Still sowing in October?

Can you still sow vegetables in October? Absolutely. A few varieties will still do well, and with some protection and a little luck, there are even more possibilities.

It's autumn. For the weather experts out there, it’s been autumn for a month now. For the rest of us, since 21 September. 

With some luck, we'll have some mild weather and can even enjoy eating outside.

There's always plenty to harvest in September:

A courgette or two every day, the occasional carrot and beetroot, juicy radishes and delicious flat-podded beans and climbing French beans.

As you harvest, more and more squares become empty. Which brings us to the question:

Officially, there is almost nothing left to sow in October: the Makkelijke Moestuin app lists only a few varieties. But the weather has ignored rules and tables for years.

Warm weather in February, record temperatures, conditions that are too cold, too dry or too wet, and heatwaves. Forecasts are sometimes revised by the hour, with extreme changes within a few days. Can you still make sense of it?

I therefore keep sowing cheerfully. Not everything, of course, but vegetables that could still be sown in September. Mainly for fun, and because the weather could suddenly turn beautiful again.

It remains a gamble. Perhaps this year we will skip autumn entirely and have snow and -5°C next week. As true Makkelijke Moestuin gardeners, you and I are no longer surprised by anything, are we?

Like rocket, the Asian leafy greens mibuna and mizuna cope well with cold weather. They're included in our Asian salad mix, so I sow that too:

Bear in mind that, even if all the seeds germinate, the young plants will grow slowly. After all, the days are getting shorter and shorter.

As well as hoping for a warm October, you can cover your raised bed with a fleece cover. A cover for your raised bed.

We had these made especially for us, and we're really pleased with them. And we're not the only ones: plenty of other Makkelijke Moestuin gardeners now have one or more too.

For now, and for the next six months, a cover like this is ideal. It protects your plants from the worst of the cold, rather like a cold frame.

Seeds germinate more readily under it, and the plants grow faster too. That makes it much more likely you'll still be harvesting this winter than without protection.

Read how it works here. And if you'd like one yourself, you'll find the covers in the shop. They come in four sizes: 30 x 30, 60 x 60, 60 x 120 and 120 x 120 cm.

Have fun sowing!