November might be late in the year, but you may be surprised at the vegetables you can still grow. You can choose between quick-cropping vegetables and cold-hardy varieties, but it all depends on your location and USDA hardiness zone.

Having managed community and kitchen gardens for nearly 20 years, I have grown all manner of vegetables to provide a year-round supply. However, in colder areas, growing under the protection of an unheated greenhouse or row covers becomes essential.

In some areas, winters can be unforgiving and blighted by frost, snow and gales. But with some planning, skeletal trees, topiary, and exposed seed heads can create a striking winter garden and add interest even in the harshest weather. However, from my experience, gardening with cold hands can be miserable, and a pair of winter work gloves (available from Amazon) can make all the difference.

Prized for its pink stems, rhubarb ( x ) is easy to grow and a great addition to a kitchen garden. It grows from crowns under the soil and is a perennial that can last 10-15 years, if looked after well.

Used in crumbles, pies and compotes, you can harvest rhubarb stems from late April until early July, after which it should be allowed to recover. You can grow rhubarb from seed, but planting rhubarb crowns is a more reliable method and will produce harvestable plants more quickly.

Rhubarb crowns are planted whilse dormant from fall until the spring and can be planted at any time as long as the ground is not frozen. Which, depending on your location, makes rhubarb an ideal vegetable to sow in November.

Rhubarb 'Victoria' crowns are available to purchase from Amazon.

Rocket ( subsp. ), also known as arugula, is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and, depending on your USDA zone, is suitbale for fall sowing, as it tends to bolt in hot weather.

Under the right conditions, arugula germinates within a week, and its young, tender leaves can be picked around 4 to 6 weeks after sowing.

However, sowing arugula in November needs some consideration. In USDA Zones 8 and above, it can generally tolerate winter conditions with little or no protection from the cold. In colder areas and frost pockets, you will need to protect rocket with row covers, available from Lowe’s, or grow it in an unheated hoop house or greenhouse.

You can purchase arugula seeds from True Leaf Market.

Although November is a busy time for planting onion sets, it is also a good time to sow shallots ( Aggregatum Group). Developing smaller bulbs than onions, shallots have a sweeter, less pungent taste, which makes them ideal for adding raw to a salad or using to flavor a delicate sauce.

As with onions, you can grow shallots from seed, but for a shorter time to harvest, you can grow them from sets, available from Amazon to plant now and harvest early next summer.

If your garden is in USDA zone 6 or below and the ground is not frozen, you can plant them now and cover them with a layer of mulch or fleece to protect them from the cold and any birds, who relish pulling them up.

Shallots grow best on a fertile, free-draining soil in full sun. Any areas prone to waterlogging should be avoided as this can encourage the sets to rot, especially over the winter.

Like arugula, peas (Pisum sativum) prefer cooler weather and are typically sown in the spring to crop a few months later. That being said, there are a handful of hardier pea varieties, which can withstand low temperatures and be sown in November for an early harvest next year.

However, for a November sowing in colder parts you will want to choose a hardy round pea variety, such as 'Douce Provence' or ‘Meteor’ rather than wrinkled types, as they are less prone to rotting in wet soil over the winter. While handling the cold well, sowing them 4-6 weeks before the first frost of winter and protecting young shoots from hard freezes and heavy snow with frost cloth or cloches available from Amazon, is advisable.

Developed for impressive yields in cooler climates, pea ‘Oregon Sugar Pod II’ is available to purchase from True Leaf Market.

Another vegetable to sow in November is mizuna (Brassica rapa subsp. ). A Japanese brassica, mizuna produces serrated leaves with a peppery flavor, perfect for adding to salads or stir-fries.

A cool-season mustard, it germinates between 45-80°F, making November an good time for sowing outdoors in warmer parts or in a hoophouse or greenhouse in colder zones. Seedlings appear within 7-10 days, and baby leaves, which are best eaten raw, are harvestable in around a month.

With shallow roots, mizuna is also suitable for growing in containers, whether on a sunny patio or a windowsill.

Organic mizuna seeds are available to purchase from Botanical Interests.

Also called bok choy, pak choi (Brassica rapa var. chinensis) is a type of Chinese cabbage grown for it leaves and stems. Commonly used in stir-fries and soups, baby pak choi leaves can be harvested in as little as 4 weeks from sowing.

With a tendency to bolt over the hottest months, sowing it in the spring and fall provides it with the cooler weather it thrives in.

Tolerating light to moderate frosts, in colder USDA zones, growing pak choi under the cover of a cold frame, available from The Home Depot, or a greenhouse is recommended to protect it from hard freezes.

Known for its impressive cold hardiness, rosette tatsoi bok choy seeds are available to purchase from Botanical Interests.

If the weather is keeping you from gardening outdoors, why not try growing microgreens? Full of flavor and nutrients, microgreens are easy to grow and can be harvested in as little as 7-14 days.

From arugula to mustard and broccoli to bean sprouts, there are many microgreen varieties to choose from, all you need is a seed tray or small container and a clear plastic bag to cover it. Alternatively, you can purchase a microgreens tray kit, available from Amazon.

Microgreens generally germinate and grow best with at least 12 hours of light per day and at 65°F to 75°F. A warm, sunny windowsill is ideal. Alternatively, in locations with fewer daylight hours, you can grow microgreens under grow lights, available to purchase from Lowe’s.

What to Shop

Head to our essential seed sowing kit to find everything you need to grow these cold-hardy crops.

As we approach the colder months, natural food sources for wildlife become more limited and feeding birds in winter is key to supporting your local bird population.

During winter, high-calorie bird food, such as nuts, seeds and suet, helps sustain them and keep them warm, especially when the ground is frozen or covered with snow. But don’t forget to place feeders well out of reach of cats and foxes.

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