Which Common Vegetables Are Suitable for Planting in Winter? A Detailed Guide to Growing Methods

Vegetables are one of the essential foods in people's daily diet, and basically every household eats them every day. So, what are the common vegetables? How do you grow them? Which ones can be planted in winter? Here we introduce the growing methods for several common vegetables and the vegetable varieties that can be planted in winter.

1. What are the common vegetables?

Common vegetables include Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, celery, carrot, white radish, red radish, eggplant, cilantro, cucumber, pumpkin, bitter melon, yardlong bean, pea, Chinese chives, onion, garlic, celtuce, spinach, cabbage, lettuce, potato, amaranth, and bok choy. Here we briefly introduce a few of these vegetables.

1. Chinese cabbage: It is a cruciferous vegetable and a major vegetable in Northeast and North China in winter and spring. It can be eaten raw, stir-fried, salted, or pickled in soy sauce. Its nutritional value is quite high, and it is a regular on the dining table, with sayings like “winter cabbage is as beautiful as bamboo shoots” and “no vegetable beats cabbage.”

2. Celery: It is an umbelliferous vegetable native to the marshy areas along the Mediterranean coast. Cultivation in China began in the Han Dynasty. It is used both as food and as medicine, and can be stir-fried, served as a cold dish, or used as dumpling filling. Eating it regularly is very helpful for preventing high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis.

3. Carrot: It is an umbelliferous vegetable introduced to China around the 13th century. Its root is eaten as a vegetable and can be served as a cold dish or stir-fried. It is crisp, tasty, and nutritious, and has long been known as the “little ginseng.” Eating two a day can lower blood cholesterol by 10%-20%, and eating three a day helps prevent heart disease and tumors.

2. How are vegetables grown?

Here we mainly introduce the growing methods for the 3 vegetables mentioned above.

1. Growing methods for Chinese cabbage

(1) Sowing: It can be direct-sown or raised as seedlings for transplanting. Direct sowing is generally used, mainly in rows, with spot sowing as a supplement. Before sowing, the soil should be finely broken up and leveled. After sowing, apply decomposed human manure and urine, and cover the ground accordingly, then water once each morning and evening. Seedlings emerge in 3-4 days. When the seedlings grow to 2-3 leaves and 5-6 leaves, thin them out, and finally leave 1 strong seedling per hole.

(2) Fertilizing: Before entering the rosette stage, apply 15% decomposed human manure and urine once every 3-4 days; after entering the rosette stage, apply 30% decomposed human manure and urine once every 5-7 days; after heading begins, apply a heavy topdressing and increase potassium fertilizer; after the plants close the rows, generally no more topdressing is applied. To make topdressing easier, loosen the soil and weed in the early stage, and earth up in the middle stage.

(3) Watering: During the seedling stage, water lightly and frequently to keep it moist. During the rosette stage, water intermittently, keeping it dry-then-wet. During head formation, the water requirement is relatively high. When the soil is dry, furrow irrigation can be used, but do not let water accumulate.

2. Growing methods for celery

(1) Timing: It can be cultivated in spring and autumn. Because celery seedlings are relatively difficult to emerge, choose a seedling bed with higher terrain, convenient drainage and irrigation, loose soil, and fertile sandy loam. For spring, raise seedlings in a greenhouse in January to February; for autumn, raise seedlings in the open field from mid-June to early July.

(2) Sowing: 7-8 days before sowing, soak the seeds to promote germination, and sow once the seeds show sprouts. The wet sowing method is mostly used, that is, first water the base, and after the water seeps in, mix the seeds with sand and broadcast them. After sowing, cover with a thin and even layer of soil, and water lightly once in the morning and evening every 1-2 days until the seedlings are fully emerged.

(3) Management: Thin and transplant seedlings appropriately, weed, and cultivate. Strengthen fertilizer and water management, promptly prevent and control pests and diseases, and prevent drought, insufficient fertilizer, and seedling stunting.

3. Growing methods for carrot

(1) Timing: Sow as long as the temperature stably passes 13°C. Choose loam or sandy loam with deep soil layers, rich in humus, and convenient water sources.

(2) Sowing: Sun the seeds for 1-2 days before sowing, then soak them in warm water to promote germination, and sow when most seeds show white sprouts. After sowing, cover the seeds with 1.50 cm of fine soil, press it firm with your foot, and then cover the bed surface with wheat straw.

(3) Management: After emergence, remove the covering. If hot and dry weather occurs, sprinkle water to moisten the soil in the early morning or evening; thin the seedlings at the 4-5 leaf stage; if there are many weeds, weed; fertilize at the right time and prevent pests and diseases.

3. Which vegetables can be planted in winter?

1. Spinach: This is a vegetable with particularly strong cold tolerance, and its low-temperature tolerance is comparable to that of winter wheat.

2. Cilantro: Cilantro is a cold-tolerant vegetable that prefers cool conditions. It can be used both as a dish and as a seasoning.

3. White radish and red radish: Their cold tolerance is relatively strong. Even if the temperature drops to around 5°C, it will not affect the development of the radish root.

4. Garlic: It is a vegetable that can only be planted in autumn and winter. Its germination temperature can be as low as 3°C, and it is suitable for open-field cultivation in winter in the south.

5. Chinese chives: Their cold tolerance is relatively strong. They can still survive at minus 5°C and continue to grow at 10°C.

Summary: There are many kinds of vegetables. This article mainly introduces the growing methods for Chinese cabbage, celery, and carrot. In addition, this article also introduces several vegetables that can be planted in winter, so gardening friends can grow them in their own yards to eat.