Fresh food for longer

[Sara]

Hi everyone,

Could you help me solve a problem? Right now we're all tucking into piles of fresh veg, but in just a couple of months pickings will become scarce. You're such a knowledgeable bunch I know you'll have plenty of tips for extending the harvesting season.

How do you keep your plants productive for as long as possible? Do you grow inside a greenhouse or sow frost-hardy crops? Maybe you protect successional sowings with cloches? Whatever method you use, I'd love to hear about it!

Your replies may be edited and published in Grow Your Own's October issue.

[womble]

After my potatoes, I put in a couple of courgette plants that I have started about midway through July.
Then I make sure I cloche them on any nights that might be frosty.

They go on alot longer than you think and take over from any earlier sown plants that run out of steam.

[Alison]

I also grow a few of lots of different varieties as some crop later or earlier than others, this avoids the glut and extends the season. Protect as necessary with fleece, polytunnel etc also.

[salilah]

I found last year that Pink Fir Apple potatoes in bags - which I left in the bags through laziness - were still fine up until and after Christmas! Some had gently rotted at one end, but nicely - not soggy, just empty - and they were great...

Otherwise see my reply to the other thread - yes experimenting with extending the harvest, but no expertise to share yet!!

Salilah

[solway cropper]

Due to the severe weather the only way I managed to get parsnips on my Christmas dinner plate last winter was by growing them in flower buckets and bringing them into the cold greenhouse. This year I'll have carrots, beetroot, cabbage, lettuce, chard, leeks, spring onions AND parsnips growing in containers in the greenhouse so bring on the cold weather!!

I also sow successional crops in small amounts in the square foot part of the plot right up until August. I don't always get big crops but I do get something.

[lottie dolly]

Before the new year,I put some spring cabbages in the polly house,in the border soil,with very little watering needed,I was able to pick of some leaves to use earlier than the outdoor plants,they were cleaner into the bargain,and I still have 1 left,granted they not grow as big,but they still tasty,also had the odd lettuce,not by intenton,but will this year ,i pulled the odd leave a few times,until they bolted,I plan to put several next time,only water if they really need it,on the soil near them,as any cold may freeze water on the leaves,

[Suky]

Successional sowing, using early and late varieties. Sow suitable veg into pots, buckets etc that can then be bought under cover when it gets cold. Use fleece and cloches each end of the year to keep crops protected and extend the cropping as long as possible.
I try to do this but not always with complete success. This year I hope to do better as I have a greenhouse now rather than the lean to sun room I used before.

[gojiberry]

Careful planning of follow on crops so that the summer crops overlap the winter ones. A well planned veg garden should never have brown patches for more than a few weeks, not even in winter as green manures should be sown. The hardest time to get produce is between winter crops and spring crops often called the hungry gap.

Ian

[planetologist]

I haven't bought a vegetable or fruit in 13 months. I don't have a polytunnel or greenhouse. The mainstays of my diet are:
October-March: beetroot, carrot, leek, parsnip, pumpkin, sterilised and lactofermented summer vegetables, apple
April-June: parsley, nettle, radish, winter purslane, kale, sterilised apple
July: broad beans, chard, blackcurrant, raspberry
August-September: french beans, courgette, tomato, squash, plum
and enough diversity to fill the gaps: sage, calendula, fennel, florence fennel, mais, basil, swede, mustard greens, sorrel, white cabbage, dill, peas, garlic, perpetual onion, oregano, salad burnet, endives, land cress, rocket, lettuce, nasturtium, lovage, spinach

[Sara]

Thanks for your comments, everyone!

[Nicos]

I use fleece....it doesn't look particularly pretty, but it certainly extends the life of crops such as lettuce and beetroot...and as an added bonus, it keeps the falling leaves of nearby trees off the crops!

[womble]

sterilised and lactofermented summer vegetables,

Err, do you drink them?

I could google it, but I just can't be ar$ed.

[planetologist]

Err, do you drink them?

No, you harvest them in summer, cut in pieces if needed, put in a glass jar with metal lid, sterilise in a pressure cooker, eat in winter. See also:
Transition Norwich Blog: Stored summer