this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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I've had some luck with red cabbages - they seem to resist cabbage worms and splitting better than the green ones. I did plant them over the winter though as winter works better for broad beans & cabbages. Not summer crops imo. Brussels sprouts are good to plant now too, and are much easier to eat than a whole cabbage for just one person. Very donate-able too.
The nice thing about broad beans is that they dramatically improve the soil, AND they grow well over winter. Even if you don't like eating them, they are donate-able and the soil improvement is well worth it to prepare for next year's crops. The dry spent stalks do wunnderful things to compost too.
This is also the right time to plant leeks and onions/garlic to winter over and get a head start come Spring. The ground is still warm and you can add water as required at least for this month and next. After that it gets a bit cold. Onion thinnings are great as 'spring onions', I can't tell the difference from the bought ones, and they're much much fresher.
The pumpkin tribe has probably had its day for this summer - may not set much more fruit due to declining day length, and not enough sunshine/heat to ripen them. Imo these definitely need to be planted in spring.
I agree with Catfish about carrots - only bother with for specialty ones that you can't buy. Lotsa work, needs very good, very deep soil and even then the crop is small. The foliage is very pretty though - makes a nice border for a flower bed.
I started snow pea seedlings for the nitrogen fixing because my friend’s family eat salad and the sowing time on the pack was appropriate, how are they over autumn and winter?
Would love to plant Brussels sprouts and leeks but I’m already kind of running out of space.
Do you think there’s enough room to squeeze a pea plant in with the pumpkin and tomato in the small pots? Probably not but they’re still going and I don’t have more stakes
I’ll definitely start the next lot of pumpkins earlier next year. I probably shouldn’t do them again so soon in the same spots but maybe if I use manure and unleash the beneficial bugs then
Peas will keep growing if they get some sunshine, but may not set fruit unless they get a nice warm day when flowering. They keep doing their magic with nitrogen fixing however. Fortunately, the young foliage is edible and delicious. Worth a try pretty much wherever and whenever.
This is just my opinion, but I'd rip out the pumpkins and tomatoes (they are very unlikely to ripen now) and plant something else to keep the soil healthy. The pea/bean tribe would be excellent. Then come spring you can rip them out and plant your pumpkins again.
If you want to do onions/garlic in those pots, then manure and bugs will be very beneficial. The onion/garlic tribe take a long time to mature (comparatively), so planting now or soon makes sense for harvesting in summer next year. Leeks are quicker to mature so maybe think about planting these in late winter. Leeks do pretty well planted fairly close together, so they are space saving. I have to say that homegrown leeks are bloody marvellous, far nicer than shop bought. They tend to be thinner but so much tastier.
Ah, the peas have only recently sprung… oh well it’s practice.
The tomatoes are still ripening and looking healthy but will probably be on their way out as it’s getting colder.
crying Do I have to?
I’ve got around 6 of these little guys. Two I pollinated today and four are starting to plump.
spoiler
I do have some onions I was going to take to the pantry but can’t make it down. I could find space in the soil.
Um, I know it hurts, but the pumpkins are unlikely to ripen. Ditto tomatoes. It's not the temperature, its the day length. The equinox is past and the days are getting shorter so plant puts one last effort into fruiting then keels over. Maybe leave them another week just to see. They do look nice & healthy though.
You’re right of course. I planted when I should have been harvesting. I just don’t know if I can bring myself to do it