How to Vegetable Garden

How to vegetable garden in November includes tips on harvesting vegetables and protecting our crops. Winter weather is approaching and we gardeners have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. The start of November may be mild one year and the next very cold so caution has to be the watchword.  

With new seed catalogues arriving through the post vegetable garden planning for next year can begin and this brings optimism and thoughts of next spring. Inevitably there will be new varieties to tempt our taste buds and we will be faced with the dilemma of choosing our tried and tested varieties or experimenting with the new. The best advice from experience is to wait until independent reviews are available for the new varieties and not be tempted by the marketing. 

Vegetables that need attention in the vegetable garden in November include: 

Brussels Sprouts 

There are those who just do not like the taste of this vegetable but Brussels Sprouts can provide a great crop for the space that they take up and are available to pick and eat at a time of the year when many other vegetables have gone over. 

When harvesting the best practice is to pick the largest sprouts from the bottom of the stalk first. 

It is important to stake sprouts as they are vulnerable to windrock. 

To prevent the development of grey mould remove any yellowed leaves. Protect with a material such as fleece or fine netting if pigeons are a nuisance in your vegetable garden. They can strip a plant in no time. 

Parsnips 

Parsnips are another crop that can be left in the ground until needed. 

Parsnips taste much better when they have been frosted. 

Alternatively you can use the old and tried method of lifting them and bury in a shallow trench for easy access when required. 

If you are wondering whether it is worth all the effort just think about the smell and taste of roasted parsnips on a cold winter night! 

Cauliflowers 

Harvest Cauliflowers or alternatively leave them in the ground with the leaves snapped and folded down over the curds as protection. 

Check your seed catalogue for the best varieties to freeze if that is your chosen method of storing. 

Protect with a material such as fleece or fine mesh if pigeons are a nuisance in your vegetable garden. 

Leeks 

Keep harvesting leeks which should be plump and ready to eat now. Delicious as a vegetable with a meal or in soups and stews. I love them served with a cheese sauce. 

Celeriac 

What a very versatile vegetable Celeriac is. It can be served with a dinner or added to soups. 

When leaving Celeriac in the ground be sure to protect them with a mulch of straw or other suitable material. 

Carrots, Turnips and Swedes 

Carrots, Turnips and Swedes can be lifted and stored. A frost free shed is ideal and boxes packed with layered vegetables separated by some form of compost or sand. Peat used to be recommended medium but this practice is now discouraged. 

Garlic 

Next year’s crop of garlic can be started by planting cloves in modules or large pots if this is to be their final planting place. Keep in a cold frame or in a very sheltered position. Garlic likes a cold period to kick start it but be careful that they are not wet and too cold or they may rot. 

Broad Beans 

If you garden in a mild region, sow suitable varieties of broad beans under the protection of a cloche to produce early crops next year. 

Kohl Rabi 

Kohl Rabi can still be cropped but better if eaten before they get too big when they can become stringy. Cricket ball size is ideal. 

Radish 

Continue cropping and watch for slug damage, slugs seem to find them a delicacy. 

Cabbage 

Continue to crop cabbage but remove yellow leaves that can introduce disease and rot. 

Chicory 

Dig up chicory roots to be forced. Remove the foliage, pot them up and put them in a dark warm place. Three to six weeks later the chicons will appear. 

Stored Vegetable Crops 

Check stored vegetable crops regularly and remove any showing signs of rot or disease before it spreads through the whole crop. 

Mice can be a great nuisance as they can squeeze through small gaps or gnaw through to stored vegetables. Use a humane trap baited with chocolate, they cannot resist it. 

Basil 

Take Basil into a warmer environment as it is tender and will not survive outdoors through the winter. 

Herbs Generally 

Protect tender herbs with cloches or horticultural fleece. 

Those herbs that you use regularly pot up plants and bring into the kitchen. 

Vegetable Plot Maintenance 

Clear any debris off the vegetable garden. 

Do not compost diseased material as it is far better to burn it. Alternatively put it into a recycling bin for vegetable matter if it is provided by your local authority. They treat the waste at a high enough temperature to kill disease, something we home gardeners cannot achieve. 

Weed, dig and incorporate well-rotted organic matter. Winter digging exposes soil pests to frost and bird predators. 

Soil structure will be improved by frosting and it will be easier to rake and prepare a good tilth next growing season. 

Keep on reading and improving your gardening skills. The how to vegetable garden journey never stops.