SPOTLIGHT ON: AUTUMN VEGETABLES
If you have a greenhouse, polytunnel or even just a cold frame, it’s a crying shame to leave it empty in winter when it could be doing something useful. All sorts of edible crops grow very well under cover in winter without any heating.
One of the most useful is spring onions but choose White Lisbon Winter Hardy, which is very reliable and cold-tolerant, and grows even in short days.
Sow now in well-prepared soil in rows, either in the greenhouse border, under a polytunnel or cold frame, and they’ll be ready to pull next spring so you can reuse the same space for summer crops afterwards.
It’s also worth sowing spinach, especially the sort used for baby salad leaves, as they are quick to reach harvestable size. Several varieties are suitable for autumn sowing and they’ll be ready to pick in October.
Another salad delight to sow under cover now is miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), which is a curious little plant with round leaves like tiny umbrellas. Also try lamb’s lettuce and rocket, which will keep growing constantly so long as conditions aren’t too cold and dull. Or perhaps pak choi, the fast-growing Chinese green with spinach-like leaves and thick, fleshy stems. Use it chopped or sliced in stir-fries or steam the whole plant as a cooked vegetable.
Again sow in rows in wellprepared soil but thin seedlings out to about 6in apart to give the plantlets space to grow. Don’t waste the thinnings – they make good baby salad leaves.