If you’re opening up lots of spaces in your veg patch as you harvest potatoes, carrots and other veggies, then it is a really good idea to plant out some brassicas now to grow over the next few months for a crop in December (ish)
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
If you plant this now, it will have a good chance to grow quickly between now and late October, and then you can cross your fingers for a Christmas crop (which will very much depend on the weather – but it is worth a try!)
Cabbage
Plant your cabbages – Savoy, White Cabbage or Red Cabbage – now, and you can expect to harvest them from December through to February. Be sure to firm them in well to encourage the heart to form, and protect them from pigeons and butterflies with mesh netting.
Kale
You can plant kale between now and October quite happily, and the earlier it goes in the ground, the sooner you will be able to start harvesting it! If you already have some growing, you might choose to wait until September or October to plant more, but if you haven’t got any, or yours is going over, then now’s a good time.
Brussels Sprouts
You might just manage to get sprouts to crop before if you plant them now and we get a bit more warm weather over the next few weeks. Be sure to firm them in well and protect them with netting so that the pigeons don’t get them.
Cauliflower
August is the last chance for planting our cauliflower, but it’s a good month for it as cauliflower prefers cooler weather, so the next few months are perfect.
Swede & Turnip
These root veggies are part of the brassica family, and now is a great time to plant them for a good supply of casserole-friendly roots to pull up over the winter. Cover them with mesh netting and you can more or less forget about them until they’re ready to harvest – so easy!