SEARCH
MENU
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
Creative & Frugal Home & Garden Ideas

Empress of Dirt

  • Grow
  • Make
  • Ideas

New here?

Dig in!

Start here

16 Garden Vegetables That Sweeten with Frost

September 11, 2019 ♛ By Melissa J. Will

This post contains affiliate links.
Click here for the full disclosure statement.

TwitterFacebookPinterestEmail

This one is not garden folklore! There a number of cool-tolerant vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and kale that become sweeter tasting after frost sets in. Find out how this happens and which ones you should keep in the ground longer for extra deliciousness.

If you want to venture into more cold weather growing, also see How to Grow Vegetables Outdoors in Winter.


Vegetables That Sweeten With Cooler Temperatures

  • Beets
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Cauliflower
  • Celeriac
  • Collard greens
  • Kale
  • Leeks
  • Lettuce
  • Parsnips
  • Radishes
  • Rutabagas
  • Swiss chard
  • Turnips

If you have ever delayed harvesting vegetables in autumn, you probably already know many of them are not only fine to eat but taste even better.

For many veggies, so long as they didn’t freeze, the cool temperatures have improved the sweetness.

I first noticed this with homegrown Brussels sprouts. I had a bunch that were under-sized, so, instead of harvesting them in fall, I left them in the garden.

During a late-winter thaw, I finally picked them and roasted them in the oven (with olive oil and salt—yum!).

That is next level flavor. The sugars caramelize as they roast and it is delicious.

If you are a veggie eater but have never acquired a taste for Brussels sprouts or the other vegetables listed, this is the key. Get post-frost harvests!close



How Vegetables Become Sweeter with Frost

NEW! Click play to listen:

Subscribe to Podcast


As you can see by the list (above), not all vegetables get better with cold conditions.

First, the vegetable needs to be cool-tolerant (not tender) and the fruit (edible part) needs to be mature when the frosts set in.

Tomatoes and other warmth-lovers are sensitive to frost and will freeze and die rather than adapt. But you can ripen some green tomatoes after picking.

But the cool weather veggies are going to improve with the cold.

How It Works

The sweetness of vegetables comes from their sugar content.

Plants create sugars through photosynthesis:

Carbon dioxide is taken from the air, water from the soil, and, powered by sunlight, create sugars.

That sugar is often stored as starch, which is essentially a long chain of glucose.

Even though starch doesn’t taste sweet, that’s really what it is, a big chain of sugar.

When plants experience frost or cold temperatures, that’s a threat.

Ice can form within the plant, in its cells, leading to dehydration and other dangers.

So, plants have developed various responses as part of their acclimation or cold hardening processes, and one of those is to free up some of those sugars stored as starch.

Sugar helps defend against frost damage: these plants will accumulate sugar in response to cold stress.

And, unlike starch, the sugar does taste sweet.

Does growing in cold weather guarantee sweetness?

No. Whether you notice the difference will depend on the vegetable’s traits, your taste buds, and how much sugar has accumulated.

But the odds are, you will enjoy a boost in sweetness.



Growing Vegetables in Fall and Winter

I was first introduced to cold-weather vegetable gardening when I read Niki Jabbour’s book, The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener.


The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener book by Niki Jabbour.

The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener

by Niki Jabbour

Niki lives in Nova Scotia, Canada and grows vegetables year-round.

Find out how to plant, what to use to keep your crops protected, and how to keep harvesting veggies even in a cold climate all year long.

Buy it Here

The goal is to keep your fall and winter veggies protected with covers or cold frames so they can chill without freezing.

If you are new to the idea, it’s a great resource for getting started.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

Next

Carrot seed packets, homemade flour glue, paint brushes, and napkins.
How to Make Seed Tapes for Easier Sowing
DIY Trellis for Climbing Fruits and Veggies
10 Best Vegetables for Sandy Soils
See More >>
16 Garden Vegetables That Sweeten with Frost
TwitterFacebookPinterestEmail

FREE NEWSLETTER

EVERY TWO WEEKS

Creative, frugal home and (mostly) garden ideas in your inbox!



Privacy Policy



Listen to Our Garden Podcast

SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST HERE

Melissa J. Will - Empress of DirtWelcome!
I’m Melissa J. Will
a.k.a. the Empress of Dirt
(Ontario, Canada).
Join me as I share creative + frugal home & garden ideas with a dash of humor.
More: Contact/About
New here? Dig in!  |  Our Podcast

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

Some articles on this site contain affiliate links to Amazon, Etsy, Earthhero, and more. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Affiliate and Ad Disclosure | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Empress of Dirt Creative + Frugal Home & Garden Ideas

Hello. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic.I Accept Read Privacy Notice
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.