Veg to grow in hot summers and cold winters

Kitchen gardener and writer Rekha Mistry offers tips from her allotment.

As we experience ever-increasingly extremes in temperature, it’s important to carefully consider what types of plants to grow in your allotment.

This is something kitchen gardener, blogger and influencer Rekha Mistry has been considering. “I thought about vegetables which can withstand hot weather and those which will take cold weather,” says Mistry, whose new book, Rekha’s Kitchen Garden, guides gardeners through growing veg, herbs and fruit.

“Ground preparation is key and we need to make sure we have enough mulch before planting anything, enriching the soil with compost. Shading is another thing we will have to consider as the years progress.”

Hot weather plants

Cucumbers

“We tend to grow a lot of the plants which like hot weather – tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines – in a greenhouse. Yet they are the ones which suffer most in the intense heat of summer,” explains Mistry.

“I grow them outdoors, because I think our climate is good enough for them, and so far they have worked beautifully outside. For instance, you can get outdoor varieties of cucumbers – I grow ‘Parisian Pickling’ and ‘Early Fortune’. A lot of gardeners grow ‘Marketmore’.”

Sow them undercover in April (two seeds per nine-centimetre pot, then remove the weaker one if both germinate), and within three weeks of germination, move them to a cold frame to harden off, she advises.

“They will sulk in spring, but once the heat kicks in in June they will romp away,” she observes. “Give traditional greenhouse veg which you grow outdoors full sun, although cucumbers may need a bit of shaded protection.”

Easy onions

“In hot weather, onions are a beginner’s friend. They don’t need a lot of watering. My favourites are ‘Bedfordshire Champion’ for the south of the country and ‘Ailsa Craig’ for the north,” says Mistry.

Even in last year’s heat, Mistry says she was only watering her onions once a week.

And she has found onions grown from seed (rather than sets) much more tolerant to the weather than sets. Plus, growing from seed is generally much cheaper.

“As I have an allotment, I have to grow quite a lot. Buying plants is too expensive, so try to grow from seed. It’s a learning process, but once you do, you learn more about the plants and how to nurture them.”

Tomatillos

“If you’re not very good with tomatoes, tomatillos (Mexican tomatoes) are a good substitute. Although they may not give you the same colours and vibrancy, they taste just as good. They are much easier to grow, but you will need two plants because they need to cross pollinate.”

Sweet potatoes

“That’s another one that will grow outdoors in our hot summers – they need really good heat to grow. Put them out after the last frost – you may have to put a cloche over the small plants at the beginning.

“Sweet potatoes will need a lot of watering – they are hungry, thirsty plants.”

Get your timing right

If you are growing heat-loving veg from seed, sow them from about mid-April (depending on where you live), giving yourself three to four weeks before your last frost.

You’ll still need two weeks after that to harden off (in a cold frame) before planting outside, she says.

Cold weather plants

Brussels sprouts

“Brussels sprouts love the hard frost and get sweeter as the cold hits them, because the sugars intensify in the fruit,” she says.

Mistry sows her seeds in module trays in early April in the greenhouse. “They like the heat to come through, but not in full sun.” She moves the seedlings to a cooler cold frame in May, where they won’t be stressed by high temperatures.

“In summer, I plant them out in a good mulch, firming the soil frequently around the plants, because you don’t want the plants to rock. Keep putting moisture-retaining mulch around the plants as the summer continues.

“You’ll need to water them two to three times a week while they are establishing, then in autumn the maintenance falls back, although you still need to continue to mulch and you’ll need to stake the plants as they get heavier with fruit.”

Cabbages

“Winter cabbages need to feel the cold for the sugars to intensify,” she notes. “My favourite is ‘January King’.”

Gardeners can sow Savoy cabbage in April and May in a cold frame or on a shady windowsill, planting them out in mid-June, when the seedlings have five to six green leaves per pot. Leave a space of 30-centimetres between each cabbage and firm the soil around them with your heel, so they won’t suffer wind-rock in the autumn.

Don’t let the soil around the cabbages dry out, as this will cause them to bolt early. In hot summer weather you will need to water young plants every other day, she advises.

Purple sprouting broccoli

“This comes into its own when you want something to bridge the gap between winter and spring,” Mistry says, who recommends growing it exactly the same as you would Brussels sprouts and winter cabbages.

“They will do nothing in December and January, but will take off in February and March. They will need a lot of mulching and help at the beginning.”

Rekha’s Kitchen Garden by Rekha Mistry is available now.

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