Introduction:
The garden is starting to slow down now, and without shelter most crops won’t grow very well. If you have planned and planted throughout the year, you should have crops available to harvest well into winter.
There is still time to get garlic, onion and shallot sets into the ground, and you can also scatter flower seeds around – trample them in to stop the birds eating them all!
Read the previous articles here:
January / February / March / April / May / June / July / August / September / October
If you are new to growing your own food and want to have a go, why not start this year? Email us for a free PDF guide to help you! Laura will also help via social media or email – laura.beardsmore@tcv.org.uk
Seeds to Sow in November:
For direct sowing outdoors, try peas and beans. You might need to protect the seeds from hungry mice!
Indoors, try beans, peas, leek, brassicas (try cauliflower “all the year round”), kale, onion seed.
We have started some lettuce seed in module trays, and put them in the greenhouse at our Selly Oak site.
Successional Sowing
You can keep sowing crops in a greenhouse or polytunnel, or even on a windowsill! Why not try:
- Salad leaves – rocket, spinach, mizuna, sorrel, lollo rosso, mustard, cress
- Radish
- Winter peas – meteor or douce provence
- Broad beans – aquadulce claudia
Planting Out in November:
Anything planted out at this time of year will need protection, using either cloches, fleece, or in a cold frame. You could line your greenhouse or polytunnel with bubble wrap to help insulate it.
It’s not too late to get onions, shallots, or garlic sets in during November, as long as the ground isn’t frozen. Protect these with netting – when they start to grow, the birds will pull them out of the ground.
An onion snug in its compost hole, ready to grow! We have covered these with taught netting to stop the birds pulling the onions out.
Harvesting Food in November:
Root crops can still be harvested over late autumn and into winter. This includes parsnip, carrot, leek, celeriac, and any turnips you have left. Chard and kale will also stand over winter, so keep picking the leaves off as and when you need to use them.
The seasons have been all over the place this year – at Selly Oak Green Gym we are still harvesting cauliflower, chard, peas, salad leaves, and the last of the sweetcorn has been picked as baby corn.
A cauliflower at Selly Oak, almost ready to harvest
Getting Ready for December:
December is a time to plan for next year, but there is still lots of work to do on the food growing plot. Clear away weeds, turn your compost, mulch the ground, and harvest anything that’s left – remember to leave some to pick on December 24th!
Two year old leaf mulch made at Selly Oak. This is being bagged up and taken to other sites to put on the raised beds to add nutrients back into the soil over winter.
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