What can I grow next?

You can start planting veggies out again towards the end of August and through September into October. There’s an interesting choice, including cabbages, kales and leafy greens, as well as turnips, chicory and broccoli, and everything matures at different rates. Here’s a rough guide:

Winter Lettuces can be planted in autumn and, if grown under cover or under a cloche/horticultural fleece, you should be able to harvest them right through to next spring. There are a few varieties to choose from.

Spinach and Chard both grow well over the colder months. They tend to pause when it gets really cold, but will soon start growing again during a warmer spell. They’d do well in a greenhouse if possible. You should be able to harvest right through if it’s mild, or from very early spring.

There’s a really interesting array of Salad Leaves that you can grow, for harvesting from late autumn onwards. If you haven’t yet tried Land Cress then we’d encourage you to try it, especially if you like water cress as the taste is very similar. There’s also wild rocket, mizen, mustard leaves and purslane.

Pop Calabrese Broccoli (green sprouting) in the ground in autumn and if the weather is mild enough you should be able to harvest a few spears before Christmas. If not, you’ll be able to start harvesting in March.

Cabbage can be planted in autumn – Winter Green Cabbage would be ready to harvest in late winter, probably from January time, and Spring Green Cabbage would be ready to harvest in early spring, from March on. Likewise, Spring Onions can be planted in autumn for harvesting in Spring next year.