Out with the old, in with the new: autumn-winter veg plans

[CelticRambler]

Almost half way through August, the spring veg is cleared out, the summer veg is in full swing, there's space appearing in the vegetable garden - what are you filling it with?

I've sown the first of my lamb's lettuce to be ready for Christmas, and will continue a once-a-month sowing to have enough salad to take me through to March or April.
Late potatoes went in at the beginning of July and are growing well. "Earlies" for October (a "soapy" variety) and "Lates" (floury) for November/December.
Have an 8m line of peas sown in amongst my later tomatoes which have just germinated and should produce a crop in Sept.
Planted a last line of carrots today, and this month's dose of red and green cut-and-come-again lettuce.
Was a bit late with my leeks, but they're in the ground now; no sign of germination yet, though.
Will sow a batch of red and white onion seed at some point this week in the hopes of having some very early onions next year to make up for a very disappointing crop this year.

[765489]

I usually wind things down end of August / September. I leave the ground idle over the winter. Clear out everything in the Polytunnel. September onwards is when I start tidying up the place a bit, and deciding what trees I'm going to plant over the winter. I actually enjoy winter. The pumpkins are the last thing around October when friends and relations come up to pick a few up. I used to make a Medlar cheese for Christmas but the Medlar trees are fecked as I moved them when they were big but the drought this year more or less killed them off so will have to get a couple more and start again with them. Start back up again with the veg in late February here.

[CelticRambler]

Do you simply opt out of having fresh veg from the garden over winter and buy it in, or do you work off stored reserves?

My multi-year objective is to gradually take particular items off the "buy in a shop" list. Onions and garlic are long gone; beans, salad leaves and potatoes came off last year; this year it was supposed to be tomatoes, chillies and peppers, but doesn't look likely.

[765489]

Do you simply opt out of having fresh veg from the garden over winter and buy it in, or do you work off stored reserves?

My multi-year objective is to gradually take particular items off the "buy in a shop" list. Onions and garlic are long gone; beans, salad leaves and potatoes came off last year; this year it was supposed to be tomatoes, chillies and peppers, but doesn't look likely.

Yes CR, I've a couple of local farmers around the area I get spuds off, rest is the supermarket. I just like a break from it all. The polytunnel I like to clear out and leave over the winter to stop disease / pest build up.

It's all to do with trees for me in the winter, whether it's planting, pruning or keeping boundary hedging in check ( basically a tidy up once every 3 years and have everything in rotation so nothing is all cut back at the same time ) Also I do be busy with my neighbour's farm doing a bit of maintenance for him over the winter with fencing and that sort of thing.

[kadman]

So is anything suitable to go into the ground during the irish weather in Ireland during the winter.
I am not lucky enough to be living in France, anyway me no speaka da lingo

[CelticRambler]

There'd be a fair few crops that we'd be told not to plant because the winter gets too cold here, whereas in Ireland ye have a lovely mild climate!

Then again, we haven't had even one of those cold winters now for about a decade - ye lot seem to have stolen them from us.

[765489]

So is anything suitable to go into the ground during the irish weather in Ireland during the winter.
I am not lucky enough to be living in France, anyway me no speaka da lingo

Usually anything for the winter is in the ground already, such as brassicas and say outdoor Celery that will be harvested from now up to Christmas.

Garlic is a great thing to put in around September... it thrives in our cold / damp winters. A local lad here put in 25 acres of it last year and done really well including some areas that were completely water logged for a while ( which I sorted out for him )

There are winter varieties of lettuce for instance you can start now.. not sure CR is the expert on winter gardening

That's another reason I don't do anything during the winter, the local produce is harvested throughout the winter and in the supermarkets... eg turnips, parsnips, carrots, brassicas. So I don't have to look at that rubbish that comes from Spain.