Keep your vegetable garden going over winter


Peas


Sow early peas under cloches for a late spring crop, it’s worth trying sowing seeds up to the end of October , especially in mild areas. If you sow direct into the ground, plant them one inch deep and relatively closely at about one inch apart, to make up for a higher loss rate.


Plant in groups of three lines all 12in apart to form thick rows, and make each thick row 18in apart. With peas, don’t forget the pea shoots are tasty: just pick off the tips and add to stir fries and salads for that intense, delicious fresh pea flavour.


Garlic Broad beans can be sown right through to December


Don’t abandon your vegetable garden over the winter months. It may be getting colder but keeping your vegetable garden going throughout the winter is one of the most satisfying things imaginable.


Up until the end of October there is still a lot that can be sown. Use your cold frame or greenhouse to give seeds a start and then plant out as mini-plants a few weeks later or as late as you can. You could sow outside and cover with fleece or perforated polythene. And don’t forget pests: slugs and snails are less of a threat now as they start to hibernate, but they can still ruin tender young seedlings.


Onions, and shallots


There are quite a few varieties of onions from sets that can go in now. This is the easiest way to grow onions, and they can be harvested much earlier next summer. Shallots, with their sweet, subtle flavour, are becoming popular to sow in the winter months, and they store well.


Broad beans


Perhaps the one vegetable gardeners are used to sowing this time of the year is broad beans which given the right conditions can go in right through December. If you sow in the winter you will have beans ready six weeks earlier than those sown in April, and they don’t get blackfly. If the beans are in an exposed position and grow too tall over winter, they can wave around and split just above ground level, so put in canes or sticks and string if necessary.


Asparagus


Asparagus varieties are now available for autumn planting, which helps them establish that bit quicker. You do wait for two years before you can cut them, but it is a small price to pay.


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Hardy winter lettuces need special care but are worth persevering with


Garlic is certainly the easiest over-wintering crop to grow in your garden. You need to plant the cloves individually to a depth of 2.5in deep on light soils and a lot less deep on heavy soils, but always a minimum of one inch below the surface. The distance should be about one foot apart each way. If you suffered from rust this year, in addition to rotation try hoeing in sulphate of potash in February/March. Growth is fairly slow until temperatures warm up in spring but they will have a head start. The garlic cloves may put on some root growth, depending on soil temperatures, but no sprouts will emerge until spring. They will survive freezes and snowfalls.


Winter lettuce


There’s still plenty of time to get some winter lettuce sown. Garden centres now specialise in offering gardeners some really hardy varieties which can be sown right through the winter until


January in a cold frame. ‘Winter Gem’ is a good new variety


which you should be able to find quite easily. Try ‘Winter Marvel’ and ‘Reine de Glace’ which can be sown right through into


November, starting again with new sowings in January if you can sow under cover.


Spinach


This is another vegetable that is very popular now. Pick the leaves early and just wilt the leaves rather than ruin it with overcooking. Great in salads. The big advantage of autumn sowing is that there is no tendency to bolt.


Country Gardener


Too many gardeners turn their backs on allotments or vegetable plots over the winter months when in fact it’s a time when a lot can be growing and thriving


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