Autumn sowing

Up here I daren't leave it till autumn, needs to be in the ground before the end of August really, even the farmers winter barley is in the ground by September usually.

Meteor peas are good sowed direct in the autumn,around October,they only grow about 15" so don't need massive supports. Last year I sowed them wherever a tomato plant had been lifted,to make sure I didn't put tomatoes in those areas the following year & anywhere there's no peas I can plant tomatoes,easy crop rotation. (They were unaffected by slugs & snails too,maybe they thought tomatoes were still in the areas & never bothered sliding over there? Or they might hibernate I don't know?) (mice found them & some of my similar sized crocus bulbs they rejected onto the lawn the flowers looked alright so I left them there but they must've thought "these aren't peas!" & thrown them on their way home!) I covered the areas with greenhouse shelving you get in a blowaway,so no more mice trouble. It's nice having early peas it's the only thing I was harvesting in the spring I think. Broad beans are good to sow at the same time & planting out garlic & onion sets. Winter gem lettuce grows well overwinter too.

I sow oriental greens, spring cabbage, chinese celery, winter spinach and corn salad outside and keep a steady flow of lettuce, pea shoots and microgreens indoors under grow lights.

All of my outdoor crops are grown in containers with copper tape round to try to keep down the slugs. The biggest issue in my garden is light in the winter as there is 100% shade from November to February. I therefore try to move the pots to the sunnier locations in autumn to get the crops off to a good start, as I will be needing those places for early potatoes in spring. I also keep nets over the leafy greens unless snow is forecast, to keep off insect pests and pigeons.

I only sow broad beans and green manures. I do a heck of a lot of Autumn planting though.

I plant Japanese onion sets (Troy, Senshyu and a red variety), spring cabbage seedlings both pointy and ball head and seedling leeks fill any spots that become availabe.

Autummn is a good time of year for planting soft and hard fruit also.