“Here are the best edibles to sow now,” says Camilla
The sowing season isn’t over yet and, better still, it’s all edible, says Camilla Phelps
WHILE we hope that come August we’ll be reaping the rewards of all our spring endeavours, it’s not time to give up on sowing seeds just yet. There are lots of crops we can keep growing right through the winter if we take advantage of the August sowing window. Vital Seeds likes to call the second half of summer ‘Second Spring’, and the company has a range of seeds perfect for sowing now.
Most vegetable crops need the long hours of summer daylight and warmth, and more time in the ground to reach maturity. But there are plenty of crops that have fast germination and coldweather tolerance, so late-summer sowings of these have time to establish before winter and continue until spring.
Last crop of French beans
Tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins and squashes should be well on their way to ripening now. However, you might just get away with sowing a last crop of French beans before the end of July – hopefully we’ll get some summer-warm days that stretch into September and October.
There is still time to sow rocket for late-season salad leaves, while radish seeds can also be sown now directly into the soil. Try ‘French Breakfast’ for a fast-growing, easy crop with long, tasty, whitetipped roots. Don’t forget the leaves of radishes are pretty tasty, too – the mild peppery flavour makes them great for stir fries
And speaking of stir fries, this is the ideal time to grow oriental salad leaves and greens. Many of these are fast growers and do well as cut-and-comeagain crops. Sow now and you’ll be all set for a regular supply of healthy, vitamin-rich winter greens. Keep the flavour coming with winter-grown coriander ‘Filtro’. Better suited to cooler temperatures, ‘Filtro’ won’t bolt easily if sown now. Move it undercover for the winter months for a supply of fresh, tasty leaves through the winter. Some of the oriental leaves, such as mizuna and mibuna, make great winter salads to sow now, but there are other less peppery leaves to choose from, too. You might be used to planting out onion sets in the autumn, but it’s worth sowing from seed in August as that will give you an early spring harvest of salad onions to look forward to.
Pak choi
A classic, fast-growing crop that’s good for cooler climates and great for eating in stir fries. With robust white stalks and dark green leaves, the whole plant can be eaten, or it can be grown as a cut and come again vegetable. Sow outdoors in August and start harvesting young leaves within a month.
Mustard ‘Purple Frills’
A colourful mustard with a flavour that gets stronger as the season continues. The burgundy-tinged leaves add interest to salads and makes a good spicy stir-fry alternative to spinach. For autumn/winter leaves sow from mid-August-October. Direct sow outdoors and harvest as cut-and-come-again leaves.
Wok Broc (Kichi)
This Chinese broccoli is a fast-growing, cut-and-come-and again edible from its flower to the leaves and stems. Good for salads and stir fries, it can be harvested in 8-10 weeks. It can be grown over winter in a cold greenhouse or outdoors where, if cut back, it will usually regrow in spring.