Start planting winter salads
There is a point towards the end of September when I have to choose between ripening the last tomatoes and planting winter salad crops in good time so they can put on strong growth before the weather turns – the reason being that they occupy the same beds in the greenhouse. Experience shows that it’s better to cut your losses and clear the tomatoes while still green (which can make good chutney). Dig over the beds and add a layer of garden compost before planting the salads that were sown in early August and raised as plugs. These include endive, lamb’s lettuce, mizuna, rocket and winter purslane. The unheated greenhouse offers enough protection for them to provide us with a fresh green salad every day right through winter, but they need a good start, so September planting is necessary.