I’m not the only one who loves winter. Garlic, onions, all the brassica’s, chard, endive, parsley and all manner of leafy greens love winter too. Salads and beetroot survive it, but very slowly so if you live in cooler places, best get them under cover from now on in.

Sow

Direct Sow

• Greencrops in any gaps – beside, or beneath, such easy fertility. Make a mixture and sow any gaps (even tiny ones!)
• Mizuna – such a good value leafy green
• Rocket and coriander in the greenhouse from now on in, unless its warm enough at yours, outside.

Tray Sow

• Peas and snowpeas into plug trays or toliet rolls
• A mixture of brassicas – broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards – to keep dinners varied.
• Spring onions, red or brown onions

Direct or Tray Sow

• Broadbeans
• Spinach, bok choy and beetroot, in the warmth of the greenhouse if needs be.

Transplant

• Broadbeans, peas and brassicas for spring eating.
• Garlic, spring onions, shallots, potato onions, red onions or brown onions
• Spinach, beetroot, celery, saladings, bok choy, gai lan – in the greenhouse or under a cloche, to speed growth along.
• Asparagus crowns for future springs. Visit your local asparagus grower to purchase unless you have the patience to grow your own from seed.

Harvest

Broccoli

Late summer planted broccoli are providing loads of useful shoots – they’re so big hearted, they give and give! Once the main broccoli head has been harvested, many side shoots will spring forth. For more shoots, leave as much central stem as you can when you take the main head.

Harvesting regularly is a win for longevity – it prevents them heading off to seed which signals the end of the shoots. Each successive round of shoots decreases in size, but there are more of them.

Keep broccoli in good shape by removing old ratty leaves and older branches – cut them off where they meet the stem. This opens the plant to light and air, keeps it stocky and stimulates fresh, green productive shoots. You can keep broccoli plants going for ages in this way.

Leeks

Leeks are at peak perfection right now. Get them up before they start to develop seed heads and a hard central stalk. The roots really hold onto the soil, so slide a fork in to loosen things up before levering them out. I cut the tops and roots while out in the garden and pop them on the compost. Rinsing leeks at the outside tap saves mud in the kitchen!

Parsnips

Parsnips are better by far after the first frost, but still lovely in frost free gardens. They can get really long, so in order to get them out whole, its easier to first loosen the soil. A forksta is awesome if you have one, otherwise a garden fork.

Yams

I’m so grateful to yams because they’re ready in winter – not busy old autumn. And there’s no preserving required either. Just patience.

Yams fatten up threefold in the cold. Guaranteed big fat sweeties after a few frosts and the tops have died off.  If you’ve rushed in to harvest and been disappointed with your crop – it may just be that you were too impetuous, young at heart perhaps. You’ll be amazed at what happens in the yam patch after cold. Wait it out, my friends.

In praise of Kale

Such a useful plant – nourishing food, a good looking weed reducing groundcover and an easy source of homegrown OM.

• team with lupin, daikon and phacelia for a robust winter greenmanure.
• eat it
• feed it to the chooks
• harvest for mulch or compost ingredient as you need
• plant closely in groups to cover any bare spaces

Winter Missions

• Clean and sharpen spades and pruning tools. Once a year is better than never, and sharp edges are a treat. Good for your body, and better for your trees – making for clean cuts that heal fast.

• Prep your asparagus for spring.

• Choose a few garden improvements to take care of this winter. If you’re at the start of your garden journey it’ll be the big impact, important stuff like tree + plant research, drainage, shelter, or clearing out the trees + structures that block light or access or most important of all – getting to know your winter landscape.

• If those missions are all ticked off, you’re into the fun business of dividing and planting out perennials, making new beds and planting trees. Tick away with it all, slow and steady. Give those improvements wings while there is sod all to do in the vegie patch.

The Greenhouse

It’s the chooks favourite time of year! They hit the greenhouse once the mustard greencrops (sown in April beneath the summer crops) are over their heads.

I separate the chooks from greenhouse crops of saladings, celery, beetroot, spinach and potatoes, by pegging birdnet to the overhead wires. They’ll have access here until August – turning the greencrop into the soil, bug hunting, fertilising and making compost for the summer greenhouse crops.

If you don’t have chooks, slash the greencrop down and drag it off the bed. Spread a generous layer of compost and/ or vermicastings, sow a mixed greencrop and scatter the slash back on as mulch. Living roots are the fastest way to fertile, stable soils – keep them coming.