Wealden Times | WT243 | August 2022 | Taste Of The South East Supplement inside

Pick of
the Crops
Jo Arnell explains why it’s not
too late to get growing for
autumn and winter harvests
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If you’ve been growing your own this year, then this
month all that hard work could be about to pay off,
although sometimes the job of harvesting can be as tricky
as growing the crop itself. Produce is ripening by the minute
and it can be hard to keep up with the harvesting sometimes.
But don’t worry if you haven’t managed to grow anything so
far this year, because there’s still time to grow some healthy
and delicious vegetables for autumn and winter harvests.
Gluts…
This is the time of year when tender spring sown crops that
produce pods and fruits will be ready to pick. You may
already have been harvesting broad beans and peas – now
these are joined by runner and French beans, courgettes,
cucumbers and tomatoes. These are fabulously generous
crops – the more you pick, the more there will be. Marvellous!
Until you run out of recipes, or people start crossing the
road to avoid you and your armfuls of courgettes. They
will require some care too. Watering and feeding will be
needed to keep them in tip top condition. If you dare to go
on holiday – actually if you turn your back for a moment
– some of them will turn into monsters. Make a note for
next year that two courgette plants is enough (probably one
too many) and that August isn’t the only harvesting month
– but it might be the only time you can go on holiday.
…And Gaps
Early potatoes, beetroot, spring cabbage, calabrese, hearting
lettuce (as opposed to loose-leaved, cut and come again types),
broad beans and peas may have finished and have been dug
up, leaving you with gaps in the patch. Remember to leave the
roots of peas and broad beans in the ground, as these contain
nitrogen-fixing nodules that will help feed future crops.
Late summer is the perfect time to fill any gaps with
autumn and winter vegetables. It is also safe to sow those that
might have bolted in earlier weeks – leafy crops like spinach
and rocket are renowned for rushing into flower – and tasting
bitter when sown in late spring or early summer. It is too late
to sow those that take an age to get going but Swiss chard
and kale are ideal and are also very hardy, so should provide
you with vitamin-packed leaves all through the winter. If
you haven’t already had enough of green beans, you might
still have time to sow some dwarf French beans, which are
quicker to start producing, as they don’t have to climb.
Quick Crops to Sow Now for Autumn Picking
The key to choosing which edibles to grow at this time
of the year is to look at the sowing to harvest time.
Anything that will crop in around 12 weeks or less will
be a contender for an autumn harvest, and there are a
few things that have a longer growing period, but are
hardy enough to make it through the winter too.
Tiny carrots, such as Chantenay or Rondo are ideal
for growing in pots, as they’ll be out of reach of carrot
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