Prepare for winter harvests

Now's the time to start planning for winter, says Bob, as he explains what will survive the colder months

- Bob Flowerdew

RIGHT now the soil is warm and, with due watering, many seeds will germinate and grow vigorously. Of course, we can’t sow all those crops we would at the start of the year. There’s not enough time for many to grow before the frosts return. Yet while some crops won’t make prize-winners in the cooling autumn months, they will make mini carrots, beetroot, turnips, spring onions and even new potatoes.

Eminently suitable are leaf crops, particularly kales, and salad leaves such as rocket, chard, loose-leaf lettuce, mustard, spinach and ‘stir-fry greens,’ especially pakchoi. Many, if not most, of these can be sown thickly as they crop rapidly and can be continually picked and thinned right into the colder months. Obviously, with a greenhouse or polytunnel the number and variety can be even greater and growth can go on a little longer.