What to grow in autumn?

August 22, 2011

Author: Kate

As summer draws to an end, food growing might not be something that you’d usually think of starting now, but nature is more than happy to push on through to winter and beyond with lots of veg varieties that can be grown in the approaching season.

Our friends at Seed Pantry are on hand with some autumn growing tips!

Here are five varieties that are easy to grow from seed on your window sill in a pot or outside in the garden veg patch:

1. Pak Choi – this fast growing mild flavoured veg is also referred to as bok choy and Chinese celery cabbage. With a flavour that is a cross between cabbage and spinach it is ideal to grow in pots or the veg patch around the home, used in salads (as baby leaf) or cooked in stir fries and as a side veg alternative to winter greens. A must have for urban spaces!

2. Spring Onions (winter hardy) – are easy to grow all year round, try growing a window box full of them. With its fresh onion flavours they are excellent for adding to salads, stir-fries and mashed potatoes!

3. Winter lettuce – can provide colourful green leaves all year round given the right conditions and will be a joy to harvest during the winter months.

4. Spicy leaves – these include: oriental mustards, rocket, mizuna and sorrel all providing fast growing succulent green leaves well into winter and used in many dishes.

5. Rainbow chard – it literally looks like a rainbow with wonderfully bright stalks and shiny leaves. They are great in salads or cooked with a little butter.

To grow them, you just need a few pots / containers with compost or a garden veg patch and you’ll be eating your own produce with 4 to 6 weeks. You can get a limited box of these 5 varieties from Seed Pantry – look for the Mini Autumn Veg Patch.