You’d be surprised how many veggies can be grown and harvested in winter, and it is not a lot of hard work.
May is the last month of autumn and while the soil is still warm you can sow radishes, beetroot, carrots and any other root veggies, as well as kale, baby cabbage, kohlrabi, garden peas and broad beans.
The sooner you sow the better so that seedlings have enough growth before the first frost, which is expected by the end of May or early June. Gardens protected by walls or dense shrubs may have a microclimate that is not affected by frost, even if you live in a frost region.
How to keep veggies warm
Even tender leafy greens like lettuce and Swiss chard can thrive in winter with the protection of frost cloth, a thick mulch of straw, cloches made from 2 litre plastic bottles to protect small seedlings or a mini homemade tunnel.
If you are too busy to put frost cloth on at night and take it off the next morning, make a mini greenhouse. This is a small plastic tunnel using wire that can be bent into hoops and lay plastic sheeting over it. Bury the edge of the plastic in soil to secure it. The aim is to moderate the very low night temperatures by letting the sun warm up the soil during the day.
5 tips for keeping your veggies happy
- Thin out seedlings so that they don’t compete for water and nutrients.
- Watch out for pests like aphids and spray with environmentally friendly sprays like Ludwig’s Insect Spray. Put out the Kirchhoffs pet safe snail trap to get rid of slugs and snails.
- Ease up on watering if a cold front is predicted, but don’t let the soil dry out completely.
- Water during the warmest time of the day and avoid wetting the leaves. Over watering results in cold wet soil that encourages damping off while under-watering stresses plants making them less resilient to frost.
- Feed seedlings with a liquid fertiliser or plant tonic like Margaret Roberts Organic Supercharger to strengthen them to resist the cold.
Veggies to sow now
Radishes, baby cabbage and spring onions mature quickly, while beetroots, carrots and greens hold well in garden beds. Broad beans, and leeks mature towards the end of winter.
Beetroot ‘Bulls Blood’ requires a finely prepared soil in which to form well-shaped roots. For a good crop thin out the seedlings to about 5cm apart when they are about 5cm high and keep on thinning out until remaining beetroot are 10 to 15 cm apart. Thinned seedlings can be used as micro greens.
Cabbage ‘Baby Green Gonzales’ or ‘Baby Red Primero’ can be started in seed trays and when seedlings are large enough to handle transplant into well composted fertile soil. Space baby cabbages about 25cm apart. If plants are too close together the heads won’t develop.
Radish ‘Cherry Belle’ can be sown a row at a time so that you won’t be overwhelmed by an oversupply. Seeds germinate in three to eight days and are ready for picking from three weeks. The nicest radishes are pulled before they are fully grown. Regular watering will produce crisp, tasty radishes.
Spring onions ‘White Lisbon’ sown directly into the ground take 7 to 14 days to germinate. Once the plants are large enough (60 days onwards) you can start pulling them up, bulb and all. To keep them going, take four or five out of the clump that you have harvested and replant them about 7cm (four fingers) apart. The younger they are when picked the nicer they are.
Spinach ‘Bloomsdale’ is a proper spinach (not Swiss chard) with thick, glossy leaves that are not bitter if harvested young. This heirloom veggie withstands the cold.
For baby leaves sow 3-5 seeds 2cm apart but for full grown leaves sow in rows 30cm apart. Germination should be within five to 10 days and the first harvest within 30 days. Thin out seedlings 15 to 20cm apart if growing to full size.
Broad bean ‘Longpod Aquadulce’ can be sown directly into the soil where the plants are to mature. Plant two seeds per hole and if both germinate, pinch or cut off the weaker plant but don’t leave the two plants to compete. Broad beans need moist soil and feeding with a liquid fertiliser at least once a month. Stake as they grow. Beans should be ready for harvesting within 12 to 16 weeks.
For more information visit Kirchhoffs.
Article and images supplied by Alice Coetzee.
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