I need your help.
I’ve almost finished harvesting my onions and garlic, and I’m essentially left with a patch of bare earth with my raspberry bushes permanently in situ at one end. After I’ve dug over and fed the soil, I’m not sure what to do next.
So this is my question to you – what should I grow there?
I’m thinking I’d like something that’ll either grow from now until early winter, and be ready for harvesting then, or perhaps something that’ll grow into the deep dark depths of winter, and be ready for harvesting either around Christmas, or early next year.
Any ideas?
There are some lettuce varieties that are for sowing now and actually make it through the winter. The oriental veg is best sown now – mizuna, pak choi, etc.
What about a Kale like Ragged Jack? Or peas/mange touts/snow peas?
I should do this to – now we’ve actually had a day of proper rain.
Good luck Lucy
at least the fruit has been splendid this year
Celia
What about Swiss Chard. I sucessfully overwinter mine and it is ready to pick in the spring when there is not much else about. I have a great recipe for filo parcels – fry some onion in butter, wilt the chard. Cool, then mix in chopped feta cheese and one egg. Then make filo parcel triangles, brush with butter and dip into sesame seeds, then bake til golden in a hot oven. YUM! Even Swiss Chard haters love them!
The other thing I really recommend is purple sprouting broccoli – it is expensive in the shops and you harvest it about March time, depending on the variety. I think it’s a bit late to sow from seed, so look out for plants.
Kale Kale Kale – calvero nero – yummy prolific, and some red scarlet for striking contrast in the snow!!! tres hardy and few plants last all through to next spring. What more could you ask for??
In the spaces betwen – I’ve just sown some fennel to go in mid audust / harvest up to November. Really need to sow some spring cabbage to use as both greens and cabbage head next spring.
Hey Lucy, I have the same problem at the allotment. Alot of earth being left bare and parched as I harvest and nothing to put in. Its not too late for some more beetroot seeds to grow and as Celia said, lettuces and salads.
Also try putting in some later germinating cabbages, broccolli and other brassica’s. They should still happily germinate and will provide you with a welcome harvest in Jan/Feb.
Hope you’re keeping well,
Geoff x
I would go for some leeks, Kale or winter salad leaves. Whatever you choose will be a delicious fresh food picked in winter…what could be better!!
Sue xx
Overwintering cabbages or cauliflowers. Sow them RIGHT NOW and plant them out in mid August. They’ll be ready in April, when there’s not much else to eat.
I’ve just sown some more salad and beetroot to crop through Autumn (weather permitting). I’ll be sowing lettuce Winter Density to get through the winter and get some caulies sown before it’s too late. Oh and spring cabbages, I think that’s it?
I’m going for some winter cabbages, leeks, purple sprouting broccoli, overwintering onions and winter-cropping potatoes. Mind you, up here the harvest’s yet to start, so all the above is still in the planning stage 😀
I too have just harvested my onions and shallots, in their place I have sown carrots and kale (nero and dwarf green). I was reading on The Cottage Smallholder that you can sow courgettes up until the end of August so I’ll be sowing some of these as well as I forgot to sow them earlier in the year.
I’m going to fill my bare patch with some last minute swedes, and go nuts on some more beetroot.
How about more beans? Haricot verts grow quickly on our farm in Vermont and I’m about to plant a new crop. I plant successive crops throughout the summer and right up until the beginning of October.
Great job on your blog!
I’ve just sown some beetroot and some more salad stuff and will try to get some kale in too. I always have a problem with keeping the seed sowing going at this time of year, no excuse really, just lose momentum somehow, but this year I am really trying!