Sow vegetables in August for late crops

Life in the garden it doesn’t stop at the end of summer. Sown in August, somevegetables it will make you happy throughout the bad season to offer you late harvests.

Some varieties of vegetables tolerate cold well and thrive despite unfavorable conditions. Leafy vegetables to be consumed as the harvest progresses or root vegetables for long-term storage, the choice is vast!

Winter spinach

Rich in vitamins and minerals, this vegetable will be your winter ally. Short day varieties like ‘Viroflay’s Monstrous‘or again’Winter giant‘, will adapt perfectly to early sowing at the end of August.

How to proceed?

• Manually weed and hoe the soil.
• In heavy or clay soils, add a few shovelfuls of river sand and compost to lighten the soil.
• Rake, then pack with the back of the rake.
• Using the hoe, dig a shallow furrow.
• Sow your seeds directly on sitespinach burying them two centimeters deep.
• Space the rows 30cm apart.
• Water in the fine rain.

Rustica’s advice for Jardideco: Spinach is sensitive to water stress, it fears both lack and excess of water, be careful when watering!

Winter chicory

This large family includes varieties that are ideal for late growing. There chicory ‘Chicory‘, better known as » of endive » or Italian chicory like the famous variety « Sugarloaf » will guarantee you a good winter harvest.

How to proceed?

• Clean the soil and remove all weeds and their roots.
• Amend the soil with compost and sand if it is clayey and heavy.
• Rake the ground to flatten it and remove any stones.
• Stretch a rope to get a straight parting. Along this line draw a groove 1 to 2 cm deep.
• Dig shallow lines 25cm apart.
• Sow the seeds using a hand seeder so as not to sow too heavily.
• Cover with an inch of soil.
• Dab lightly.
• Water with very fine rain.
• When the plants have four true leaves, thin them so as to leave only one plant every 10 cm.

Rustica’s advice for Jardideco: If your soil is very humid, sow chicory on mounds.

Radishes

There are a multitude of varieties radish which you will be able to select to stagger your harvests for quick consumption or even longer term storage. Among these varieties, ‘Chinese winter rose‘, ‘Daikon‘, ‘Red meat‘, ‘Green Meat‘ to be collected 60 days later, but also ‘Long black‘,’Violet of Gournay‘,’Weight of the watch‘or again’Round black‘ which will keep perfectly in a silo or cellar.

How to proceed?

• The soil must be well decompacted and amended to prevent the flavor of the radishes from being too spicy. Weed manually then add compost and sand, especially on heavy soils.
• Rake and compact the soil with the back of the rake to flatten it well.
• Using a wooden stick, make a shallow furrow.
• Sow lightly by placing approximately one seed every 2 cm.
• Close the furrow with an inch of light soil.
• Water in the fine rain.
• Thin the seedlings as necessary as they emerge.

Rustica’s advice for Jardideco: It is very important not to sow too thickly, because otherwise the roots will remain stunted and the foliage will develop to their detriment.

Mixed winter vegetables

Colorful and rich in vitamins mesclun it is composed of a mixture of cut lettuce, rocket, watercress and valerian, it will provide you with many vitamins. You will find it in a bag” ready to sow » or you can compose it according to your tastes.

How to proceed?

• Loosen the soil using a hoe.
• Remove weeds and stones to obtain loose soil.
• Rake the surface of the soil to flatten it.
• Mix the various seeds if you prepare your mesclun then sow on the surface quite thickly.
• Cover the seeds with half a centimeter of very fine soil.
• Water with light rain.

Rustica’s advice for Jardideco: Dense sowing allows for thinning of the shoots, which reduces the bitterness that some varieties would otherwise have.

Winter valerian

THE winter valerian it has smaller leaves than the summer one which allows it to resist frost better. It can therefore be grown despite bad weather. Variety’Louviers shell‘O’from Cambraiit will be perfect for this job.

How to proceed?

• Valerian needs solid soil to germinate properly; I weed manually without breaking up the soil too much.
• Rake to flatten the board and compact the soil surface using a lawn roller to compact it.
• Sow the seeds broadcastly, mixing them with sand so that the sowing is as light as possible.
• Cover the plant with a few millimeters of sifted soil and press it with a board.
• Water in the fine rain.
• Make sure the soil is consistently moist to facilitate emergence.