Some of the things we are harvesting right now include brussels sprouts, spring onions, kale, spinach and winter salad leaves. Some of these were planted last summer, others in early autumn. We’ve been using different planting times to keep the garden productive. It’s very straightforward, and by planting up three times a year, you can harvest veggies pretty much all year…
1. Spring Planting
In late April/May, get the first crops of the season in the ground. This is the main planting time, and you can plant pretty much any summer growing crops, but be careful not to plant out until the last frost has passed.
- Salads & Leaves – for cut & come again harvesting all summer
- Cucumber, Tomato, Peppers, Aubergine – for a late summer/early autumn crop
- Brassicas – cabbage, kale, broccoli etc for an early autumn crop
- Pumpkins & Squash – winter squash and pumpkins will be ready to harvest in October, summer squash & courgettes will be harvested in summer and early autumn
- Leeks & Onions – for a late summer harvest
- Sweetcorn, Beans & Peas – for summer/early autumn harvesting
- Roots – beetroot, carrot, parsnips, celeriac etc – the beetroot, turnip and carrot will be harvestable in summer, parsnips, swede and celeriac in late autumn
2. Summer Planting
In June/July, you can plant up another batch of veggies as below. This’ll give you a second, later crop of some veggies so that you can keep harvesting for longer.
- Salads & Leaves – for cut & come again harvesting through autumn when earlier plants may have bolted
- Brassicas – it’s a great time to plant up more cabbage, kale, broccoli etc for a second crop in late autumn/through winter, and a good time to get sprouts planted for a Christmas crop
- Leeks – Plant again now and you’ll be able to harvest leeks through late autumn and winter
- Peas – You can plant a second batch – they’ll grow quickly and you’ll be able to harvest through to autumn
- Roots – Get another round of beetroot and carrot in the ground – you’ll be able to harvest them before the first frosts
3. Autumn Planting
In September and October, you can plant up a whole load of veggies to grow over the winter. Here’s what:
- Winter Salads & Mustard Leaves – you can grow loads of tasty leaves through winter – land cress, mustard leaves, wild rocket, winter lettuces, purslane.
- Spinach & Chard & Kale – plant in autumn, harvest baby leaves in winter and bigger leaves from early spring onwards
- Broccoli – Plant sprouting broccoli in autumn for a spring harvest – you’ll feel very smug when you’re harvesting and there’s not much else in the garden!
- Turnip & Swede – planted in autumn, you’ll be able to harvest in winter/early spring
- Pak Choi & Tatsoi – plant in autumn and you can probably harvest by Christmas
- Cabbage Greens – winter greens and spring greens can be planted now to enjoy over winter and spring
You can also have a look at our rather brilliant and fool-proof Year Round Veg Patches which make it very easy indeed.