germ and appears to enjoy the shade of a nurse crop. Succession sowings late August through April will gift a harvest winter through Spring.
Chicory	Jul - Aug	F, W, ES	Early Treviso (WG), Palla Rossa (WG), Wild Garden (WG). Chicories are generally not bothered by the cold. Many varieties will bolt if seeded on the early side. Not these.
Cilantro	Jul - Aug	W	Standby (PSR). A contribution to the winter diet that is raved about by those who include it.
Collards	Jul	F, W, ES	Cascade Glaze (PS) is one of the tastiest leaf brassicas yet developed. Champion (WG) is locally reselected from the original Vates strain. Collards don't appear as hardy as kales but unless you're gardening in an open field smack dab in the middle of the I-5 corridor into dry winds and freezing temperatures, you're probably unlikely to notice. Plants will happily weather long periods of freezing temperatures only to succumb in a matter of 2-3 hours to a dessicating dry wind. Protect all winter crops from the wind as best you can.
Cress - Upland	Jul - Aug	W	Belle Isle Upland Cress (WG). Not watercress, but upland cress. Never freezes and a super-nutritious self-sower.
Favas	Sep - Oct	LS	Aprovecho Select (PGS), Aquadulce (Terr), Sweet Lorane (Terr), Broad Windsor (Terr). This bioregion, until recently a world center for fava breeding and research has lost all major commerical lines it was stewarding. The UK has 'broad bean' material in depth (OC) (ST).
Garlic	Sep 15 - Nov 15	Jul	Ideally sown in October. If you miss the window, sow Jan - Feb
Siberian/Russian Kale	Jun - Aug 15	F, W, ES	No greater concentration of OG kale breeding expertise exists in the English-speaking world than in Oregon. We are particularly strong around Siberian and Russian lines. This most space-efficient of food crops, highly nutritious and allowing repeated harvests, is the backbone of most winter gardens. It is the easiest winter brassica to grow, far more forgiving of fertility requirements than cabbage and cauliflower, for example - and better suited to montane soils off the valley floor than any other brassica. Western Front (PSR) (BG), White Russian (WG), Red Russian (PS), Winter Red (Terr), True Siberian (PS), Red Ursa (WG), Gulag Stars (PSR), Budget Cuts (PSR), Improved Dwarf Siberian (Terr), Wild Garden Mix (WG) rank as some of the finest food crops, of any type, in the world. The taste of kale sweetens markedly as the weather 'worsens.'
European/Scotch Kale	Jun - Aug 15	F,W, ES	Lacinato Rainbow (WG), Lacinato/Dinosaur/Nero Di Toscana/Palm Tree (Terr) (WG), Pentland Brig (BG), Oregreen Curled (PS), Grunkohl (GS), Squire (HM), Cottagers (OC), Westland Winter (OC). Pentland Brig, especially, has a tendency to perennialize. Kales can be started later than the other brassicas but won't get big from an August sowing. Err on an earlier seeding, especially because kale does not like early setbacks such as heavy slug pressure not unknown in home gardens on planting out. Remember to 'overplant' numbers so that you have plenty to eat during the refridgerator months of Nov-Jan when growth slows/stops. Expect a bonanza in the Spring. Try sowing a variety of kales: there exist a whole range of tastes/colors/textures/bolting times etc. Eat the feast of flowering sprouts (kale raab) as the plants bolt in the Spring.
Kohlrabi	Jul	W	Gigante aka Superschmelz (Terr), Kolibri (Terr), Kongo (Terr)
Leeks	Mar - May 15	F, W, S	Siegfried (AL), Giant Musselburgh (Terr), The Lyon (BG), Scotland (SOC), Winter Giant (SOC), Bandit (OC) St. Victor (OC), Giant Carentan (TT), Blau Gruner (TT) and many others. We are rich in winter-hardy varieties of this food crop.
Lettuce	Aug - Nov depending on variety and harvest-timing	F, W, S	Contrary to received opinion, growing lettuce outside through winters can work very well hereabouts. But varietal choice is critical. The darkest red lettuces seem to fend off the cold and disease better than other varieties (the anthocyanins covering both bases?). Lettuces fall to disease more than the cold, it seems. Experiment with different varieties and timing, making succession sowings early August through November, then January onwards (growth stops by Thanksgiving). A beginner's rule: for outdoor varieties, sow early August; for greenhouses, late August to beginning October. Merlot aka Galactic (WG), Hyper Red Rumple Waved (WG), Outredgeous (WG), Reine de Glaces (WG), Redder Ruffles Oak (WG), Winter Density (WG), North Pole (TT), Red Tinged Winter (TT) Brune d'Hiver (FC) (KP), Rouge d'Hiver (FC), Continuity aka Merveille des 4 Saisons (Terr), Valdor (OC). De Verrieres (KP), Baquieu (KP), Rougette de Montpelier (KP), De Russie (KP), De Tremont (KP), Wunder (KP), Sandrina (KP), Passion Blonde (KP), Hercules (KP), Saint Jean l'Agneau (KP), Saint Antoine (KP), De Hongrie (KP), Bourguignonne (KP). For greenhouses: Kweik (WG)
Miner's Lettuce	Aug	W, S	(AL) A North-American native. Very cold tolerant. Regrows for repeated harvest.
Mustards (Brassica juncea)	Aug	F, W, S	Although seed catalogs differ confusingly in their classifications of mustards and greens, there is no doubt that much winter hardiness is to be found here. In the winter, mustards lose much of the 'heat' that typifies their summer taste and, of course, lose it with cooking, too. Sow at the beginning of August for a Fall crop, then every two weeks through the Equinox and you'll have food October through March. With a little protection, even the tender mustards will make it through. Mild Kingdom (BG), Osaka Purple (AL), Giant Red (Terr), Green-in-Snow (KT), Southern Giant Curled (BG), Purple Wave (SOC). Green Wave (WG) is very hardy but occasionally, unpredictably, bolts with an August sowing.
Mustards (Brassica rapa)	Aug	F, W, S	Great Wave Miike (WG), Mizspoona (SOC), Mizspoona Salad Select (WG), Pink Petiole (WG), Mizspoona Salad Select (WG).
Parsnip	May - Jun	F, W, S	Cobham Improved Marrow (Terr), Survivor (PSR), Andover (FC), Harris Model (PSR) (C) and others. Sow again in mid-July for a round of smaller roots that are easier to dig.
Perennial collards/kales	Feb - Jul	F, W	Two varieties of perennial collard/kale exist locally. Seed is not commerically available. Find seed or cuttings at local Eugene-Springfield Permaculture Guild seedswaps.
Radish	Jul - Sept 15	F, W	China Rose (GS), Black Spanish Round (GS), Hilds Blauer (GS), Rex (GS), Neckarruhn Red (GS), Daikon types (KT), Mantanghong (ST), Mino Early (ST)
Rutabaga	Apr - Jun	F, W	Mary (PSR), Marian (OC), Angela (OC), Willemsburger (OC), Airlie (ET), Ruby (ST), Joan (SOC)
Spinach	Aug - Sept 15	F, W, S	Giant Winter Spinach (AL) aka Giant Invierno (GS), Winter Bloomsdale Spinach (WP). Perhaps no OP winter crop has suffered so greatly at the hands of commercial breeding trends in recent years, than spinach. Spinach does very well as a Fall crop but getting it through to the other side of winter, outside, hereabouts, unsmashed, is difficult. For now, this crop does better under cover. More research into European varieties is urgently needed. Danish material may hold the greatest promise.
Swiss Chard	Jun - Aug 15	W, S	If you want big plants for the winter, sow in Spring/Summer, not in the Fall. Red chards seem hardiest, with white, then golden types more susceptible to the ravages of winter. However, red types have a greater tendency to bolt from a May/June sowing. Chards and beet greens will, in general, struggle with the summer heat. Geneva, a smooth-leaved variety (which doesn't collect mud) out of Switzerland is particularly winter hardy and is very difficult to find. Fordhook Giant (Terr), Dorat (HB) (GG), Magenta Sunrise (J), Rhubarb Supreme (KG). We are low in red chard diversity to work with.
Turnip	Aug	W, S	Purple Top White Globe (AL) (PSR) , Golden Ball (Terr), Manchester Market, Noir d'Hiver (OC). A traditional mainstay of northern European winter cropping, we have very little local experience with this crop. Again, a crop that has been grown and 'lifted' for winter storage, like cabbages. Sowing in August will give you large turnips from mid-winter on (Europeans may sow earlier to lift, but large turnips going into the Fall have a tendency to rot). The Asians have done much work with turnips to make them milder in taste (KT), though all are mild when grown into Fall weather. We know very little about the wealth of varieties still available in Europe.
Weeds and others			Dandelion, wild and cultivated (Terr), Nettles, Bittercress, and Chickweed (WG) especially, are primary consitutents in the very early Spring-and-onwards diets of local deep gardeners. The best monograph on Chickweed is to be found in Susun Weed's 'Healing Wise'. Harvest the tops of baby nettles; they will regrow. Bittercress (Cardamine oligosperma) is a small plant, but grows in clusters, allowing harvest in edible quantities.
Key			F = Fall, W = Mid-winter, ES = Early Spring, LS = thru Late Spring
Sources			Ordering in the USA: AL = Abundant Life, BC = Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, BG = Bountiful Gardens, GG = Gourmet Gardener, GS = Gourmet Seed International, HM = HIgh Mowing, HB = Horus Botanicals, J = Johnny’s, KT = Kitazawa Seed Company, KG = Kitchen Garden Seeds, PS = Peace Seeds Corvallis, PSR = Peters Seed & Research, PGS = Prairie Garden Seeds, SPC = Sandhill Preservation Center, SOC = Seeds of Change, Terr = Territorial Seed, TT = Turtle Tree Seed, WG = Wild Garden Seed, WP = Wood Prairie Farm. Ordering from the UK: ST = Suttons Seeds , OC = The Organic Gardening Catalog, TM = Thomson & Morgan, DB = Dobie’s Garden, ET = Edwin Tucker, NN = Nicky’s Seeds. Ordering from France: Seeds of Kokopelli (KP)