Ruud Kleinpaste: Time to plant winter crops

Winter crops need planting  There’s still some warmth in soil so it’s a good time to get planting. If you are in south, maybe get some punnets, rather than sowing seed.  Brassicas do well in winter: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, (Chinese cabbage for stir-fries) Brussels sprouts (but hurry!); these crops will stay “cool” and can be harvested during winter. Fabiaceae – a science word for beans and peas… Peas are good to grow now – harvest them when your conditions have allowed them to set fecund pods.Broadbeans are an acquired taste (I think) but autumn planting will allow them to be ripe in spring. 
Spinach (the real spinach, as discussed a few weeks ago) and silverbeet are also good to plant right now. But my favourite winter crop (and one that goes on to well into Summer 2022!!) is the “Perpetual Spinach” that looks like a silverbeet but is a lot milder and not so crunchie. This goes well into my favourite rice dishes (in the oven): Cook your rice; fry onion and mince (or bacon – or shrimps – or bits of steak) mix it into your rice. Then chop up raw perpetual spinach a dash of sweet chilli sauce, and work it all in a large ceramic pot (covered with lid) with parmesan cheese; whack in the oven at 180 degrees for an hour, while you open a beer or two.  
Beetroot is another one that will grow slowly in winter without bolting - plant them now. And because I still cannot let go of summer “greens”, I will continue planting a 6-pack (or 9-pack) of Cos lettuce in a sheltered place every now and then, to keep supply going. The same goes for Coriander. To be frank: this brilliant stir-fry green doesn’t really like our Canterbury heat at all (it bolts like the proverbial), but grows well in cooler temperatures. I always get a flurry of queries when mentioning asparagus. If you are really committed to growing asparagus then perhaps now is a good time to start working on a permanent asparagus bed – honestly: a few days’ work will get you at least 20 years of crop and the joy of cutting asparagus every spring. Select a suitable site: in sunny position on great soil. If you haven’t got great soil, raise the bed (at least 30 cm) and fill with weed-free topsoil, mixed with organic matter (compost). Begin the project now and get your plants (roots) when they show up in shops in July. Weed-free is the key and so is “well-drained”. Start work now and I’ll give you a picture that you can look forward to for decades.  LISTEN TO AUDIO ABOVE

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