what to do now in the allotment

[digger]

Now that autumn is here , I thought i would offer some timely advice for the veg growers. In the North all the curcubits squashes etc.. will be needing removal. if you have any bare soil from a previous crop and you don't want to grow green manure , get lots and lots of organic matter,horse muck if possible and put it on the bare soil as much as you can get, then cover it with a black polythene sheet. Then leave it until spring, no digging is required unless you like digging. if you leave it on top of the soil cover with polythene the worms will do all the hard work for you and the cover will stop the rain leaching out the nutrients. There is still time to sow root crops,despite what some might tell you, carrots and parsnips can be sown in soft compost in tubs, lots of carrots are for autumn sowing if the weather is really inclement bring the tubs indoors, if we get a dry nice day the tubs can be placed outside. If you have a dedicated onion bed you can plant japanes wintering onions or if you have enough crops to feed you until spring apply some fertiliser to the onion bed and cover it up until spring. In December if you have the facilities we can start to sow the early and the exhibition crops.

[Miranda]

That's really helpful, digger :) It's surprising what you can grow over the colder months, it doesn't all have to be started in spring.

I started some carrots in tubs in August and they're coming on really well. The stir-fry greens, started at the same time and grown in a raised bed under fleece, are romping away and we've had quite a bit of them already. The flavour is worlds away from the dull offerings at the supermarket.

What will you be starting in December, then?

[digger]

Yes there is loads of things that can be grown through autumn and winter. In December I will sow my onions from seed and my blanch leeks, of course they will be in a completely artificial environment, heating from a propagator and artificial lighting. They need the light to produce leaf and the more leaf they produce early on the bigger the bulb will be. Carrots for the show bench can be sown February/March or even in April for the later shows. sweet peas will be sown in February and then more each month up until the end of April.It can be a lot of work but it provides a good selection and gives early and late crops, it only takes one season like we have just had to throw all the late sowings out of "kilter", but luckily i had held some sweet peas back indoors and now they are flowering like crazy.

[blackfingers]

The worms will chew on the muck even in the winter?