The Best Vegetables To Grow In The Northern Garden

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We are commonly asked what the “best vegetables” are for the northern garden.

We figure that means a lot of people are interested in this topic, so let’s dive in!

In this article, we’ll discuss what makes for a “good” northern vegetable, those that will grow most successfully in northern climates.

We’ll also get into the detail of why that is and various other related topics!

Can You Give Me “The Best” Specific Varieties As Examples?

Here’s what we’ll say about this.  All of these plants, regardless of the variety chosen, will grow reasonably well in the northern garden.

The variety isn’t what is important in this case.  What’s important is the genus, or the type of vegetable that we’re talking about.  It’s the evolutionary history of the plant, not the specific breed of plant that matters.

We’ll get into the nuts and bolts a bit more, but what makes these plants exceptional for cold climate growing is that evolutionary history.

Let’s say you take three different varieties of, say, broccoli.  One might produce a head a bit faster, one might produce loosely packed florets and one might produce a thick, dense head.

All of these produced broccoli.  But, the outcome of the variety is subjective.  You might want that early head, florets or a nice dense head.  The “best” is a subjective opinion.

You might want a purple cabbage, but if we only recommend green cabbage?  What then?

The point we’re trying to make here is that the variety is a subjective thing, but the genus (or type) is objective in how it will respond to growing in a northern garden.

Are there “bad” genetics out there?  Certainly!  However, it’s not the variety that determines this.  It’s more often the breeder, growing conditions, disease, original plant health and many other factors that determine the quality of genetics.

Why Are Some Veggies Better For Cooler Climates?

As for the technical reasons behind cold tolerance, much of it has to do with the evolutionary process of that particular crop, plant or flower.

What gardeners refer to as “cool season crops” generally have evolutionary advantages in colder climates.  The plant’s enzymes and biological processes have adapted to be more efficient operation in cooler air and cooler soils.

In warmer temperatures, these plants tend to grow less efficiently.  This slows processes down, such as nutrient uptake and photosynthesis.

In fact, many of these so called “cool season crops” use heat as their “trigger” for flowering, such as cauliflower, broccoli and lettuce.

In addition, many cold tolerant plants will use their energy to convert starches into sugars during periods of cold.  Sugar water freezes at a lower temperature than water alone.

This conversion allows these plants to fare better against freezing temperatures.  In gardening, this topic is called frost tolerance.

That frost tolerance allows for things like transplanting earlier in the season and also growing these plants later in the season.  We’re less concerned when temperatures get into the “freezing range” as these plants have natural defenses.

Plants that are not inherently cold tolerant do not have these same protections.  Freezing temperatures will often destroy them, at a cellular level.

Temperature & Vegetable Taste

Beyond just the flowering process, temperature can also play a role in the taste of your grown produce.

In the flowering discussion, we mentioned that there is a physiological response to temperature.  Well, that can also affect taste.

Sometimes, those various flowering enzymes will cause your produce to taste measurably worse.  For example, lettuce will become bitter.  Radish will become woody and dry.

Furthermore, the biological process for frost tolerance can also benefit taste.  As mentioned above, the plant can convert starches to sugars to increase their frost tolerance.

Well, that can result in objectively better tasting produce!

For example, when we allow kale, carrot and many frost tolerant veggies to experience cold, they will become sweeter due to that sugar production.  We often harvest these plants late in the season, well after a few frosts, for this reason!

This can also happen with crops like potatoes, but that would be undesirable.  For the most part, growers don’t want their potatoes to be too sweet!

Temperature & Seed Dormancy

We have a much more in-depth article on this topic, but temperature can often play a critical role in the dormancy of seeds.

Seed dormancy is a necessary process that prevents seeds from germinating into adverse conditions.  A good example is germination right before winter.

Some seeds have developed what is known as dormancy, requiring cold temperatures to “wake up” the seed to initiate germination.  This process can be simulated through a process called cold stratification.

When the seed experiences a period of cold, it’s not unlike the seed experiencing a winter.  Thus, when the cold stops, presumably it is met by the appropriate season of spring.

The northern grower can infer that any seed that requires cold stratification is also likely ideal for a northern habitat.

How To Focus The Northern Garden

In this article, we’ve discussed many of those plants that generally favor cooler temperatures.  In our estimation, it’s a good idea to work with your climate as opposed to against it!

When you look at the list of cold climate friendly crops, there’s quite a few good ones.

We tend to think of growing in a colder climate as an advantage.  Given that our peak summer temperatures are often below the common flowering triggers, we can be quite successful with many crops!

In fact, in warmer climates, growing things like brassicas, carrots, garlic, onions and countless others can be a real challenge.  These crops must be moved to shoulder seasons, like spring and fall.

But, as we said above, this isn’t a strict limitation.  The northern grower certainly can get into many other crops!

It does often help to aid those plants using various techniques that warm both the soil and sometimes the ambient air temperatures.

While we’re dealing with generalities here, the specifics are often learned through experience.  We encourage the northern grower to try things, observing how temperature plays a role.