GARDENER’S NOTEBOOK

Everything you need to know to get the most from your plot this month

Michaelmas daisy ‘Violet Queen’ is easier to get your tongue around than Aster amellus ‘Veilchenkönigin’ but, either way, this is a striking variety, with intense violet flowers and stiff dark stems. Sturdy, bushy and mildewresistant, it grows to 45cm high. £7.99 for a 9cmpot or £21 for three from Crocus (crocus.co.uk).

’ll be sowing my own winter salads now to see us through the shorter months without having to resort to prewashed supermarket salad bags. I’ve found mizuna and rocket easy to grow in the past, but this time I want to balance their peppery kick with some milder leaves. Succulent, crunchy winter purslane (or claytonia) is rich in vitamin C, so it’s first on my list, along with some corn salad (or lamb’s lettuce), which has a pleasantly nutty flavour. I’ll be growing these on the bench in my cold greenhouse – I’ve lined some wooden wine boxes with plastic cut from old compost bags – but you can also grow winter salads in a cold frame or outside under cloches to protect them from the worst winter weather. Sow into cells now and grow them on, ready to plant out, or you can order healthy little organic plug plants from Delfland Nurseries in Cambridgeshire (01354 740553; organicplants.co.uk). Follow Paula’s progress on Instagram @paulalifeandsoil.