How to Grow Winter Vegetables

Widen your winter horizons and enjoy an abundance of vegetables at the darkest time of year in this lovely book.

Many people believe that not much grows in winter, but a well-organised plot can still be productive with careful planning. In fact, many salads can be grown in winter, especially with a little protection from fleece, cloches or larger structures. Written by organic gardening expert Charles Dowding, this guide explains how you can come through winter with plenty of vegetables stored and ready to harvest.

Beautifully designed with full-colour photographs from Martin's garden, How to Grow Winter Vegetables includes an extensive month-by-month sowing, planting and growing calendar, as well as plenty of tips on storing produce. Martin shares harvesting guidance, from garlic in July right through to spring cabbage and pea shoots in May. The guide also includes a whole section on frost-hardy salad plants and other vegetables.

How to Grow Winter Vegetables is a useful resource for anyone looking to utilise their garden and grow fresh produce throughout the year.

Auteur

Charles Dowding is an internationally recognised organic gardening expert, and a former winner of the Garden Media Guild Practical Journalist of the Year award. He contributes articles to many magazines, including Gardeners' World, Gardens Illustrated and Grow It!, talks on radio and television, and runs courses and advises on best practice, including for the National Trust in the UK.

Charles is a veteran organic grower, having practised no-dig gardening for many years. In his gardens he has conducted experiments to compare differences in growth between vegetables on dug and undug soil, showing that the dug beds have slightly lower yields, and more weeds and slugs. He established a new garden from scratch, to illustrate no-dig practice and form the basis for further experimentation.

Résumé
How to Grow Winter Vegetables shows that it is possible to enjoy an abundance of vegetables at the darkest time of year, whether stored or ready for harvesting when needed. It also covers growing for the hungry gap from April to early June. Not much grows in winter, but a well-organised plot may nonetheless be quite full. You need to plan carefully, and well ahead (as early as spring) for sowing and planting at specific times through the year, so the main part of the book is an extensive month-by-month sowing, planting and growing calendar. Further sections cover harvesting, from garlic in July right through to the last of the overwintered greens in May, and storing your produce. Many salads can be grown in winter, especially with a little protection from fleece, cloches or larger structures. The book includes a whole section on frost-hardy salad plants, explaining how to ensure harvests of fresh leaves throughout winter. The beauty of winter and its produce is captured in glorious photographs from the author's garden.

Contenu

Introduction

**PART 1 Winter's potential
**A forgotten season
A winter's scene

**PART 2 Preparing for winter
**Looking after your soil
Making your own compost
What to grow for winter
Tips for sowing & planting

**PART 3 Sowing, planting & growing calendar
**Sowing & planting in spring
Sowing & planting in early summer
Sowing & planting in late summer & autumn

**PART 4 Winter harvests
**Winter harvests calendar
Winter & hungry gap vegetables A-Z

**PART 5 Stored harvests
**Principles of storing for winter
Vegetables for winter storage A-Z

**PART 6 Winter vegetables under cover
**Under-cover growing
An amazing array of vegetables

Resources
Index