Liz's Allotment Life: Autumn seed sowing and planting for self-sufficiency

As someone committed to avoiding store-bought fresh fruit and vegetables, surviving the winter and early spring requires careful forward planning. Much of the groundwork has already been done: my leeks and parsnips growing well, cured maincrop potatoes are safely in storage, and the freezer is stocked with preserved produce.

The potatoes have been harvested and are now in storage

However, autumn is far from a quiet time on the plot. It’s an important opportunity to plant for the months ahead, particularly when it comes to perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

vegetables and hardy winter crops .

With summers becoming increasingly hot and prolonged, autumn is a good time to plant perennials. Planting now gives them longer to establish and put down roots before the heat of the following summer.

I’m planning to put in a few new currant bushes this autumn, although these won’t provide much food for a few years. My main focus is turning a whole bed on my plot over to perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

vegetables.
I already have one small bed of these, and last autumn I made a start on a much larger bed, adding Caucasian spinach , groundnuts, skirret and Egyptian walking onions . 

This year I've already planted:

• Three different types of Sorrel
• Garlic cress ( Alliaria petiolata )
• Everlasting onions ( Allium cepa var. perenne )
• Ostrich fern ( Matteuccia struthiopteris )
• Daylilies ( Hemerocallis )
• Herbal teas: planting perennial herbs like rosemary ( Salvia rosmarinus ), lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis ), and chamomile ( Matricaria chamomilla ) to cut out single-use tea bags. My mint plants have already made a big difference, but I do like some variety!

Herbal teas

I have plans to add several more plants before the autumn is out. These perennials won’t be at their peak for a few years, but I may be able to take some light harvests next year.

Bridging the Hungry Gap

Perennial vegetables are key to surviving early spring (March–May), known as the Hungry Gap. During this period, the fresh harvests from the plot are largely coming to an end and I’ve eaten through most of my stored supplies. Perennial vegetables come into their own at this time of year, as their established root systems allow them to get growing early, often before most annual crops are ready to harvest.

As well as my leeks, I like to have other options for fresh greens through the winter months. Following slug pressure in 2024, I pivoted away from brassica's towards winter salads. 

There are several winter salads that can be started at this time of year, although in colder areas a polytunnel or glasshouse would be advantageous for some. I’m growing all of these outside in Surrey without winter protection, and I expect most of them to make it through.

Most overwintering greens require sowing by early to mid-September with the exception of winter purslane and winter spinach. I’d aim to sow them by early to mid-September, either directly outside or in a grow hut. If you haven't sown yet, source hardy plug plants

Seedlings or young plants grown singly in small modules, with the advantage that they can be transplanted with minimal root disturbance. Bedding plants and young veg plants are often sold as plug plants of various sizes, with smaller ones requiring more aftercare. They usually need to be potted up and grown on indoors until large enough to plant outside.

now to get ahead.

• Winter Purslane: A wonderful, hardy winter salad crop. Best sown directly and thinned out it yields succulent leaves for continuous cut-and-come-again harvesting.
• Spinach: A reliable winter staple. While cultivars like 'Giant Winter' are standard, I've also grown other cultivars, including 'Lazio' and 'Matador' without any problems. I'd avoid pale, fine-leaved varieties like 'Emilia' , as there more susceptible to frost damage.
• Spring onions: For overwintering spring onions, ‘White Lisbon’ is my favourite. If you don’t harvest it when spring-onion sized, it will swell into a small onion.
• Mustards and mizuna: Both prefer some protection if you can provide it as their leaves are susceptible to frost. While they can survive outdoors in mild regions, growing under cover (polytunnel/glasshouse) or using horticultural fleece
  

  A soft, fibrous, translucent material laid over or around plants hastening their growth and protecting them against weather and pests. Heavier grades of fleece give about 2°C of protection from frost. It is usually used without supporting hoops.

  prevents frost-scorch and maintains leaf quality.
• Winter Lettuce: Some varieties, such as ‘Winter Density’ , are hardier than others. I’d still recommend growing them in a polytunnel or glasshouse if you have one, particularly if you want reliable winter harvests.

Don’t forget the birds

One caveat I’d add to growing all these winter salads is that birds can be very fond of them. Last winter at RHS Wisley , I had a nightmare with birds pulling up what felt like all of my winter salads.

In the end, I resorted to covering them with horticultural fleece. It didn’t look particularly pretty, but at least it did the job!

Fleece protecting crops on the allotment earlier in the year

I’ve been harvesting some autumn carrots this week, which has been delightful. They’re the cultivar

Gardeners often use the word variety when referring to a specific plant, but the correct botanical term is 'cultivar'. Whichever word you use, it means a distinctive plant or plants, given a specific cultivar name and usually bred to enhance certain characteristics, such as flower or fruit size, colour, flavour or fragrance, plant size, hardiness, disease resistance, etc. Additionally, it is worth knowing that, botanically, variety has another meaning - it refers to a naturally-occurring distinct plant that only has slight differences in its looks. For example, Malva alcea var. fastigiata differs from typical plants by having an upright habit.

‘Flyaway’ – grown without any covering. ‘Flyaway’ is bred to be resistant to carrot root fly, which may explain why the roots have escaped damage. I also grew them among other plants, including mint and winter squash, although I can’t say whether this helped deter the flies.

Carrots harvested from Liz's allotment

While the carrot root fly seems to have left the roots alone, the local rabbits have claimed their share! I only have a couple left, which I intend to savour. I’ll enjoy them raw and finely sliced into late-summer salads while the weather is still warm, or roast them as the days get colder. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness, and they need little more than a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and a few sprigs of thyme.

As the weather continues to cool, my thoughts are turning towards autumn jobs such as clearing away mildew-affected growth and mulching. For now, I’ll have to wait and see what the weather brings.