What to plant now?

[janekt]

Hi all,

I could do with some help please with growing some more veg. I've got to the stage where I need to start planting more but I'm not sure what I can sow/plant at this time of year.

I've had great sucess with my beds since starting in the early spring and want to keep it going and keep the beds looking good at the same time.

Many thanks,

[Hazel at the Hill]

I could do with some help please with growing some more veg. I've got to the stage where I need to start planting more but I'm not sure what I can sow/plant at this time of year.

When I went throught my (extensive!!) seed collection at the weekend, I found the following that could be sown in September:

Radish, Spinach, Pak Choi, Oriental Leaves and Rocket. Also I sowed a dozen All the Year Round Cauliflower in jiffie pots for planting out later.

I daresay that there are other things that you could risk - I'm sure that more experienced grapes will be along shortly to tell us both what they are....

[HeyWayne]

I planted some Corn Salad - aka, Lamb's Lettuce yesterday. Says on the packet that it can be sown until October....?

[Cutecumber]

Janet - what is your growing situation? A garden? Do you have any protected areas like a greenhouse?

A little aside - looking forward to next year, you should ideally begin planning your winter garden in the previous spring - it's a right pain and it feels far too early, but it will make all the difference. I say this because some of our loveliest winter and early spring crops - such as purple sprouting broccoli - need a long growing time and have to be sown in the spring and summer.

Putting that aside for this year, there are still plenty of things you can sow now:
Oriental greens like Pak Choi, Chinese Cabbage and Mizuna
Spinach and leaf beet - can be very productive
Lettuce - there's time to sow some winter lettuces like Valdor - I've never managed to get them through the winter, but I keep trying!
Other leaves like lambs lettuce and winter purslane (or claytonia) - I'm trying these for the first time this year and sowed last week.
I'm also spring cabbage (again!) - I've sown them before, but always run out of steam in the late autumn and they never quite get planted up!!!

In October, you could sow some hardy peas which will give you an early crop in the spring.
In November, put in your garlic cloves.

See, there's plenty still to do if you've got the space and the energy!!

[Snadger]

The only thing that doesn't seem to have been mentioned up til now are Japanese Onion sets which have a thread to themselves!

PS And green manures of course!

[Sue]

Cutecumber
I've done well with Valdor, I grew it in modules and then planted out and once planted out it lived in a raised bed under fleece, come March they start hearting up and it's wonderful to have the fresh green leaves then.

I've got some more winter radish to sow and bunching onions, two winter hardy crops from Read Seeds
and one other salad crop I really like, American landcress, can be picked through the winter, it's very hardy.


Sue

[Cutecumber]

Sue - that's useful to know, thanks. I have seven small plants of three winter lettuce varieties, so I'll try and put some outside in a bed, with fleece, and keep some in containers in the greenhouse.

I forgot about land cress - I am yet to sow mine.