Do you waste your plot?

[Speed Gardener]

I clicked "several different jobs" because there are so many things to do and winter is a good time to do them. No weeds growing, so you can hit them hard and clear areas infested with things like couch grass or bindweed; planting/transplanting fruit bushes/trees; double digging manure, tidying up the plots, digging out compost bins/weed piles; covering as much ground with carpets/black plastic - the list is endless, never let it be said that winter is the quiet time of year!

[womble]

Several different jobs. I almost posted yesterday and said have you been speaking to Snadger

PSB, leeks, parsnips, chard for overwinter/spring use.
Bed full of Oca waiting to be dug up, but it won't be till Nov/Dec.
Kale/sprouts all died/not grown well enough to keep.
Still cropping lettuces.
French beans still drying.
Beetroot and carrots still in ground, being used up.

There aren't many places that have nothing in them, only the curcubits that died a week ago from the frosts, the peas and dwarf beans (although these should have been drying, but have rotted instead).
And the greenhouse, but I'm waiting for the tomato plants to die completely and then I'm going to treat the wood, which doesn't go well with growing eating plants.

The empty beds I'm going to cover with loads of 1 year old leaf mould, which I prefer to a green manure.

So apart from more brassicas, which I don't really have space for, or overwintering onions and garlic (in pots), which I don't do anymore due to white rot wiping them all out for a few years, or overwintering broad beans (don't like them), peas (never found it worthwhile), there's not alot extra I could do.

I suppose I could have done overwintering salads, but we hardly ever eat them.

[StephenH]

Several different jobs - essentially, all of the previous four. I've got Chard, Kale and Cabbages in the ground now and being used, which will last into winter, plus parsnips and swedes to harvest in a month or two (I will have both with Christmas dinner). I've also got garlic in to harvest next summer, and will be sowing broad beans on Saturday.

[StephenH]

Oh - and I've got lettuce in the greenhouse. I sowed them in the border a few weeks ago, and they're just germinating now.

[jackie j]

I have two plots ( half ) Plot one has half of one side dedicated to fruit, the other half has overwintering onions, shallots and garlic and cabbages. the other side has herbs, beetroot still in, leeks and swede's, the rest has been covered with manure ready to put the potatoes in next year. Broad beans will be going in soon.

Plot two we are in the process of putting up the greenhouse and building terraces, still I have fruit on one side and a few cabbages and sprouts in the other. Its a working process and needs a lot of feeding as the soil is clay and hasnt had very much done to it in the past.
Will probably add things to grow as we progress with the terraces.

[OverWyreGrower]

I don't see leaving a patch empty as a 'waste'... it will however not do the soil much good, and you'll end up with all sorts of undesirables growing on it eventually!

I don't grow much winter veg, as we don't eat it (cabbages, sprouts, celeriac etc), so there's no point growing stuff we won't eat.

I do use green manures and mulches though, and will have onions and garlic planted up. I'll be transplanting my strawberries this winter; and doing some more work to my fruit bed as well; so I won't be sat idle!

[HeyWayne]

During the winter months it's difficult for me to get to the plot when there's daylight - making it impossible to be a proper gardener.

I use the time to "construct and mend". This year I will be mostly finishing off making raised beds, making some extra raised beds for Bean to have a dabble and shifting things round that need moving (raspberries are in the wrong place). It's my tidying up time - when I can get there for a few hours every other weekend.

The beds that I am not using are covered over with mulch feeding the soil ready for next season.

I do's what I can, when I can - it's that simple.

[Alison]

I do a 4 year rotation and at the moment have the roots beds about 75% full with loads of carrots, parsnips, chard (yes I know it's not a root but it goes with the beetroot which was there , leeks and celeriac. The brassica beds are totally full (sprouts, PSB, various cabbages, cauli, kale and swede) with overwintering onions and garlic planted in the area where the turnips and spring cabbages were earlier in the year. Legume beds are in varous states, the pea bed has a green manure in there but the beans beds are still to be fully cleared and will probably have some leaf mould dug in and left for the winter. The spud beds have now been emptied with green manures planted up over most of them but some broad beans will be going in in a couple of weeks. The polytunnel is still pretty full with all sorts of stuff (partially experimental as this is my first winter with it) inc brassicas, carrots, spinnach, winter salads, peas and much more.

So suppose from the above it may look like I'm "wasting" my site, however I'm totally self sufficient in veggies and grow everything I want. To plant the empty / green manured beds with something over winter would muck up my rotation and in some cases mean that I couldn't plant up what I want in the spring meaning I had excess of things I don't want and not enough of things I do want. Not a good state of affairs. I feel that to put all the beds to bed (as it were) for the winter as some do on my site is ridiculous and missing a chance for lovely fresh cabbages in February etc but there is plenty of middle ground where you can be very happy and so will continue sticking where I am, in a place where, even in my first lottie year, I was able to produce veg for 100% of the year without wasting food and effort on things I didn't want.

[Cosmo and Dibs]

I clear and dig the plot for winter, but usually have overwintering onions in.

[Pies]

Over winter i plant as much as pssible that doesn't interfere with a rotation plan

I could simply plant half the plot in brassicas and half with onions but its pointless.

So i have twenty beds all approx 10x4

they are as follows

bed 1, PSB
bed 2, broad beans
bed 3, green manure
bed 4, compost heap
bed 5, spring cabbage
bed 6, green manure
bed 7, parsnips
bed 8, manured and covered in cardboard
bed 9, leaks
bed 10, winter lettuce
bed 11, garlic
bed 12, manured and covered in cardboard
bed 13, winter onions
bed 14, shallots and elephant garlic
bed 15, PSB
bed 16, winter cabbages
bed 17, cauliflowers and sprouts
bed 18, swede,winter cabbage and brussels (its my largest bed)
bed 19, cabbage
bed 20, standing sweetcorn (as advised by two sheds)

I think the over winter produce needs very little attention and makes good use of otherwise wasted time

[Snadger]

Wow Snadger ermmmm can you tell me how and what exactly,cause I would love to try and do it. I want to grow something to eat!

You'll have to wait until I gain the experience and find the time to write the book I'm afraid!
I'll put you down for a free signed copy though!

[stella]

Meanwhile we will starve this winter Hmmmmmm

[Snadger]

Meanwhile we will starve this winter Hmmmmmm

Most of the veggies needed for this winter would have been planned for LAST winter and incorporated into a holistic planting plan.
Its no good getting to autumn then saying "Oh, it will be winter soon, what can I plant to see me through?"
I personally don't go for a regimentally planned approach though, I sow a little of most things then transplant and incorporate them as an area becomes available, backed up with the things like Japanese onion sets,garlic,broad beans etc that can be sown/planted late in the season.

[zazen999]

Meanwhile we will starve this winter Hmmmmmm

There's loads of written info on here already about winter growing; as two-sheds used to say - have a go on the search button and see what you can find.

As a hint - try searching for 'dual cropping' written by the one and only Snadger.

[susieq100]

There are leeks and PSB to grow over the winter, garlic and overwintering onions and broadies and then manure and cardboard for the bits that are 'resting'. Building new raised beds, sorting out the paths and tidying up generally! I bought a pile of well rotted horse manure from a chap who was giving up his plot, but it's about 100 yards away from mine, so I shall also be doing quite a lot of barrowing as well.