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Posted on: December 3, 2007

Getting To The Root Of It All

Continue your harvest well into the winter with delicious root vegetables that are strong enough to withstand even the harshest of elements. From beets to parsnips to the sweetest carrots your garden can produce, root veggies are a great seasonal standby

By Bev Bennett
CTW Features

Root veggies can brighten up your winter harvest - just plan (and plant) ahead)! Image courtesy stock.xchng

Long after the delicate lettuce goes to seed and well past the tomato season, some gardeners are still harvesting vegetables. Anyone who plants root vegetables, including carrots, parsnips and beets, can look forward to backyard crops well into the first winter snowfall. Unlike typical vegetables that die with the first frost, root vegetables thrive and provide a special treat for the patient gardener. "The carrots you dig up in the middle of winter are the sweetest. So are the parsnips," says Vermont-based garden expert Edward C. Smith.

Although root vegetables don't continue to grow in late fall or early winter because of a lack of sun, the plants do undergo a transformation, say garden experts. Carrots and parsnips change their starch to sugar to prevent ice crystals from forming inside the plant cells, according to Smith, author of "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" (Storey Publishing, 2000).

You can keep beets, carrots and potatoes in the ground until December if you cover the plot with dirt and a layer of straw, says Terry Nennich, University of Minnesota Extension horticulture educator.

But unlike carrots, parsnips, beets and rutabagas, radishes should be pulled as soon they've grown to an edible size. Radishes develop a strong taste if left in the ground too long.

"Some farmers pull up their parsnips in the spring," says Nennich. Smith lets his root vegetables linger in snow-covered soil using a fiberglass fence post to mark the bed so he can find his crops.

If you'd prefer to dig up root vegetables and bring them indoors, choose a storage space with high humidity and temperatures ranging from 32 to 35 degrees, Nennich says, because higher temperatures will lead to reduced storage time.

Tempting though it is to wash vegetables, keep them dirt covered until you're ready to prepare them. "You may break the skin even if you can't see it and then white mold sets in, infecting the vegetable," Nennich says.

Winter Harvest Tips

If having a winter harvest appeals to you, here are some tips to keep in mind. Plant root vegetables late July or the beginning of August for early winter harvesting. Carrots can be tricky to grow. "The number one mistake people make is planting carrots too thick. Carrots need a lot of space; otherwise they can't get big," says Terry Nennich, University of Minnesota Extension horticulture educator. The tasty root vegetable is also prone to insect infestation. Earwigs, for example, feast on carrot seedlings. Gardening author Edward C. Smith recommends growing carrots in containers, not the ground. "Earwigs don't seem to bother container plants," says Smith, author of "Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers" (Storey Publishing, 2006).