Growing Winter Veggies Successfully

Winter feels like a Cinderella season in the veggie garden, but it really isn’t. Did you know that there are almost as many winter veggies as there are summer ones?

- Alice Spenser-Higgs

Admittedly, we can’t grow our summer favourites like tomatoes, sweet peppers, and all the different squashes, but on the upside, think of all the different types of lettuce and cabbage, purple broccoli and cauliflower, as well as all those tangy Asian greens and mustards.

It may seem that winter is harder on the crops, with icy nights, frost and short days, but there is also an absence of pests, cruel summer heat and the need for constant watering to prevent heat stress.

Winter gardening has its own challenges, and by learning how to manage them, the winter veggie garden can be as abundant as the summer one.

Non-negotiable: lots of sun

Veggies do best with full sun in winter, or with at least six hours of sunshine. Anything less than that and the veggies will be spindly, unproductive and weak plants – not worth the effort.

If there is not enough sun where the veggies are normally grown, find a sunny spot elsewhere. Observe which areas of your garden are being hit with sun and for how many hours during the day.

Here are some options:

• Grow veggies, especially leafy greens and brassicas, in sunny flower beds.

• Convert your pavement garden into a veggie garden. That is often where the most sun is.

• Grow vegetables in pots and keep them in the sunnier areas.

• Use window boxes for salad greens and radishes.

• Go vertical and set up a vertical garden against a sunny wall.

Plant a variety of short-, medium and long-term crops.