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I've just bought "The Winter Harvest Handbook" by Eliot Coleman and want to try to make the best of harvesting over winter, as well as during the summer. In particular:
* plan what to do in the (unheated) greenhouse - I'm currently thinking lettuce, spinach, perhaps pak choi / other asian greens, lambs lettuce in the long narrow raised bed - to follow on from the tomatoes
* also in the greenhouse - replace the current buckets of cucumber, aubergine, peppers, chilli with buckets with chard, perhaps cabbage?, beet leaves, carrots, perhaps winter radish, other leaves
* experiment with the SFG bed - I've just today sown all sorts - lettuce types, chard, spinach, carrots, beet leaves, raddichio etc (the bed is 1.2m x 2.4m so a double-sized SFG). I plan to put a mini-polytunnel over this, and try the double protection idea i.e. inside, cover with fleece held up by low wire frame, outside polytunnel plastic over hoops. Eliot Coleman uses this on his farm - he farms in Maine so they have longer days but down to -25 degrees in midwinter!
* try the outside polytunnel idea on another raised bed for spinach - sow in September to get this started, then pick monthly to see how long I can keep this going - apparently spinach continues to grow over the winter
* try in another raised bed with probably just fleece, sowing late leeks and possibly turnips and carrots, for harvest in Feb-time? (not sure about this, he is not clear about timing for sowing leeks)
These are all experiments for me - the greenhouse is new, and all I've done before is overwinter mustard under fleece (which worked pretty well!)
What are your plans for winter harvest? What have you done before, and how well did it work? What are the latest dates for sowing for either uncovered cropping or covered (fleece or polytunnel)? Has anyone tried the double cover idea, and how did it work?
It would be great to collect ideas in one place for specifically winter harvesting - so any suggestions or questions please add to this thread!
regards
Salilah
* plan what to do in the (unheated) greenhouse - I'm currently thinking lettuce, spinach, perhaps pak choi / other asian greens, lambs lettuce in the long narrow raised bed - to follow on from the tomatoes
* also in the greenhouse - replace the current buckets of cucumber, aubergine, peppers, chilli with buckets with chard, perhaps cabbage?, beet leaves, carrots, perhaps winter radish, other leaves
* experiment with the SFG bed - I've just today sown all sorts - lettuce types, chard, spinach, carrots, beet leaves, raddichio etc (the bed is 1.2m x 2.4m so a double-sized SFG). I plan to put a mini-polytunnel over this, and try the double protection idea i.e. inside, cover with fleece held up by low wire frame, outside polytunnel plastic over hoops. Eliot Coleman uses this on his farm - he farms in Maine so they have longer days but down to -25 degrees in midwinter!
* try the outside polytunnel idea on another raised bed for spinach - sow in September to get this started, then pick monthly to see how long I can keep this going - apparently spinach continues to grow over the winter
* try in another raised bed with probably just fleece, sowing late leeks and possibly turnips and carrots, for harvest in Feb-time? (not sure about this, he is not clear about timing for sowing leeks)
These are all experiments for me - the greenhouse is new, and all I've done before is overwinter mustard under fleece (which worked pretty well!)
What are your plans for winter harvest? What have you done before, and how well did it work? What are the latest dates for sowing for either uncovered cropping or covered (fleece or polytunnel)? Has anyone tried the double cover idea, and how did it work?
It would be great to collect ideas in one place for specifically winter harvesting - so any suggestions or questions please add to this thread!
regards
Salilah
) Kale and PSB plus celeriacs salsify garlic and broadies. I am planning on growing some winter salad in my porch!! 
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