Ok - now i have my plot... what should i be sowing directly or sowing inside for autumn/winter - now???
It's my first year so am not sure how well veg in the ground will last but I have planted Green Hubbard, Spaghetti and Little Gem winter squashes. I have never tasted a squash so may end up giving them away, but they are worth a try if you have the room. ::)
Agree with terces, lots of squash - you can clear the ground with black plastic mulch and plant through into nicely enriched holes. But it's not too late to be sowing and planting outdoors everything you'd have thought of in May, especially beans (all types including drying), peas, cucumber, tomato plants, sweetcorn, parsnip, beetroot (every two weeks til the end of september), spinach, kale and all its overwintering cousins. In fact a lot of them will do better for later planting/sowing and warmer soil. Have fun! :)
Hi Guys
I have plenty of squashes on the go - put my butternuts outside to harden off but something has eaten them - so i'm keeping everything inside for now until they have more leaves.
I think i'll just have a go with the seeds i have now... but leave plenty of space for the squashes up the top. I'm going to put some membrane down tonight and dig aload of compost into where im going to plant them.
Sowing for winter harvesting huh. You can sow things like carrots, beetroots, radish and salad leaves right through September. There are some varieties which mature quicker also. If you have fleece or cloches the world is practically your oyster! :D To late really to sow any parsnips now, altho if you do have some seed, you will get a harvest, but your snips will be more carrot size than snip size. Still not to late to sow some brassicas and other winter greens, including Kale. I sow some spinach at the end of august, in situ, for winter greens also. I don't bother before as they bolt to quickly. French beans are quicker to mature than runners, and they don't need pollinators, so a late sowing won't suffer from the lack of buzzy things. You could start some leeks now for use over winter and next spring. I don't let the month rule what I sow, just a bit of common sense really. As I said, fleece or cloches can make all the difference.
Quote from: EJ - Emma Jane on June 05, 2006, 18:16:55
I sow some spinach at the end of august, in situ, for winter greens also. I don't bother before as they bolt to quickly.
Snap with E-J, spinach is a staple winter crop in our household. Under mesh, it doesn't get muddy splats so is easy to wash - the thinnings get eaten too
(http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2246/plotsep057spinach7bq.jpg)