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THE WINE COUNTRY WINTER GARDEN GUIDE

A Bed-by-Bed Planting Guide for Sonoma County

Living in Wine Country means the garden doesn’t have to shut down when summer ends. Our relatively mild winters are perfect for cool-season vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Here’s an easy way to organize your winter garden one bed at a time.

BED 1 — THE SALAD BED 🥬

Plant this bed close to the house because you’ll be picking from it constantly.

Plant:

  • Butter lettuce
  • Romaine
  • Arugula
  • Spinach
  • Red leaf lettuce
  • Baby kale

How to plant it: Plant lettuce and greens in short rows or blocks rather than dedicating the entire bed to one variety.

Sow a little more lettuce, spinach and arugula every 2–3 weeks for a continuous harvest.

Harvest: Throughout fall and winter.

BED 2 — THE ROOT VEGETABLE BED 🥕

This is your colorful winter harvest bed.

Plant:

  • Rainbow carrots
  • Nantes carrots
  • French breakfast radishes
  • Beets
  • Turnips

Most root vegetables prefer to be directly sown from seed because they don’t love being transplanted.

Plant radishes between slower-growing carrots and beets. The radishes will be ready to harvest long before the other vegetables need the extra room.

Harvest: Radishes first, followed by carrots, beets and turnips throughout the season.

BED 3 — BROCCOLI + FRIENDS 🥦

Dedicate one bed to the larger cool-season vegetables.

Plant:

  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Cabbage
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Kale

These plants get surprisingly large, so resist the temptation to overcrowd them.

For fall planting, established nursery starts are often easier than beginning everything from seed.

Bonus: After harvesting the main broccoli head, leave the plant in place. Many varieties continue producing smaller side shoots.

BED 4 — THE PEA BED 🫛

Put this bed alongside a fence or add a trellis.

Plant:

  • Sugar snap peas
  • Snow peas
  • Shelling peas

Plant peas along the back of the bed so they can climb.

In front of them, use the extra space for:

  • Arugula
  • Lettuce
  • Radishes
  • Spinach

By the time the peas become large, you’ll have harvested many of the quicker-growing crops.

BED 5 — GARLIC + ONIONS 🧄

This is your plant-it-and-be-patient bed.

Plant:

  • Garlic
  • Shallots
  • Green onions
  • Bunching onions

Plant individual garlic cloves with the pointed side facing upward.

Green onions can be planted around the edges and harvested throughout the cooler months while your garlic continues growing.

BED 6 — THE HERB BED 🌿

A small dedicated herb bed can produce almost year-round in Wine Country.

Plant:

  • Cilantro
  • Parsley
  • Dill
  • Chives
  • Thyme
  • Rosemary
  • Sage

Keep perennial herbs such as rosemary, thyme and sage toward the back or edges because they’ll stay in the garden much longer.

Use the remaining space for seasonal cilantro, parsley and dill.

BED 7 — THE CUT-FLOWER BED 🌸

This might be the prettiest bed by spring.

Plant in fall for late-winter and spring flowers:

  • Ranunculus
  • Anemones
  • Sweet peas
  • Snapdragons
  • Calendula
  • Bachelor buttons
  • California poppies

Add a trellis along the back of the bed for sweet peas.

Plant taller snapdragons behind shorter flowers, with ranunculus and anemones toward the front.

The result is essentially your own backyard bouquet garden.

BED 8 — THE KIDS’ GARDEN 🌱

Give the kids one bed that’s entirely theirs.

Choose vegetables that grow quickly, are easy to pick and are fun to eat straight from the garden.

Plant:

  • Sugar snap peas
  • Rainbow carrots
  • French breakfast radishes
  • Strawberries
  • Lettuce
  • Calendula
  • Violas

Let them make plant markers, choose varieties and harvest what they grow.

IF YOU ONLY HAVE 3 BEDS

You absolutely don’t need eight beds.

BED ONE

Salad + Roots

Lettuce • Spinach • Arugula • Carrots • Radishes • Beets

BED TWO

Winter Vegetables

Broccoli • Kale • Cauliflower • Cabbage • Garlic • Green Onions

BED THREE

Peas + Flowers

Sugar Snap Peas • Sweet Peas • Ranunculus • Anemones • Snapdragons

You’ll get vegetables, herbs and bouquets without needing a huge garden.

DON’T FORGET THE EDGES

Not every plant needs its own row.

Use empty spaces and bed edges for:

Radishes — fast growing
Green onions — don’t take up much room
Cilantro — easy to tuck between vegetables
Parsley — great along edges
Calendula — adds color
Violas — edible and pretty

Think of your beds in layers rather than perfectly separated rows.

WINE COUNTRY WINTER GARDEN CHECKLIST 🍂

Before planting:

  • Remove finished summer vegetables.
  • Pull weeds.
  • Add a few inches of compost.
  • Loosen compacted soil.
  • Check drip irrigation.
  • Add mulch after planting.
  • Install pea and sweet-pea trellises early.
  • Keep frost cloth handy for cold nights.

And then…

Plant something.

Your garden doesn’t need to look like a magazine. A couple of raised beds filled with lettuce, peas, carrots and flowers can produce an incredible amount of food—and make the backyard pretty great to walk through all winter.

Happy planting from Wine Country!

Shelby Manoukian-Vyborny
Sonoma County Realtor | Wine Country Living

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