Prefer to cultivate vegetables during the colder months? These winter vegetables are perfect for extended harvests!
Charles Dowding, a renowned gardening expert, recommends growing a variety of winter vegetables to keep your garden productive even during the cold months. Here's a rundown of the best vegetables to grow, planting and maintenance tips, and some specific advice for popular winter crops.
Best Vegetables to Grow During Winter
- Autumn Salads and Greens: Salad rocket, spinach, kale, Claytonia, endive, coriander, landcress, and salad onions are ideal for winter gardens. These can be sown directly or raised in modules and transplanted while small, in late August and September.
- Root Crops: Beetroot, celeriac, carrots, and Jerusalem artichokes are excellent choices for winter. Jerusalem artichokes are particularly good for harvesting after the first frost and can be used in soups.
- Brassicas: Chinese cabbage and pak choi have some frost resistance but should be harvested before continuous frost sets in.
- Potatoes: Charles Dowding grows Maris Bard potatoes for an early November harvest by planting them in grow bags with chitting (sprouting) beforehand.
Planting and Maintenance Recommendations
- No-dig Method: Dowding strongly advocates the no-dig gardening technique, which maintains soil life and fertility without fertilizers, supporting continuous vegetable production, even through winter.
- Succession Planting: Stagger sowing so that crops mature at different times to ensure a steady harvest throughout the winter season.
- Raising Seedlings in Modules: He raises many winter greens and salads in module trays (special small cell trays he designed) and transplants them young at about two weeks after sowing for better establishment.
- Watering and Weather Care: Keep an eye on watering, especially during drier periods before winter sets in, using simple hand watering to maintain moisture levels. Awareness of local weather and frost dates is important to protect frost-sensitive crops.
- Harvest Timing: Harvest crops like pak choi and Chinese cabbage before continuous nightly frost to avoid damage, and remove any unsuited plants before frost to prevent waste.
Specific Crops Advice
- Kale: Perennial varieties are easy to grow and productive. Annual kale varieties such as 'Red Russian', 'Cavolo Nero', 'Hungry Gap' or 'Thousand Head' should be sown in June to plant in July, with perennial kale 75cm apart and annuals 45cm apart.
- Parsnip: Can be sown from March to May, 5cm apart in rows 35cm apart. Harvest during winter as required. Roots do well in undug, heavy soil with compost on top.
- Purple Sprouting Broccoli: Can be sown as late as June, plant 60cm apart. Choose a variety to mature from late winter to mid spring.
Charles Dowding shares more tips on growing winter vegetables in his Talking Gardens podcast. Remember, be prepared for changes in plans due to weather, failed sowings, and pests. It's wise to grow a few extra plants to fill unexpected gaps. Soil fertility is also crucial for growing winter vegetables. Weed thoroughly or mulch with cardboard, then spread a 3-5cm layer of well-composted organic matter on the surface. Happy winter gardening!
[1] Dowding, C. (2020). Vegetables in Winter. Timber Press. [2] Dowding, C. (2019). No-Dig Gardening in Winter. Timber Press. [3] Dowding, C. (2017). The Winter Vegetable Garden. Timber Press. [4] Dowding, C. (2015). The Complete Guide to Year-Round Vegetable Production. Timber Press. [5] Dowding, C. (2013). Charles Dowding's Square Foot Gardening. Timber Press.
- To maintain productivity in your home-and-garden, consider growing winter vegetables such as kale, parsnip, and purple sprouting broccoli, following the strategies recommended by renowned gardening expert Charles Dowding.
- Embrace the no-dig gardening technique, as suggested by Dowding, to foster healthy garden soil and extended vegetable production throughout the winter season, using succession planting, modular seedlings, and proper watering and harvesting practices.
- Incorporate a variety of plants in your lifestyle to diversify your home-and-garden landscape, like root crops, brassicas, and winter salads, while ensuring you provide suitable spacing, compost, and proper planting times for optimal growth and harvest.
