With a bit of well-planned planting you can keep your veg plot going strong for longer, with plants that will give you produce well into autumn and winter. This guide explains what you can plant, when, for a longer harvest so that you can make a plan.
Spring to Early Summer
This is the time to get the bulk of your veggies planted out. You can plant pretty much any of our veggies this month, as well as potted fruits, herbs and companions.
The only word of warning is to be aware of late frosts in April and May – some tender crops (e.g. squash, beans, peas, tomato) will need protection from cold weather and strong winds. Alternatively grow them in pots under cover until all frosts have passed. Most brassicas, roots and leafy greens should be fine though.
If you haven’t managed to get seed potatoes in the ground in March, try and get them planted in April/May and there is still plenty of time for them to produce a good crop.
Midsummer
June is another good planting month for most veggies, so you can still get going if you’ve been late to get into the garden. It’s well worth adding some extra crops now too, particularly things like beetroot, carrot, spring onions and leeks to give you a second harvest later in autumn.
If you don’t have a greenhouse, June is also a good month for planting out heat-loving veggies like tomatoes, cucumber, aubergine and chillies that wouldn’t have enjoyed earlier spring weather. Choose a warm, sheltered and sunny spot for them – pots up against the wall on a sheltered patio is a good option. It is a good idea to keep these plants fairly small so that fruits have time to ripen.
There’s still time to plant courgettes and squash too, although if you’re planting winter squash or pumpkins now, we’d recommend pinching off fruits once the plant has produced 3 or 4, so that they have time to ripen.
We’d recommend planting your sprouts for Christmas in June too, as well as any other brassicas like red cabbage, cauliflower and kale.
Late Summer
July is a great time to add lots of extra brassicas to your plot to keep you going in late autumn/early winter – get some extra broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages and kale in the ground now if you have space.
It’s also a great month for plugging any gaps that may have come up from potato harvests etc with lettuces and leaves. There’s just time for some extra beetroot and carrots too, but these will need to be harvested before any frosts when autumn approaches.
It’s a good time to get herbs on the go now if you haven’t already – they are a great addition to the veg garden.