Overwintering?

[Bumblingbroccoli]

I'd like to grow more veg for overwintering and would appreciate some advice.
Which varieties do you recommend and when exactly should I sow? Outdoors or gh? I have an unheated greenhouse and am in berkshire.

Am considering broad beans, onions, peas and brassicas but no ideas of which type or when and how to sow.

Thanks so much

[Jay-ell]

Well from my experience (which will, of course, be different from others) overwintering onions from seed should have beeen sown last month, However overwintering onions from sets can go in this month/next month.

Overwintering broad beans in Berkshire - probably sowing in November but keep an eye out for mice (sticking a cut down pop bottle round each seed might help )

Brassicas should be in by now - depending on the type of brassica,

September is probably a good time to sow salad crops (lettuce, endives, chicory , rocket) that will spend winter in the greenhouse

Now, someone with more experience in overwintering crops will be along soon.

[Bren In Pots]

BB I'll be sowing my winter lettuce this week, 'Arctic king' and 'all your round' both do well in the GH or outside under a cloche. It gives me enough leaves to eat overwinter and into spring.

[annie8]

I overwintered peas and broad beans last year. Results a bit mixed but the winter was unusually bad. Douce Provence peas and aquadulce clufia beans. Both are autumn sowing. Sowed then in October.

[Snadger]

I would agree with all that's been mentioned earlier in the thread.
If like me you missed the boat for sowing brassicas, you can probably get seedlings ready for planting at you local Garden Centre. I hope to get Spring cabbage and ball headed spring cabbage if at all possible.. This is what I shall be doing this year.

While I am there I will collect some Japanese onion sets( Troy & Electric), both red and white and a packet of broad beans (either The Sutton or Aquadulce Claudia) or both

[Two_Sheds]

“considering broad beans, onions, peas and brassicas”

There is little light over winter, which plants need to grow.
Jap onion sets can go in, then BBs in Oct, for a slightly (2 weeks) earlier crop. Brassicas & leeks are planted in late summer, from a spring sowing.
Peas, if they grow, are highly likely to be eaten by mice: they’ve had all my seed that was ripening on the plot

I no longer battle to grow anything btwn Oct-Mar, there simply isn’t enough daylight. Instead, I make & freeze loads of curries, sauce etc from summer crops, that feed us until May

[Jungle Jane]

My cat caught a mouse the same day I’d sowed my peas,theyre always watching unless they can smell peas from afar,I cover mine after I sow them with metal shelving from the blowaway tent. Varieties are meteor peas & broad beans same varieties as Snadger. They all grow outside,I don’t have a greenhouse,sow direct as soon as my tomato plants come out,in the same space so I don’t plant tomatoes there next year. Any red onions & garlic varieties I see in the garden centre go in around November,everything had two lots of snow on it unprotected this year & it was fine,I was worried about my onions but they were good,everything did well with the winter freeze,these varieties are really hardy they don’t grow much overwinter but they get their roots down & get a head start on anything spring sowed,ants & aphids found my broad beans just as they were ending harvest,if the plants were younger it would have been more annoying,but it was ok. Draw a plan of your beds to decide where you want everything’s final growing space to be?

[ESBkevin]

If you have a sunny spot there is a chance of sowing some sweed, carrots etc to maintain into the winter. If the carrots grow reasonably you can cover with straw/fleece and or black plastic and they stay fresh in the ground until you want them.
Brassicas and some late salad leaves went in our newist raised bed this weekend too.

[annie8]

What about garlic?

[rary]

Try some chard, I would try sowing some now and also see if any young plants are available in GCs, also moolie radish which likes cooler conditions

[veggiechicken]

Real seeds guide to Autumn & Winter sowing What to sow in autumn & winter

[bario1]

It’s not too late to sow Spring greens to overwinter in the greenhouse. I sowed later than this last year and got a great crop come April/May. I always sow ‘Greensleeves’.

[Two_Sheds]

Real seeds guide to Autumn & Winter sowing What to sow in autumn & winter

I ordered my seed at 1am this morning...lots of out of stocks, but there’ll be more choice in a month

[Bumblingbroccoli]

Great advice. Last year I sowed onion sets in gh in Oct and planted out in spring but didn't bother with anything else. Will def try broad beans and peas and try spring greens. Have sown salads as if all else fails will how a couple indoors on windowsill.

Will def try most things outdoors and hope for the best....

I'll keep you all posted...

[Snadger]

Just collected my winter seeds from the GC.

• One packet of 3 Marco garlic heads
• One packet of Troy onion sets
• One packet of Electric red onion sets
• One packet of Radar onion sets
• One packet of Meteor broad bean seeds

Only thing I am short of now is winter brassicas, particularly Spring Cabbage. Have not grown Meteor Broad Beans before but I am sure I have some Aqadulce seeds at at my other plot which I can also plant.