Sowing for Autumn/Winter Harvests

I mainly eat stored food over winter: dried beans, potatoes, onions,tomatoes, garlic, soft fruit, pumpkin, squash, peas, apples hopefully till January. Then still from the garden/polytunnel: beetroot, carrot, cabbage, kale and leeks. 

The only thing I sow about now is Senshyu Yellow onion seeds. I used to grow sets but find seeds are far cheaper and the onions end up the same size. £1.19 + postage and there should be enough seeds for the next 2 years hopefully. I do tend to lose a good percentage of what I plant out but still end up with over 50 reasonable onions. I usually just leave the seedlings in a seed tray and they do look very vulnerable when I plant them out. This year I've put then in root trainers and hopefully they will be a bit sturdier and not have so much root disturbance when planted out.

   

Every time I consider growing in the gh over winter, I'm disappointed. The frosts kill anything tender I grow and if I put something like chard in the borders they only seem to take off in spring when I want to clear the space for putting up staging/sowing/planting. I have some beans and carrots sown in MFBs just to extend the season and I may sow some chard in pots to see how they produce, but you need and awful lot of pots of chard to get a few meals out of them. The upshot is.... I don't bother.

Every time I consider growing in the gh over winter, I'm disappointed. The frosts kill anything tender I grow and if I put something like chard in the borders they only seem to take off in spring when I want to  clear the space for putting up staging/sowing/planting. I have some beans and carrots sown in MFBs just to extend the season and I may sow some chard in pots to see how they produce, but you need and awful lot of pots of chard to get a few meals out of them. The upshot is.... I don't bother.

Trotting out those old excuses again, JJB.
Throw some fleece over your plants when frost threatens. You know you'll wish you had, at least, tried. There are winterhardy versions of many veg that you could try.

Every time I consider growing in the gh over winter, I'm disappointed. The frosts kill anything tender I grow and if I put something like chard in the borders they only seem to take off in spring when I want to  clear the space for putting up staging/sowing/planting. I have some beans and carrots sown in MFBs just to extend the season and I may sow some chard in pots to see how they produce, but you need and awful lot of pots of chard to get a few meals out of them. The upshot is.... I don't bother.

Trotting out those old excuses again, JJB.
Throw some fleece over your plants when frost threatens. You know you'll wish you had, at least, tried. There are winterhardy versions of many veg that you could try.

It's not really excuses just reservations based on previous experience. Fleece doesn't seem to cut it in minus 5+.  I know it sounds like excuses but it's my reality. I don't want salad stuff, brassicas are too big and all my favourites are summer grown. I'm not about to try to grow beans, courgettes,  toms and cucs over winter. I tried MT even with fleece it got frost bitten.
I've got a few MFBs going to extend the summer season and I'll start early next spring.
Plus it's a long way up the garden walking on a frost laden law which does it nor me any good,  (if it survives the drought) so everything gets neglected.  Let's just say I know my limitations.  If you can think of something really worthwhile growing overinter then do so, I'm open to suggestions.

OK, you're excused playing this winter. I have similar "excuses" for not doing well with veg at the end of the garden this summer (too far away to water, ground baked solid, tree roots, etc) - hence growing so much in pots close to the house. We have to make the best of what we have and can do. See you in spring.

OK, you're excused playing this winter. I have similar "excuses" for not doing well with veg at the end of the garden this summer (too far away to water, ground baked solid, tree roots, etc) - hence growing so much in pots close to the house. We have to make the best of what we have and can do. See you in spring.

I shall be gardening on the good days just not investing in growing. I have grand plans for revamping raspberries, flower border and lawn levels. All of which might get put aside of course. Funnily enough the old gh, transplanted from our old house, was originally really near the house. I just got fed up of looking at a tatty old untidy gh through all the back house windows so we moved it once again. It's done a fair bit of travelling since it's purchase for £200 in 1983.

I bought GH2 in 1975, the year I got married. Its now in its 3rd house/garden and still going strong. All 4 of the GHs are just off the back patio and visible from the house so I have no excuse for not keeping on top of the watering. When I had a cheap PT at the far end of the garden, nothing really thrived because of the problem watering - so I've learnt my lesson. there.

I'll be sowing my winter lettuce any day now.
I've still got lettuce growing in buckets if its still viable they'll be moved into the GH once the temperatures drop.

When I used to enjoy eating veggies and was more of a winter gardener, I used to grow spring cabbage, garlic and broad beans in the greenhouse beds over winter.
I am a bit of a tight git so still like to ty and keep my beds with produce in them all year r.ound. If I am paying a yearly rent for my allotment, I like to get my money's worth by utilising it in the Winter as well as Summer!

I mainly eat stored food over winter: dried beans, potatoes, onions,tomatoes, garlic, soft fruit, pumpkin, squash, peas, apples hopefully till January. Then still from the garden/polytunnel: beetroot, carrot, cabbage, kale and leeks. 

The only thing I sow about now is Senshyu Yellow onion seeds. I used to grow sets but find seeds are far cheaper and the onions end up the same size. £1.19 + postage and there should be enough seeds for the next 2 years hopefully. I do tend to lose a good percentage of what I plant out but still end up with over 50 reasonable onions. I usually just leave the seedlings in a seed tray and they do look very vulnerable when I plant them out. This year I've put then in root trainers and hopefully they will be a bit sturdier and not have so much root disturbance when planted out.

How does Senshyu store for you? I've always been put off because of its apparently short storage life. Toughball F1 and Hi-Keeper F1 are my overwintering onions this year. Toughball stores really well, this is the first time I'm trying Hi-Keeper. Hopefully 3/4 of them won't get killed by vine weevil larvae over winter this time!