What to do at this time of year

[Demeter]

Sadly I don't much like some of the things that are said to be easiest to grow - beetroot is alright but so purple! radishes are too peppery for me and I'm quite picky about lettuce and salad leaves too (I love baby spinach leaves though...) Still lots of other relatively quick crops, as others have posted. I would particularly recommend peas! and carrots! And things like pak choi aren't usually sown til after the heat of the summer is past as they prefer it cooler.

Worth growing some herbs as they are good value for money, especially for us veggies as if you're anything like me you use loads... and it's so wonderful to pop out into the garden to pick a few herbs for dinner, or even for making tea (I expect my peppermint plant at 99p to start making a return very soon cos I normally pay about that for 20 teabags and I've probably had that many cups of tea out of it already!)

For other plants that you may be too late to sow, check out local fetes / boot sales as there are bound to be people selling off spare veg plants cheap (we will have a million tomato plants to sell at the school fete next week), and the other money saver is to put a want-notice on Freecycle and see if anyone near you has got some spare veg plants.

Good luck - enjoy

[terrier]

Demeter, if you don't like the colour of beetroot, you can grow white beetroot, the tate is pretty much the same.

[Demeter]

Oh - good idea terrier! It's not that I don't like purple - I just don't like the fact that the purple stain gets over everything else on the plate, the salad, the potatoes, the cutlery, the utensils you use when preparing your meal, and the pan you cook it in, and the washing up bowl, and your hands - it's so purple everywhere! Hopefully the white one will be a bit more discreet lol, must try that next year and see if it's more my sort of thing

[zazen999]

Dementer; I cook mine skins on, drain and put into a bowl. When coolish, pop them out of the skins, slice and put on the plate last. Rinse plates before washing up and apart from purple fingertips for an hour or 2 - very little purpleness.

I so love beetroot though that perhaps I'm in denial!