16 Best Cold Climate Vegetable Seeds

Living in Montana I always have a short growing season, and some years, I have a REALLY short growing season. This past summer I only got 80 days to grow my garden between hard freezes. These are my best cold climate vegetable varieties we depend on every year. 

Although I have a large collection of heirloom seeds, many of my favorite varieties aren’t dependable in my climate. I still grow those for fun, but dedicate the most garden space to this list of dependable short season vegetable varieties.

 

The Best Cold Climate Vegetable Seeds

1. Wild Garden Siberian Kale
2. Harris Model Parsnip
3. Winter Density Romaine Lettuce
4. Blacktail Mountain Watermelon
5. Jenny Lind Muskmelon
6. Painted Mountain Flour Corn
7. San Marzano Paste Tomato
8. Violet Jasper Salad Tomato
9. Silvery Fir Tree Slicing Tomato
10. Forellenschlauss Romaine Lettuce
11. Benning’s Green Tint Patty Pan Squash
12. Lady Godiva Winter Squash
13. Mini Bell Pepper Mix
14. Bulgarian Carrot Pepper
15. Redventure Celery
16. Chichiquelite Huckleberry

 

 

Disclaimer: this page contains affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

 

You’ll notice that some on this list actually have a “days to maturity” that is longer than my growing season. While days to maturity can give you a better idea of which seeds will have time to mature in your climate, it definitely varies a lot! 

For example, one of the pumpkins on my list of best cold climate vegetable seeds is listed at 105 days to maturity. It always performs better than any other squash in my garden, even in years when we only have 80-90 days between frosts.

If you really want to try growing a particular vegetable variety, don’t worry about the listed days to maturity. Just go for it! You might be pleasantly surprised! But if not, you’ll know not to grow those seeds again unless you can extend the season a bit.

Let’s get started with the 16 best cold climate vegetable varieties!

 

#1 Wild Garden Kale

 

Wild Garden Kale is just, well, amazing. Although I confess that kale isn’t my favorite veggie, or even close to it, nothing beats kale for cold hardiness. That’s why Wild Garden is #1 on my list of best cold climate vegetable seeds!

All kale is cold hardy, but Wild Garden is a little different. It is a Siberian kale, which is actually a different species than most kale varieties on the market. 

Siberian kale isn’t really distinguishable by taste or appearance, but it is definitely hardier! I usually plant Wild Garden in the spring and harvest leaves all summer and fall. In the winter, the kale is usable down to below 0 if covered. If left uncovered, the plants will somewhat die back for winter. 

Covered or not, the kale will spring to life again in the spring, providing a little more harvest time before it finally goes to seed.

Speaking of seed, Siberian kale is unique in that it won’t cross with broccoli or cauliflower like European kale. Another win if you want to save seeds!

I am in zone 5a, where temperatures sometimes reach 20 below zero. Pretty cool that kale can survive that!

You can buy Wild Garden Kale directly from Wild Garden Seed. (here) Last I checked Territorial Seed Company was also offering this unique variety.

 

#2 Harris Model Parsnip

Parsnips are a fantastic cold-hardy crop. Although they take a few months to mature, this resilient root crop can survive -20 temperatures with no problem. 

If you aren’t familiar with parsnips, they are a solid white root crop. Parsnips are shaped just like a carrot, although they usually get a bit bigger. They make a healthy potato substitute, with a unique but mild flavor.

Harris Model is the variety I’ve been growing and saving seeds from for the past 10 years. I plant mine in late spring and start harvesting in the fall. I dig some up for soup throughout winter any time the ground thaws enough. 

Carrots rarely survive the winter uncovered in my area. Parsnips do, making them a really good way to overwinter a crop out in the garden without taking up valuable space in your fridge or cold storage. They are in important crop for short seasons, making them #2 on my list of best cold climate vegetable varieties!

When the weather warms up parsnips left from the year before will bolt and produce seeds. 

They are also a wonderful choice for a wild garden, reseeding themselves every year if you allow them to!

You can find Harris Model seeds at Fedco (here).

 

#3 Winter Density Lettuce

 

Winter Density is a compact green romaine. It’s thicker leaves make it especially cold hardy. 

This tough lettuce is great for extending your season and growing in the fall or spring. I actually grow it all summer and find it’s still pretty good in the heat.

You can buy seeds here at Fedco.

Winter Density is an easy variety to save seeds from. If you want to learn how, check out my blog post: Seed Saving: How to Save Lettuce Seeds!

 

#4 Blacktail Mountain Watermelon

 

Developed in northern Idaho, Blacktail Mountain is the #1 watermelon for short seasons and a must-have on our list of best cold climate vegetable seeds!

The small to midsize fruits have a dark green rind and a lighter red or pink interior. Like all open-pollinated watermelons, Blacktail Mountain does have seeds.

I’ve been growing Blacktail Mountain for about 10 years. Last year, I grew 8 different watermelon varieties. In our record short growing season, Blacktail Mountain was the only kind that actually survived and produced some melons.

Most seed companies now offer this popular variety!

 

#5 Jenny Lind Muskmelon

 

Named after the famous singer, Jenny Lind is a fragrant and flavorful mini muskmelon. In my garden, the melons only reach 5-6” across.

This is one of the fastest maturing melons you can grow, making it perfect for short-season gardening!

 

#6 Painted Mountain Corn

 

Painted Mountain is a colorful Indian corn, bred in Montana. The breeder of this super hardy corn mixed together many different native American corns then selected the earliest maturing plants.

Painted Mountain is one of the most genetically diverse corns in existence. This corn is dependable in marginal climates and is also drought tolerant. It’s one of the best cold climate vegetable seeds!

We use ours for cornmeal. How to Grow Corn for Cornmeal

Many seed companies are now offering Painted Mountain, including Fedco (here) and Baker Creek (here)

 

#7 San Marzano Paste Tomato

 

Although not the earliest producer, San Marzano always gives me the biggest tomato yields of the 20+ different varieties I grow.

Many years, the plants have survived a late frost and still bounce back to produce a bumper crop in late summer.

Even in the worst gardening years, I still get an average of 6lbs per plant from my San Marzanos.

The uniform 4oz fruits are resistant to blossom end rot. They also ripen very well indoors (How to Ripen Green Tomatoes Indoors). The meaty sauce type tomato is fantastic for tomato sauce and ketchup (Easy Homemade Ketchup Recipie with Fresh Tomatoes)!

You can find San Marzano seeds at Baker Creek (here)

 

#8 Violet Jasper Salad Tomato

 

Violet Jasper is a red and green striped salad tomato. This early producer produces boatloads of 2oz fruits and definitely deserves a place in our 16 best cold climate vegetable varieties!

They are great for salads or fresh eating. I throw any extras into my tomato sauce. 

I’ve been growing Violet Jasper since a gardening friend gave me seeds several years ago. They are consistently one of my happiest and most productive varieties, no matter how short the growing season.

You can buy seeds at Baker Creek (here)

 

#9 Silvery Fir Tree Slicing Tomato

 

I’ve been growing Silvery Fir Tree for at least 10 years, probably longer. This uniform red slicing tomato grows on compact determinate plants. It’s one of the best cold climate vegetable seeds in the full size tomato category, often the first to ripen in our garden. 

Silvery Fir is great for container gardens, and for cold climates, ripening early on the vine. The fruits in my garden have been in the 6-8oz range.

You can find Silvery Fir Tree seeds here at Territorial Seeds

 

#10 Forellenschlauss Lettuce

 

Forellenschlauss is a unique green romaine streaked with red and purple. I love its fun color for a summer salad, but it also does well in my climate. 

I sometimes grow 20 or more lettuce varieties, and for years Forellenschlauss has been the most dependable. 

You can find seeds for this fun Austrian heirloom at Fedco (here).

 

#11 Bennings Green Tint Patty Pan Squash

 

Bennings Green Tint is an early maturing open-pollinated summer squash. The scalloped patty pan fruits are pale blue-green. In the open pollinated category it’s one of the best cold climate vegetable varieties I’ve found.

They are heavy producers. We like Bennings in stir frys and baked with coconut oil. Their slightly nutty flavor goes well with fry sauce or peanut sauce. I also use them for zucchini lasagna (Easy Zuchini Lasagna Recipe).

You can find seeds at Fedco (here)

#12 Lady Godiva Squash

 

Lady Godiva is a hulless pumpkin(How to Grow Pumpkin Seeds), famous for its delicious green seeds lacking the tough white hull of other squash varieties. 

The meat is stringy with a texture similar to spaghetti squash. We use it in spaghetti squash recipes or for livestock feed.

Lady Godiva is one variety I mentioned with a longer days to maturity of 105 days. Surprisingly it still does better than any other winter squash in my area. For me, it has been one of the best cold climate vegetable seeds.

This past summer, when we had just 80 days between hard frosts, Lady Godiva outperformed more than 20 other squash varieties in our garden, with the largest pumpkin weighing in at a massive 29.5lbs!

You can find seeds at Baker Creek (here)

 

#13 Mini Bell Pepper Mix

 

Another Baker Creek variety, this heirloom mini bell pepper mix was so much easier to grow than a full-sized bell. It originated in Ohio.

Regular bell peppers are a real challenge in my garden, with cold nights and a super short growing season.

This mini bell pepper mix has red, yellow, and brown baby bell peppers, ranging from 1-2” across. The small plants are great for containers. In fact, this year mine was still going at the end of the season, so I potted them up and brought them inside for fresh peppers all fall!

You can find the seeds here.

 

#14 Bulgarian Carrot Pepper

 

I wouldn’t recommend Bulgarian Carrot if you don’t like HOT. These peppers have a kick; 1 small pepper will liven up a huge pot of chili.

We enjoy them in hot sauce or dried and ground into “cayenne pepper”. Pepper can be a challenge in short season areas, but Bulgarian Carrot is one of the best cold climate vegetable varieties I have found.

Bulgarian Carrots have been the most reliable hot pepper for me, better than cayenne, jalapeno, or the myriad of others I try each year.

You can find seeds at Fedco (here)

 

#15 Redventure Celery

 

Redventure is a full-sized celery. This newer open-pollinated variety was a cross between the heirloom Giant Red and Ventura. 

Celery appreciates cool fall weather, but Redventure really does well grown the summer too. Since I don’t get much of a fall, that is a win for me!

Redventure is one of the best cold climate vegetable seeds, with mature plants surviving well into the fall in my garden. The plants don’t die back until we have prolonged temperatures in the single digits.

You can find Redventure seeds at Territorial (here)

 

#16 Chichiquelite Garden Berry

 

Earlier this fall, I wrote an entire blog post about this unique garden berry. You can read it here (Chichiquelite Huckleberry). 

The Chichiquelite is actually one of the best cold climate vegetable seeds you can plant in your garden!

Chichiquelite huckleberries are actually a tomato relative, with a super sweet flavor excellent for snacking, or for baking and jam.

The plants are fast maturing, and might be the fastest way there is to grow fruit in your garden! 

Some kinds of garden huckleberry are bland until cooked. The sweet berries I’m talking about are the Chichiquelite Huckleberry sold by Baker creek. You can find the seeds here

 

Have you found any vegetable seed varieties that do especially well in cold climates? Share in the comments!