If push comes to shove...?

rhiwfield

RAS wrote: »

Yes, and what and how to grow things that are still useable in the spring. With this hard December things have died that were staples in previous years. White cabbage useless, pretty much on all the plots. Red cabbage and Savoys, fine.

Some of the red cabbage have had it as well, thought they were indestructible! Quite a few of the leaf beet look to have rotted, luckily there's quite a few in pots in the greenhouse and they're ok

RAS

rhiwfield wrote: »

Some of the red cabbage have had it as well, thought they were indestructible!

Heck

rhiwfield wrote: »

Quite a few of the leaf beet look to have rotted, luckily there's quite a few in pots in the greenhouse and they're ok

last year I found that the coloured leaf beets were knackered really early one. I grew the bright light stuff for fun which it just rotted in the snow and ice and Lucellus, which is very pale and crinkly, and survived from late December to the last week of February either under snow or freezing (minus 10 or more for ages) and kept going onto late April before trying to flower, when I chopped it back and used the leaves off the side shoots for a couple of weeks. TAkes up space for a long time but is productive over a long period too.

Rummer

So what are the traditional crops grown in the UK over the winter that are not likely to fail due to bad weather?

RAS

Swedes, some leeks, brussel sprouts to a point, savoy cabbages, in most of England and Wales. The Dutch apparently pull their white cabbage and store them with their roots in beds of slightly damp earth.

EDIT:Going to edit this now I have some more time.

Add parsnips, kale, purple and white sprouting.

Corn salad is certainly hardy to minus 12 or below. Bitter cress and land cress - I prefer the former even if it is a weed but it runs to seed in early March. Welsh onions for me.

I suppose my thoughts are with those who found themselves facing not just minus 10-12 degrees before Christmas but minus 15-20 in England and the Marches and minus 20-25 in Scotland.

There are a lot of things that will cope with being buried under snow and with minus 10 for short periods but prolonged periods of minus 15 -25 in ground that is not snow-covered really is tougher than many of our veggies are used to. So things like carrots, turnips, red and white cabbage, beetroot and Swiss chard which cope most years in my garden, get knackered when temperature plummet.

The other thing to think about is growing apples that ripen in the spring; Brownlees russet, Rosemary Russet, Spartan, Winston (as a tree because it is a tip-bearer) Striped Beefing, Belle de Booskoop. There are other but those I can think of quickly. Also old pears like Black Worcester.

Kirri

Rummer wrote: »

So what are the traditional crops grown in the UK over the winter that are not likely to fail due to bad weather?

Kale is fairly good, never lost it yet, but my sprouts didn't survive the snow, even down here in London

wssla00

I'm in Scotland and my chard (the traditional white stuff, not the coloured stuff) has stood well. Most of the rest had already been eaten by me except one cauliflower which had totally turned to mush in the snow.

Didn't plant any Kale this year but have lots to try from a seed swapping website this year. I have also hidden garlic and onion sets in between the perennials in the flower beds. They seem to be going great guns so here's hoping they wont bolt as it's a wee bit cooler here.

I have ordered some new trees for my birthday. Have a greengage and plum minarette coming alongside a pear minarette, a fig and some blueberries to add to the soft fruit already about. I have to say the blackcurrant bush I got last year has lots of lovely green buds on it so here's hoping for a bumper crop next year. That alongside the apple tree, gooseberries raspberries and lots of strawberries, I hope I will get some fruit again this year like last. I had also planted a blackberry bush last year so I am wondering if I will get anything off of it this year. Only time will tell.

I am hoping to up my normal crop this year as things gets established. Prices are going up and I have noticed a definite saving in growing things like soft fruit which is going up in price all the time.

Patchwork_Quilt

This was well documented on another thread but I taught myself to bottle produce last year. The US Department of Agriculture book Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving ISBN 13:978-0-486-40931-3 is amazing. It tells you how to bottle vegetables and meat - it even has a recipe for bear. I used a pressure cooker with a 15 lb weight and all the veg I did turned out well. Didn't try meat. The thought of botulism is very scary so be careful.

This gave me the confidence to bottle our amazing crop of apples this year. We still have lots of puree and slices for pies. It's a way of storing without refridgeration, although it does take the initial electricity. It also extends the season that you can eat your produce and saves money.

I think the key thing for us has been our fruit trees. They take so long to mature. Anyone can grow veg in a raised bed or dig up the lawn but if people seriously think that food prices are getting out of control then they need to plant fruit trees and bushes this spring.

Kirri

Oh also, going well, or was last time I saw it in the snow, was purple sprouting broccoli - though has to be planted AGES ahead but is a useful crop over the lean winter months, once it starts producing

rhiwfield

RAS wrote: »

The other thing to think about is growing apples that ripen in the spring; Brownlees russet, Rosemary Russet, Spartan, Winston (as a tree because it is a tip-bearer) Striped Beefing, Belle de Booskoop. There are other but those I can think of quickly. Also old pears like Black Worcester.

RAS, you've just ruined my chips

Last two espaliers put in (March 2010) were Saturn and Winston, nurseryman boldly stating Winston is a spur bearer. Googling I'm getting both tip bearer and spur bearer. Have you got a definitive source on this, cos if it is a tip bearer it'll have to be replaced.

B*****r!

rhiwfield

Patchwork_Quilt wrote: »

This was well documented on another thread but I taught myself to bottle produce last year. The US Department of Agriculture book Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving ISBN 13:978-0-486-40931-3 is amazing. It tells you how to bottle vegetables and meat - it even has a recipe for bear. I used a pressure cooker with a 15 lb weight and all the veg I did turned out well. Didn't try meat. The thought of botulism is very scary so be careful.

This gave me the confidence to bottle our amazing crop of apples this year. We still have lots of puree and slices for pies. It's a way of storing without refridgeration, although it does take the initial electricity. It also extends the season that you can eat your produce and saves money.

I think the key thing for us has been our fruit trees. They take so long to mature. Anyone can grow veg in a raised bed or dig up the lawn but if people seriously think that food prices are getting out of control then they need to plant fruit trees and bushes this spring.

Thanks PQ, there's even a free download of the book and a free online course at National Center for Home Food Preserving.