New challenge – overwintering vegetables.

Autumn leaves at The Queen

As the autumn slowdown continues, I have been thinking about extending the season in the vegetable garden, especially at The Queen at Brandeston where I manage the veg plot at the back of the pub. I’m feeling  the need to challenge myself a bit to prove to that I am a real gardener! This will be my first proper attempt at overwintering anything except peas.

To this end, I started sowing seeds again in the greenhouse in September, firstly some mixed salad leaves and beetroot, for the colourful leaves. These I planted out with trepidation but they have survived.  A bit slower but also up,  pak choi, parsley, spring onion, kale, chicory, rocket, sorrel and a very few winter lettuce. I sowed several rows directly in the still warm soil but not a single one came up. I only get to visit the site once a week so it may be that they got eaten straight away but who knows.

 

 

Pak choi pricked out in the polytunnel at home

Chicory

Pak choi and chicory pricked out in the polytunnel at home.

Kale, spring onions, rocket, sorrel and winter lettuce in the greenhouse.

At the pub this warm October afternoon I planted out some of the pak choi and chicory, keeping some in reserve just in case! The kale is for the front in the edible planters. The rest of the seedlings need to be a bit bigger before I risk it although the plan is to cover the lot with fleece if it gets really cold,

Salad leaves under cover

I also managed to get in a few rows of broad beans for an early crop next spring. They will probably use the shoots and flowers in the kitchen but the first beans are sweet and tender too. I have plenty of saved seeds from this year’s crop.

Also in the garden over winter will be the salsify, sown in the spring, which will be ready once the leaves die back and sweeter after a couple of frosts.

There is an assortment of brassicas grown from seed in the spring as well. Kale ready now and flowering sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower still to come. Considering that they were completely stripped of leaves by caterpillars in the summer, they have recovered well.

Summer  (yes they were netted!)

October

With a good crop of pumpkins and squashes harvested for storing, if they survive halloween, they should be able to offer some really fresh and locally sourced vegetables on the menu.

 

October in the garden.

Here we are in mid October and I’m really quite enjoying the gardening at the moment. There are so many flowers still out, a few vegetables left to harvest and all next year’s planning to look forward to.

I’d like to say that I created these combinations deliberately but really it is down to a bit of luck with the weather and mother nature, although I did plant the dahlia and Anthemis so I had some hand in it. In fact, the Anthemis got chomped by rabbits early on and these are the first flowers.

The roses are still putting on a good show and the dahlias are hanging on in there too.  On a misty autumnal morning they are at their finest encrusted with sparkling dewdrops. With the asters still blooming, there is plenty of colour in the borders.

In the vegetable garden a final harvest of cucumbers and aubergines and the pumpkins and squashes are ripened up to keep over winter, if they survive halloween. I managed to get 6 large pumpkins from one plant so my customer should have enough for carving, soup, pie, cake and anything else really. The kale is beginning to recover from the caterpillar attack of the summer and should continue throug the winter months.

In the orchard, lots of apples and pears but also the first proper harvest of quince from a tree I planted 5 years ago.

Also in the vegetable garden, flowers! But aren’t the artichokes and Chinese alliums looking beautiful.

And just when I thought that maybe it wasn’t going to be a good year for autumn colour, the trees join in in! All in all a great combination in the garden in October. Let the shuffling begin!