Crops to start now

Plant soft fruit, fill any gaps with quick-growing salad crops and start off your winter veg

Key crops for September

Blackcurrants OUR CHOICE ‘Big Ben’. A popular, reliable variety producing heavy crops of huge fruits that are sweet enough to eat raw.

Calabrese OUR CHOICE ‘Fiesta’. The quick-growing, large, domed heads are delicious when steamed – and they freeze well, too.

Garlic OUR CHOICE ‘Early Purple Wight’. An earlyripening, softneck variety producing large bulbs that store for up to three months.

Onion OUR CHOICE ‘Bridger’. A Japanese hybrid, perfect for over wintering. Has excellent resistance to bolting.

Perpetual spinach A spinach beet rather than a true spinach, it’s easy to grow, bolt-resistant, hardy and crops nearly all year round.

Raspberries OUR CHOICE ‘Glen Ample’. Produces high yields of large, deep-red berries on spine-free stems from late June.

Rocket OUR CHOICE ‘Sweet Oakleaf’. The leaves are sweet, with a fiery kick, and produced in abundance. Prefers cool summers.

Strawberries OUR CHOICE ‘Flamenco’. An ever-bearing variety producing large, sweet, juicy fruits from May through to November.

Winter purslane (miner’s lettuce) The refreshing, juicy, lime-green leaves are delicious in winter salads and packed with vitamin C. Quick growing and hardy.

Winter radishes OUR CHOICE ‘April Cross’. These supersized roots have a mild flavour, crisp texture and can be eaten raw or cooked.