The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: Dan on August 04, 2015, 06:01:33 pm

Title: What to sow now?
Post by: Dan on August 04, 2015, 06:01:33 pm: Our head veg gardener has been indisposed lately so Rosemary and I have taken the reins, which to date has mostly involved weeding. We've uncovered a fairly large area of raised bed that has nothing growing in it (now).

We were going to sow a green manure but wondered if we could use it productively.

Is there anything we can sow there that will give us a crop this year, or that will over-winter reliably to give a nice early crop next year? We've got plenty of salad elsewhere.

TIA. :)
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: Marches Farmer on August 04, 2015, 06:27:51 pm: Turnips?
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: Bionic on August 04, 2015, 06:45:49 pm: According to Monty Don on Gardeners World on Friday you can still sew french beans
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: pgkevet on August 04, 2015, 07:19:32 pm: I sowed assorted brassicas in modules last week and soem have already germinated.
How about ornamental cabbage..colour and food?
all season cauliflower, cabbage.. still time for some lettuce and probably peas while it's cooler
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: Backinwellies on August 04, 2015, 07:58:12 pm: Quote from: Bionic on August 04, 2015, 06:45:49 pm
According to Monty Don on Gardeners World on Friday you can still sew french beans

so what are you sewing them into Sally? :innocent:
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: Bionic on August 05, 2015, 08:31:10 am: Quote from: Backinwellies on August 04, 2015, 07:58:12 pm
Quote from: Bionic on August 04, 2015, 06:45:49 pm
According to Monty Don on Gardeners World on Friday you can still sew french beans

so what are you sewing them into Sally? :innocent:

Hmmmm, perhaps I was watching a craft programme :roflanim: :roflanim:
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: devonlady on August 05, 2015, 10:38:27 am: Peas "early onward", turnips (if you like them) winter radish, spring greens, oriental salads like Chinese cabbage, mizuna etc.
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: Fleecewife on August 05, 2015, 11:40:58 am: Spring cabbage now, Japanese overwintering onions and autumn planted garlic a little later. You could sow a low winter hardy green manure, then plant the cabbages through it, although that wouldn't work for the alliums.
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: Dan on August 05, 2015, 05:49:56 pm: Thanks all. We've got loads of cabbages and other brassicas in other beds, and no-one here eats turnips!

No French beans in though, so I think we'll try some of those, and maybe some (more) peas and Chinese cabbage sounds good. :thumbsup:
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: doganjo on August 05, 2015, 08:21:03 pm: Purple dwarf french beans are pretty and tasty
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: SallyN on August 07, 2015, 11:35:42 pm: you can sow loads of stuff now - my favourites are dwarf French beans (not climbing or they won't have time to reach maturity); borlotti beans; mangetout peas; early peas (eg Meteor or Douce de Provence); lettuces; all the salad stuff eg radishes, corn salad, pak choi, Chinese cabbage; also broccoli raab which grows really really quickly and is like calabrese. Also early carrots (Nantes or Paris Market varieties). And chard/spinach/beetroot.

but make sure you sow into damp soil as it's easy to let the seeds dry out this time of year. And even better sow into modules in a cold frame or similar as I find seeds get eaten by the slimy ones as soon as it rains...
Title: Re: What to sow now?
Post by: Kimbo on August 09, 2015, 06:48:21 pm: hubby has just sown French Beans, Purple Sprouting Broccolli and more cut-&-come-again lettuce ( after the hens ate the last lot!). I think you have time for lots of stuff yet