What are you Planting / Planning now for your Autumn Winter Garden?

What are you planting now to keep the veg coming all autumn / winter long? Is it worth growing through the winter or should you let the ground rest?

I'm putting in an order soon for winter veg including potatoes for xmas, caulis (not grown these before) cabbages and kale. I'm ordering onions and garlic too. Some of this needs to go in now, others later.
I've already got leeks in (tiny tiny seedlings), a few cabbages savoy and a smooth type and have sown seeds for turnips, khol rabi, peas and french beans (hoping an indian summer might mean an autumn crop of these!)

what has everyone else got planned?

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Permalink Reply by VP on August 12, 2010 at 10:11

Oh how I envy your leek seedlings having not got round to sowing any this year!

I have red cabbage to put in and I'm going to try a late sowing of carrots for baby veg later for the first time. Then there's stuff for winter salads. Like you I'll be planting autumn onions and also garlic the latter from what I've saved from this years crop.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen on August 12, 2010 at 10:33

I have put in some Japanese onion seed last weekend which have started to show, turnips, and two bags of potatoes for xmas.

I have done the christmas potatoes before but never done over wintering veg, so will be interesting to see how it goes

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Permalink Reply by maxine jones on August 12, 2010 at 10:37

VP - my leeks are tiny and only about 8!! I never seem to be very good at planting times so maybe mine are just late as everyone elses on site are huge already???

Stephen - how do the japanese onions like to be sown etc? I bought my seeds from victoriana nurseries and had no instructions so they havent been sown yet.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen on August 12, 2010 at 10:42

well, I'm doing square foot gardening so I have sown 16 per square (well I sow two seeds each go so I did 32 per square but will thin that to the 16 when I can see which ones become established.

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Permalink Reply by maxine jones on August 12, 2010 at 11:07

How deep did you sow them?

I have a square foot border of sorts I'll pop them in there with my herbs thanks stephen.

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Permalink Reply by Stephen on August 12, 2010 at 12:50

just under the surface, a slight press with my thumb, nothing too deep at all

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Permalink Reply by Gillian Carson on August 12, 2010 at 15:07

I've already put my Christmas potatoes in, plus my Leeks. I also have Broccoli and Red Cabbage in too. I'll probably do some more Winter Lettuce in the coldframe as they were such a success last year. They're not so much winter veg, more early, early Spring Lettuce for next year. I'll also be over-wintering my Cauliflowers in the coldframe too. And of course Garlic. Wow, that sounds like a lot!

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Permalink Reply by Zoë on August 12, 2010 at 15:59

I finished harvesting my main crop potatoes last night, and I am reliably informed by allotment neighbours that its perfectly possible to grow beans between now and the frosts, so I will give this a go, as it will help fertilise the area too.

Climbing or Dwarf beans seem to be the best bet according to them.

As for other crops, waiting to see what others locally do, as I am a bit of a novice, so will follow their lead!

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Permalink Reply by Damo on August 14, 2010 at 20:57

My Brussels, kale, early white and late purple sprouting are bursting out of their environmesh tunnels. I always say to myself that I plant brassicas too early and then do it again the following year. It causes a problem at this time of year as they are getting too big for the tunnels and the cabbage whites are lurking, waiting for the moment I start messing with them. I'll be overwintering caulies, cabbages and lettuce and planting out onions, shallots and garlic at some point before Christmas. Have a beetroot sowing that should be ready before the bad weather hits. My leeks are up the road at a friends as I ran out of room, must pop up and see how they are doing!

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Permalink Reply by Louisa @ The Really Good Life on August 16, 2010 at 11:25

We spent yesterday afternoon lazily potting on many, many kale & winter/spring cabbage seedlings -- lovely time to do it in the sun! They're partly for us and partly for fresh greens for the chickens. Before those are ready, we should have some broccoli to munch on and we've got a load of leeks slowly getting fatter too.

I've also got the best of this year's garlic crop ready to go back in the soil in a couple of months and I'm planning to grow salad leaves for as long as possible in our greenhouse/sun-porch/sunny window sills, with winter lettuces following those for early next spring.

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Permalink Reply by Caro on August 16, 2010 at 13:12

I'm learning as I go along - this will be my second winter of growing veg - I tend to chuck it in and see what happens! Last year, not knowing any better, I left autumn beetroot thinnings in the ground, planted onion sets, garlic, winter kale and spinach. All worked really well, even through the snow albeit under hastily flung fleece. I'd say it's worth getting garlic in before the frosts, spring planted onion sets weren't any different to the late autumn ones. Kale, spinach and tiny beetroots packed with vitamin C in early March were a real treat. This year, I've got romanesco cauliflowers doing well, going to put in more beetroot, climbing beans and carrots; pea shoots and lettuce are still being sown and Kale, spinach and purple artichoke seeds will go in when space appears. I like the idea of Christmas potatoes, though ...

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Permalink Reply by Emma on August 16, 2010 at 15:23

I've got purple sprouting broccoli, red kale and some cavolo nero in, and have sown some carrots (Purple haze- really lovely taste and colour!) in the hope of an autumn crop. Last year my rainbow chard went right through the winter, and I hope it will again.

I also plan to try some garlic and have just sown some bulb fennel in the hope of a late crop. I'll try anything once. I might yet sow some more beetroot.