What can I plant now?

My husband (bless him :luv has just spent two precious days leave, clearing a space for what will eventually become a (full sized) veggie plot. After digging up matted grass, nettles and other assorted weeds, he then went to the local stables, bagged up some 20 bags of well rotted manure, dragged them the length of the garden and dug that in too. Tonight he gets on a plane to spend the next 2 months in Washington - no doubt glad of the rest work will afford him!

The 'plot' faces east and is shaded from behind by our neighbour's 12' high hedge thus only gets whatever sun happens to be going, in the mornings.

As this is the first time - in 29 years - we've had sufficient room to have a proper vegetable plot, I'd be grateful for some suggestions as to what to plant now (or soon). I've seen adverts for 'potatoes for Christmas', but am open to any suggestions.

 

There's still time for a crop of Chinese veg which grow very well in the late summer/autumn and there's a big choice these days. Check out Marshalls.

I'd start planning for your late sowing over-wintering crops, like onions, broad beans and spring greens/cabbage. You may find that freshly-cleared ground still throws up a fair bit of weed from roots that were missed first time round and planning your beds for over-wintering crops now will give you time to winkle out the little blighters.

 

Here's a list to keep you busy!

Broccoli Raab (Rapini)
Cabbage Chinese
Cabbage Spring
Carrot
Coriander
Lambs Lettuce - Corn Salad
Lettuce
Onion Japanese
Pak Choi
Parsley
Radish
Spinach
Rocket
Scorzonera
Swiss Chard
Turnip

Leave some space for Garlic cloves in october too!

 

"Potatoes for Christmas" need to be in containers, so that they can be brought into a cold greenhouse / conservatory (I think - might be possible to protect them with Fleece etc., not sure about that, sounds a bit risky to me though!)

Are you new to veg growing? I don't want to be telling you things along with teaching my Granny to suck eggs!

"Full Size" sounds good. I recommend dividing it up into "zones" for crop rotation. Preferably a 4-year cycle, if you don't had that much room then go for 3-year instead.

That way what you plant now will be part of your crop rotation, and save you trying to fiddle plants "in between stuff" next spring!

I think for a new site growing what you like to eat is important - that way if some things go pear shaped you won't be left with the disappointment of a bunch of veg you don't even like!

Next up I would choose based on plants that have a high "points" score. For me plants get high points if they are expensive to buy in the shops (strawberries), or the flavour is far superior straight-from-the-garden (sweetcorn).

Next cautionary point would be to try to avoid getting a glut of things. Sowing a whole row of lettuce will give you a gazillion lettuce, and the "harvest period" will be about 2 weeks. There are quite a few crops that have a harvest period between 2 and 3 weeks. No sense growing more than you can eat in that period (although, if you have lots of space and time, growing to give away is good for the soul!)

Personally, I like to raise everything in pots (some roots crops like Parsnip and Carrot don't transplant well). I have space (greenhouse, and a hard standing area etc.), and although fiddly it lets me grow "just a few" of many things, and to start off some plants every 2 weeks. I think it also gives them a flying start - I used to get frustrated making a drill and sowing seeds, and then lots depended on rain falling, and birds not using my seedbed as a dust-bath, and slugs et al leaving the little seedlings alone ... I have more control now growing from pots.

Seeds will probably be half price in your local garden centre (last-season's-seed on sale :thumb. Don't buy seeds for next year of varieties that don't keep. Parsnips is the worst one, pretty much everything has a minimum of 2 year's shelf life.

I think I should write a Blog page along the lines of "If I was starting again what would I do knowing what I know now ..."

 

Maybe u should Kirsten then we can all learn from you lol

 

This is great I have just come on the site to find out what I can plant now. I have loads of tomatoes, turnips, cabbage, chilli, sprouts, beetroot and wanted to know what to do now. Thank you

 

Brilliant and really helpful answers thank you.

I've grown a few veggies before - runner beans, the odd potato and carrot (very odd since neither was too keen on the ultra stony ground we had previously!), cucumbers and tomatoes - OK, OK, I know tomatoes are a fruit, but you get my point.

This is the first year I've actually managed to grow any 'leaves' successfully, either the slugs, birds, rabbits and all manner of wild and tame creatures helped themselves, or because even we can only eat so much lettuce, the rest bolted. This time around I went for 'salad leaves', a few in cheapie plastic tubs which I've stood on a couple of bricks - so busy chomping at my flowers are they, that the slugs seem not to have noticed the lettuce .... yet!

I like the idea of sweetcorn but thought you had to grow them in 'blocks' - as opposed to the strip I have at the minute. We did try them once before but they came to nought and I was told this was probably because we hadn't planted enough.

Of course, in an ideal world I'd like enough room, and patience, to grow asparagus (but then I'd also like the figure I had before having the girls and be able to garden for more than 2 hours and still be able to stand up).