Growing Winter veg - is it worthwhile?

[veggiechicken]

In Morries supermarket today they were selling 3 items of veg for a £1 or 50p each.
The items were 2.5kg Maris Piper, a swede, a savoy cabbage and 500g parsnips, leeks or sprouts and a kilo of carrots or onions.
All looked very fresh and those I bought were UK grown.

I've struggled to grow all of these this year, the potatoes haven't stored, leeks are still scrawny, sprouts nowhere near sprouting and so on. Plus, they're all in the ground for a long, long time, taking up growing room.

I'm idly wondering about not trying to grow winter veg next year but buying them as needed. Then using all of the growing space for summer/autumn crops which mature quicker and are more expensive to buy. During winter, the ground could be covered over and I could take the winter off.

Whilst it would be satisfying to grow every veg I eat, I'm not going to lose sleep about buying those I can't. Better that, IMO, than putting a lot of time and effort into growing something that's inedible.

What do you think?

[Thelma Sanders]

It is of course your decision, but are your leeks, swede etc usually worth growing, ie was this just a bad year or do your winter crops always yield a bad harvest?

If it's a one-off I'd grow them myself as usual, next year, but if it is a growing trend, then I'd buy them in future
Leeks, swede and cabbage usually do well here, but I can't grow cauliflower or Brussels sprouts for love nor money - so always buy them, same as aubergines and sweet potatoes. Not worth the aggravation of trying any more

[Guest]

Tessicoes have carrots, sprouts, spuds, caulies and parsnips at 29p each, makes you wonder what the actual cost is to produce them (poor farmer at Christmas). Admittedly I have a lack/ poor yield of all of them but will continue to try and grow them as I have space, seed and I would rather eat things knowing how they have been treated.

[veggiechicken]

The leeks will be OK in a few months time, swedes may be salvageable but they'll never be the size of the one I bought. I can't help thinking that I could use the ground better by growing summer & autumn croppers and not bothering with winter stuff that just sits there for months doing very little.
I'd still grow salads and peas in the GH and the kale and chard would stay, but they're easy!!

[Penellype]

I know the feeling, especially when I look out at my frozen in, pathetic and bolted leeks, or try to pull a parsnip or beetroot out of a rock solid bucket of frozen compost in my back garden. Yes the veg on sale in the supermarket is bigger, has less pests and damage, and probably costs a lot less than growing your own winter veg, particularly if you take your time into account (the thing most people forget to add into the cost).

However, I just can't bring myself to stop trying to grow all my own veg over winter. This last week has been a challenge, but with the help of a little planning and the protection of the garage I've been able to eat carrots and leeks, the cloches and cold frame have enabled me to eat kohlrabi and beetroot and I've had a good supply of lettuce, pea shoots, microgreens and bean sprouts from the house. There are still a few tomatoes and peppers and I have 4 bags of potatoes and plenty of onions. There are baby turnips, swedes, parsnips, kale, brokali, small calabrese shoots and oriental greens waiting to be eaten when the weather allows, and spring cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, mooli, broad beans and spinach growing slowly for spring.

None of my veg is anywhere near the size of that sold in the shops, but it tastes nice, I know where its been and I can harvest just as much as I want when I want it. I'd probably die of boredom if I didn't grow anything over winter.

[Snadger]

Growing inedible stuff is what I do!

Whether it be summer,winter autumn or spring.

But just now and again I surprise myself and grow something edible and tasty.

Its different growing in a garden I know, but an allotment rent covers 12 months so I try to keep as much of the plot fully planted for 12 months, even if it is inedible!

Mulches and green manures are ok but these can still be planted or covered around winter crops. Leaves are a free mulch just now and instead of raking them up and composting, I just push them around the winter crops that are growing as a mulch. It keeps the weeds down and adds a bit of organic matter to the soil.

The main problems I have with winter brassicas is not that they are inedible, its having to net everything to keep the pigeons off them.

[Chestnut]

I hope the supermarkets are using these veg as loss leaders, as I can’t see how any farmer would make a living selling them at that price...

I didn’t grow much winterveg this year- my first on the plot, and haven’t got it all in production yet (small issue of 4 layers of carpet to dig out from under a third of it...).

Whilst I hope to grow more in future years, I don’t expect I will ever be self sufficient in terms of available land, or ability to store crops over winter as our heavy clay is often waterlogged, so I for one want British farmers to stay in business!

[Chippy Minton]

Wash your mouth (keyboard) out with carbolic! How jolly dare you

I think it comes back to the question of why we do it. Being honest I work full time with a 3 hour daily commute and really do it for the outdoors and the joy of seeing something grow and having something to eat that I grew. I like winter veg because it's green in the depths of grey (woohoo for the NW) and because it's supplements our Sunday table. We'll never compete with the perfect veg in MoreReasons or TescoTescumTescarium but until "It Could Be You" turns into "It Is YOU!" I'll take the satisfaction of a teensie Swede or a holey cabbage.

What I produce is pretty minimal summer or winter but biting into that lightly steamed cabbage white cattyplilly with a broccoli host or the first broad bean that survived the winter makes it all worthwhile....

[veggiechicken]

I lurve all the replies to my many gardening posers
Keep 'em coming - who knows you may persuade me to change my mind.

[Baldy]

I like to have a couple of things 'growing' over winter - gives me a reason to go to the plot - this year there are 10 leeks and 3 sprouts that need tending... Its probably not really worthwhile for my 'style' of growing.
If anything edible come out of it then its a bonus - for the most part I do the repairing and building type jobs over winter.

[lolie]

I usually don't bother with winter veggies. I'll probably put a few things in a small bed over winter and just sow green manure in the rest.

[SelkirkAlex]

what you cannot cost into a simple price equation is the satisfaction of repeatedly banging your head against the wall, pitting your wits against mother nature at her spiteful worst and the perverse pleasure in growing anything at all, all of which instantly dispelled by the sheer joy when you actually get everything right.

easy is for sissies and the sane!

[Snoop Puss]

Well, for me it's the other way round: summer veg are dirt cheap here, whereas in winter they're horrendously expensive, especially if you eat a lot. So for me, growing winter veg is more worthwhile financially than growing summer veg. I bought a kilo of parsnips the other day from a greengrocer's - two pounds in your money. And I always grow leeks because otherwise we'd never eat them if I had to pay for them.

Plus, as my plot is at home, if I don't fancy going out in winter to the shops or get snowed in, I have veg pretty well on the doorstep. Plus, they're fresher and tastier, even if they look a bit rubbish.

One thing I have decided, though, is I'm not going to bother with growing maincrop potatoes for storage. More trouble and water than they're worth over summer for how cheap they are in the shops come autumn and winter. I haven't told Mr Snoop this yet, but I know he'll be really pleased.

[burnie]

After Brexit when Brussels are re named and a £ each, we will not only be growing them, but mounting armed guards on them too.................................(I prefer the taste and smug self satisfaction of growing my own lol)

[Jimmy]

Yes veg are cheap in the shops.
But generally you have to buy more that you need.
Carrots for example usually come in bags although some do sell them loose.
I hate waste!
So if I can pull one or two fresh carrots when I need them it's perfect.
Kale similar, only need a leaf or two.
Jimmy