If you’ve been considering eating healthier and saving some pennies by growing your vegetables at home then low-maintenance plants are the best option to care for either in your garden, or simply on the kitchen windowsill!
Here are five vegetables to plant this autumn, that should help you catch that healthy eating bug and become a better gardener:
1. Christmas potatoes
You can grow potatoes either indoors or outdoors ready for the festive season, to pair up with your turkey, but for autumn planting to pay out you should really store them in a frost-free greenhouse, a bright porch or a cool conservatory.
How and when to plant – August
Plant seed tubers in a sunny, frost-free area of the garden once the shoots have grown around 1inch long. You can also grow potatoes in compost bags if you don’t have much room in your garden, plant them in a layer of soil and compost and keep topping this up as they grow until the bag is full.
2. Onions
When it comes to planting onions, bear in mind that they are temperature-sensitive vegetables – they need cool weather to produce their tops and warm weather to produce their bulbs. So autumn is a great time of year to get them planted, just before the really cold weather sets in.
How and when to plant – September
Plant in loose, well-drained soil located in full sun. You can grow onions from seeds but they are more low maintenance if you choose to plant sets, which are available from garden centres or specialist online retailers such as Bakker Spalding.
3. Winter lettuce
Surprisingly, leafy salad grows well in the colder weather, just be sure to choose a reliable crop, such as Lambs lettuce. Winter lettuces are best sown when the soil is still warm enough to plant directly, if you have time establish them in pots or seed trays first before transferring them outside.
How and when to plant – September
Choose a sheltered, sunny spot to protect your winter lettuce from any cold winds and cover them with a cloche to protect them and encourage strong plant growth.
4. Garlic
Perfect for that warming winter spag bol, garlic is also super easy to grow! Horticultural TV presenter Monty Don believes autumn is the best time to grow garlic, because the plant needs a spell of cold to ensure it grows into cloves. You can pick up bulbs from your garden centre or even attempt to grow it from the normal garlic bulbs you pick up in the supermarket.
How and when to plant – October
Break your bulb into individual cloves and then simply push these into soil, ensuring the tip of each one is just below the surface. Watch this tutorial video here, on how best to plant your garlic cloves.
5. Broad beans
Broad beans work great with your winter roasts or can even be enjoyed raw as a quick healthy snack, if they are fresh and small. If you plant your beans between November and February you will be harvesting crops in May.
How and when to plant – November
The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) recommends planting your broad beans ‘in sheltered, Southern gardens with well drained soils’ and can be covered with fleece or a cloche if the winter proves particularly harsh.
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