WINTER VEGETABLES
The
autumn vegetable harvest is now either in store in a dark cool airy building or
in the freezer, but fresh greens are still available right through till spring
with a bit of planning for winter crops to grow on the allotment or vegetable
patch in the garden. Sometimes you may have to shake off a bit of snow to pick
frosted sprouts for the table, and if the ground is frozen rock solid you could
find it very difficult to dig up a nice parsnip, but your home grown vegetables
will be very fresh, chemical free, and full of flavour.
My winter
supplies of vegetables include the brassica range of cabbage, sprouts, kale,
sometimes cauliflower, then root crops including Swedes, parsnips and beetroot,
and finally Swiss chard and leeks. I have also sown winter lettuce Arctic
King last September to give me an early crop next year, but I may also get
a few leaves from plants left to grow in the greenhouse.
Brassicas
Brussel sprouts are looking great at present. I
still grow a very old favourite Wellington that never lets you down, producing
good sized firm buttons for a very long time. They have not been affected by
clubroot, collars protect them from rootfly and nets have kept the pigeons
away. Caterpillars were a nuisance as the cabbage white butterfly still managed
to squeeze through my fine net, but these got picked off as soon as damage was
spotted.
Cabbage January King was a disaster as clubroot,
slugs, snails and caterpillars virtually wiped them out, but my summer cabbage
Golden Acre gave a brilliant crop and with such a cool slow season they are
still cropping into November. Spring cabbage April has been planted out
on new land composted and treated with Perlka against clubroot, collars in
place for rootfly, and netted for pigeons. So they are looking good and
hopefully will give me some late winter or early spring greens.
Curly Kale always grows very well and never gets bothered with pests or diseases. It is a very healthy plant to eat, so is well used fresh in stir fries, soups and other dishes. It freezes well with no loss of nutrients and can be used all year.
Curly Kale always grows very well and never gets bothered with pests or diseases. It is a very healthy plant to eat, so is well used fresh in stir fries, soups and other dishes. It freezes well with no loss of nutrients and can be used all year.
I will
have to experiment to find a clubroot resistant cauliflower, as my usually very
reliable variety All Year Round got wiped out twice.
Root crops
Beetroot may not be as big as last year but we have
had very good roots and now use the leaves regularly. They are very similar to
spinach and packed with healthy vitamins and antioxidants. Over the last few
years I have successfully left them alone in the soil into the winter with no losses.
In fact a snow covering protects them from any severe frosts, though makes it
difficult to find them.
Swede Brora has grown very well under my nets as the
pigeons will eat the tender foliage. They are quite large and unaffected by
pests so far. These should crop continuously right through winter.
Parsnip Albion is growing very strongly, but as
yet I have not lifted any roots. However judging by the vigorous foliage I
think the roots will be just fine. This is another winter vegetable that keeps
cropping till spring.
Heavy feeders
Leek Musselburgh is another old but very reliable
favourite, that will easily keep healthy right into next spring. Growth has
been very slow but it will keep growing all winter. The young plants were
dibbled into six inch holes in a two inch furrow so there has been a good
covering of soil around the stem for blanching.
Swiss Chard Bright Lights always attracts attention due to
the brilliant splash of colours all winter. It is another very healthy
vegetable used like spinach in stir fries and soups. It can be picked into
early winter as long as it has enough stems for cutting, but as it does not
grow again till spring give it a break. However it is one of the first to
resume growing in early spring so do not dig it out as you can get many leaves
to harvest before it decides to run to seed.
Plant of the week
Calluna H E Beale, sometimes known as Scotch heather
is a very vibrant heathers with long racemes of bright pink double flowers from
late September to November contrasting beautifully with the dark grey green
foliage. It is very easy to grow in most soils, but preferring an acid, sandy
well drained, but moist soil in full sun. It is a good choice for maritime
areas. It will grow in shade and semi shade, but flowering is less effective.
This evergreen heather grows about a foot tall and gives excellent ground cover
smothering any weeds that try to germinate. It is trouble free and only needs cutting
off the old flowering spikes once they have finished. This will keep the plants
tidy and bushy.
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