Wonderful winter greens

It’s always good to plan ahead, so here’s a guide to the best and tastiest winter greens you can start sowing now and continue through the summer, says Camilla Phelps

- Camilla Phelps

AT this time of year, it’s easy to get distracted with the abundance of spring and summer produce coming through on a daily basis. But the wise gardener will make room to sow some winter veg now. Make space for some slow-growing greens to keep your garden productive right through until next year.

Whether you’re growing in containers, a small garden or a full-scale allotment or veg patch, there are plenty of greens that mature at different times through the winter, delivering all the key vitamins, antioxidants and minerals to keep you healthy and fit.

Hardy winter veg

Many of these hardy winter vegetables are part of the brassica family. The broccolis, cabbages and cauliflowers are always desirable for their fully grown heads, but they require time and lots of careful nurturing, and can be prone to disease. If this feels like a challenge there are plenty of alternatives, including kales and sprouting types of broccoli. These are often easier to grow and more pest and disease resistant; they are also generally hardier and crop for longer. You can pack more plants into small spaces and are good for containers.

Successional sowings

Winter greens thrive in rich, fertile soil, and need feeding and watering through the summer – although kales are more adaptable. The seed-sowing window extends into summer, and many varieties lend themselves to successional sowings to give you the choice of harvesting baby leaves or leaving plants to mature for winter picking.