Kitchen Garden Forum

Mr Primrose has started some early pre winter tidying up of the garden today, like clearing patio tubs in whixh tumbling tomatoes were grown. They,ll just be left empty now, apart from having some green material added soon which can compost down over winter.to nourish the compost for next year. As we get older we need a break from manual activity !

Do others wind down their plots or regularly keep going with winter crops ? . And do you think the soil needs a rest too? Or is this just a man- made theory?

Zero winter crops for me, I shall be fishing and filming wildlife, I don't over tidy as the bugs and beasties and birds need a home/food, usually April when I tidy up.

I grow all year, grow is used loosely as although you can get things started they either just sit during winter or grow so slowly you barely notice, but as soon as a hint of day lengthening they take off. (Those in the tunnel do grow more noticeably). I factor them into the rotation & only use a few areas for kale, spring greens, some winter carrots, celeriac, Chinese veg & other tough plants that don't mind a frost in small numbers. I target these areas then for the later summer plants next year & feed & cover these beds to revive the soil during this time.

I'm not sure the soil needs a rest as such, but it does need a boost of feed & a warm cover to encourage the worms to do their thing on & off over the year dependent on specific crop needs & not just one huge generic feed annually. I don't understand this so much, but luckily ripped a page out of the mag & stuck in on the shed wall so I can check specifics! Thanks KG!

I was aiming to grow some stuff over autumn/winter, things like All year round caulis (got munched by slugs), spring cabbages (also got by the slugs) etc, they were all started off in seed trays, then grown on in modules, not in the ground, but the slugs still got them. I have sown some more (well nearly a whole seed packet actually) of the caulis, so we’ll see.

I did ease up on the Winter veg a few years ago but, with the price of veg really going up over the last four years, I have started growing them again!
Winter cabbage, Savoys, two types of kale, late carrots, parsnips and leeks….should have been Brussel sprouts, but somehow managed to forget to sow them.

I’ve got some kalettes, which last year lasted for months. One PSB survived the slugs, so hopefully we’ll get a bit of that in Jan/Feb. Leeks coming along nicely too. I only have a teeny plot, so can only grow a little.

I shall have Spring Cabbage,Garlic and Shallots overwintering this year and what is not in use left open to the elements after being roughly dug over.

Did a check yesterday on how many items I have to get planted.

For the plot
To be planted...
Garlic 130 off
Onion large 65 off (need to get some more next week)
Shallot 36 off
Broad bean 80 off

Already growing...
Cabbage 16 off
Purple Broccoli 8 off

One bed sowed with green manure another bed covered with sheep fleece

In Greenhouse

Chard 2 off
Cabbage 10 off
Kale 4 off
Lettuce 12 off
Spring onions 30 off