Winter

Although this is the season to catch your breath, remember to consider the year's successes and failures and use your experience to help choose suitable crops for next season.

Sowing and Planting 

Hardy crops can be sown as early as midwinter under cover.

• Midwinter: sow early cauliflowers, early carrots, fava beans, leeks, lettuce, onions, shallots.
• Late winter: sow Brussels sprouts, summer cabbages, fava beans, leeks, onions, peas, radishes, shallots, turnips; plant Jerusalem artichokes.

Harvesting 

• Brussels sprouts, cabbages, kale, leeks, parsnips; under cover: salad leaves, especially Asian greens and chard.

Seasonal Jobs 

If you want to change the garden layout, this is the time to build paths, raised beds, or other features, so they are ready for spring planting.

• Order seeds, seed potatoes, and onion sets. Begin chitting first early seed potatoes in midwinter in a cool, light place.
• Dig and manure the soil in fine weather as it becomes free of crops; apply lime where necessary.
• Wash down the greenhouse and staging with horticultural detergent, and clear away old plant material to prevent the spread of pests and diseases.