It has been a great year for courgettes! Everyone who’s grown them seems to have had so many that all the recipes in the world have been tried. I’ve turned them into chutney, fritters, soup, ratatouille and even cake….
And it’s great to go out into the garden and dig up the potatoes and go our harvesting and then bring them into the kitchen, but what now that the summer season is over?
I’ve left it late to do much with overwintering vegetables so I could sow a green manure. Garden centres will have them in now but I might sow something like red clover which will fix nitrogen into the soil. I could simply sow the seed on empty ground and let it get on with it over the winter. When I would normally dig over the patch for spring sowing I can dig the green manure into the soil and instantly fed the soil for the coming season.
It’s not too late for some things, winter varieties of spinach and lettuce can still go in but I’ll probably be harvesting them in the spring. Or if I spot some little plants in the garden centre I might cheat with some greens or cabbages. I’ve got some parsnips in but I pulled a couple out today and
was really disappointed with them. They weren’t straight at all and I thought I’d put them into some lovely soil where they’d grow straight down.
Garlic can be planted either in autumn or spring but generally you’ll get better bulbs from an autumn sowing. I know I will but but I mustn’t be tempted to divide up the ones from the supermarket, they tend not to be hardy enough to go through the winter. Plant them up in a sunny spot where they won’t get waterlogged and wait till spring!
Readyplanted 