Autumn Growing

Definitely not too late! (though it does depend on how you can protect your seedlings / plants over winter)

Yes plants do need sunshine - they slow down a lot in winter as the day length is much shorter. However they don't all have to die off - some plants are designed to be sown in autumn, to overwinter and then "come back to life" in the spring and bolt / produce seeds.

Autumn / winter gardening is about balancing this - so you need to get plants big enough that they can survive the winter (and ideally be picked) and not so big that they bolt the moment early spring arrives!

Things like chinese greens, spinach, rocket, kales and cabbages, winter leaves, mustards, chard etc are all quite happy over winter - provided they are big enough to go into winter. Some leaves will rot, but even if the whole plant looks like it has gone, some will resprout (chard is good at this, chicory even better but my OH won't eat chicory)

I use the greenhouse for a) a load of various leaves such as mizuna, rocket, mustard, winter lettuce, pak choi etc in the soil bed after the tomatoes have finished, and b) Morrison's buckets of chard, lettuce, some kale, anything else I think might work (these are not always as successful). I don't heat the greenhouse, but I did put a floating cover of fleece over the bed to give an extra layer of protection. I was a bit late in planting out (keep hoping for the last few tomatoes) but I did manage to get a small harvest over winter, and a great harvest in early spring when the temperatures came up!

I also have two "portable plant protectors" (mini-polytunnels for raised beds) and I had one of these on a bed of chard last year, and had a great harvest (again spring). I'll be trying other things this year (kale & chard in one, perhaps mustard in another). These are useful as they keep overwhelming rain off, keep snow off if we have any, keep the wind off, and allow the bed to warm up a bit if we do get any winter sun.

HTH - and read the other threads - some folk on the forum are much more expert at 12-month veg growing than I am!!

S

It's worth having a look back at the "What I Did Today" thread and you'll see what other grapes grow over winter. I do overwinter cauliflower, cabbage, kale, spinach and carrots. Most of us grow onions and garlic. Do give it a go.

My main crop is spring cabbage Hero planted very close together, harvest every other one as spring greens leaving the rest to mature a little.

When planting on make sure you really firm the ground around them that will stop the frost doing any damage. No need for other protection, perfect for an idle gardener like me.

Colin

Lucky you PTD we still have to protect against wabbits and pidgins....

Growing winter crops is all about forward planning.
I always have winter cabbages ready to plant once the early and second early tatties come out.
I am sure that you can grow TUNDRA cabbages in a deep freeze as they were wonderful last winter despite enduring 3 foot and snow and teps of -18c.
Kales are also a real good winter veg.
Roger

Some do need warmth and lots of it (sweetcorn, tomatoes etc), others are perfectly well suited to colder conditions (eg. garlic originated in Siberia, I think)

We get them in the ground before winter hits, because nothing grows in the short dark coldest days of the year. The roots will be well established under the ground, insulated by any snow and once the days start to lengthen, the top growth takes off and you get an earlier crop than from spring sowings. Timing is a fine art, and the weather changes the rules every year.

I can see the logic behind that. Are there any guides to help pick a certain crop and which times are good to plant them? (I don't wish to appear lazy - not searching for myself - but I'm guessing you guys know this stuff like the back of your hand).

No, we don't. It's impossible to remember everything. I have a couple of very old gardening reference books that I still dip into.

Keep an eye on the What I Did Today thread