Cultivate watercress, peas, basil and parsley now for tasty leaves to jazz up meals
Anyone who has ever unearthed an overlooked packet of watercress at the back of the fridge will know that, left to its own devices, these packaged leaves can develop white roots at the ends of their stems.
What most people don’t know is that these sprouting stems can be planted into a large tray and will provide a supply of fresh leaves for many weeks.
And if your shop-bought watercress has no roots, then pop some of the leaves into a glass of water in a warm, bright spot, changing the water every couple of days, and they should soon oblige.
Unlike watercress that grows in the wild, the cultivated form is best kept moist, but not saturated and it can be kept productive with regular clipping.
From little pots of basil and parsley that can be divided to make many more plants, to dried peas sold in packets and intended for soup that can be soaked and planted in compost to provide tasty pea shoots during the autumn months, the supermarket can be a useful source of living food.
And it is during the latter part of the year that a sprinkling of fresh herbs or zesty leaves can make such a difference to mealtimes.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on potatoes planted for Christmas and earth them up as they start to grow and sort out a suitable place to store apples, placing them in trays, the fruits not touching, and keeping them cool and dry until you are ready to eat them.
Carry on picking autumn-cropping raspberries and check if strawberries runners, planted into small pots, have rooted and, if so, sever the runners from the main plants.
If you want these strawberries to be as productive as possible, then don’t allow them to crop next year. Instead, nip off the flowers as they form and, the following year, you should have a bumper crop of fruits.
It is also time to cut away leaves and lift pumpkins onto straw or bricks to allow the skins to ripen in readiness for harvesting. Pumpkins should always be picked with several centimetres of stem to prevent rot affecting them while they are in storage.