As we hit the winter to spring crossover time, there is often a fair bit that needs to be harvested before it goes over. This article takes a quick look at what’s what…
Parsnips & Celeriac
Depending on where you are in the country, you may want to dig up these roots now before they start putting out new foliage. Parsnips in particular tend to turn a bit woody and fibrous once they do so. For those that are in colder parts of the country, you may still be able to leave them for a few weeks, but for us here in the Westcountry, it’s worth harvesting sooner rather than later.
Turnip, Swede, Carrots and Beet
You’ll have to gauge this based on what you can see of the roots – most swede and turnip should be okay to harvest, but some carrots and beetroot (if planted in autumn) could still be very small – leave them until spring and you should get a little more growth from them.
Leeks
Have a look at the leeks that you’re growing. You may notice some of them beginning to form tougher central stems with small buds at the top. This is a clear sign that they’re going over, and you’re best off pulling them up asap. The more that central stem forms, the less you can actually eat from the stem as it gets bigger and tougher as it grows.
Winter Salads
Keep harvesting salad leaves as cut and come again for as long as you can to keep them going. Some may start to bolt soon, producing flowers and seed heads. Once they do, pull the plant up, salvage what you can for a salad, and chuck the rest in the compost pile.
Cabbages
If your cabbage heads look like they’re starting to loosen, harvest them as soon as possible and store them in the fridge or make pickles and saurkraut. You can cook up braised red cabbage and freeze it in batches too. Winter green cabbages can be fully harvested now too, but you should get a few more weeks to enjoy spring greens before they goover.
Sprouting Broccoli
Ours has begun sprouting already, but for those that are further north, it may be a couple more weeks yet. Once you do see them sprouting, harvest the leader (the main broccoli head at the top of the plant) first, and then harvest sideshoots regularly to keep them coming for a few weeks.
Kale & Pak Choi
If they are quite mature plants, both these are likely to bolt now and produce broccoli-like florets. You can happily chuck them in a stir-fry. Harvest what you can from the plants and, for cavolo nero kale in particular, add the tough stalks to your compost pile.
Chard & Spinach
Keep harvesting the more mature leaves from the outside of plants for as long as you can – you may see that some plants start to form thicker stems with smaller leaves as they begin to bolt, and for chard, you ay see a beetroot-like root growing. They will keep producing leaves, but they’re not ideal and you’re better off pulling them up and planting new plants in spring. For younger plants that went in the ground in autumn, you may find they start forming lots more larger leaves now which will probably serve you well until we are well into spring.