Winter-Harvest Planting Dates

Winter Growing Guide

Staggered sowings, timed with this chart, keep winter greens and roots coming without a gap.

Using the chart

For each crop the chart gives a sowing window, counted in weeks before the Persephone Period starts: that is, the last day before the winter solstice with 10 hours of daylight.
To find your sowing dates, start at the last 10-hour day for your latitude by the number of weeks shown. (To find when your days drop to 10 hours, try a almanac or an app like Sundial • Solar & Lunar Times or SunriseSunset.)
Crops are ranked in tiers, as shown in the KEY , by how reliably they produce in winter, from fairly easy to more difficult, based on advice from experienced four-season growers in northern latitudes.
Click on the crop names to browse varieties selected for winter-harvest success.

Planting dates for winter-harvest crops

Kale (full size)	✔			15	14	13
Tatsoi (full size)	✔									9	8
Spinach (full size)	✔	✔									8	7
Claytonia (full size)		✔									8	7
Kale (baby leaf)		✔										7	6
Spinach (baby leaf)		✔											6	5
Baby Leaf Brassicas		✔											6	5

Chicory (Cichorium intybus)	✔	✔	16	15	14	13
Pac Choi (full size)	✔								10	9	8
Cilantro (full size)		✔							10	9	8
Cilantro (baby leaf)		✔										7	6
Broccoli Raab*	✔	✔								9	8		6	5
Choi Sum*	✔	✔								9	8		6	5
Wild Arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)		✔								9	8
Salad Arugula (Eruca sativa)		✔											6	5
Mizuna (baby leaf)		✔												5	4

Carrots		✔				13	12
Bunching onions (scallions)	✔					13	12
Lettuce (full size)	✔							11	10
Swiss Chard (full size)	✔	✔							10	9
Turnips		✔							10	9
Lettuce (baby leaf)		✔										7	6
Swiss Chard (baby leaf)		✔										7	6
Radishes		✔										7	6	5

Mâche		✔								9	8

Sow according to this chart to keep winter harvests going. Every number is the count of weeks before the last 10-hour day at your latitude (the start of the Persephone Period). The key groups the crops by how dependably they yield through winter. Select a crop name for varieties suited to winter harvest.
TIER 1	Easiest: kale, tatsoi, spinach, claytonia and baby-leaf brassicas
TIER 2	Fairly reliable: chicory, pac choi, cilantro, broccoli raab, choi sum, arugula and mizuna
TIER 3	Most challenging: carrots, bunching onions, lettuce, chard, turnips and radishes
WHEN TO SOW	4–16 = number of weeks before the last 10-hour day
* For a winter crop, sow broccoli raab and choi sum for transplants 8–9 weeks before the last 10-hour day, or sow them directly 5–6 weeks before it.