The bountiful brassica is versatile and generous

But Andrew Oldham says you need to get sowing now to get the best yield

- By Andrew Oldham

It has been a funny start for the year, a dry, warm spring has seen a summer of ups and downs. Here on Pig Row, we have veered from a mix of baking days, that saw the temperature gauge hit over thirty degrees outside, and over forty degrees in the greenhouses. Though the rain was welcome, it has arrived with squally winds that I had me worried when I was building my second greenhouse. These blustery winds put pay to several sheets of glass that I had leant against a wall only for a second. The rule of thumb when building a greenhouse, always lay your glass down flat.

AVOIDING THE 'HUNGER GAP'

Even though we are at the height of summer and harvest, it is never a good idea to just concentrate on the present. A gardener always has an eye to the future, and a little considered phrase by some is 'successional sowing.' Successional sowing is important to avoid leaving soil bare, or unproductive during the winter months. The crops sowed now will help to avoid what is called the 'hunger gap.' Those weeks and months between when the gardener has harvested the last of their summer crops and when they sow in spring. There are crops that can be sowed now that will plug that gap.

THE VERSATILE BRASSICA FAMILY