October in Jamie’s garden

As someone who rarely buys tomatoes, courgettes and green beans out of season,

the day they finally grind to a halt, nailed by the arrival of the first frosts, is always a sad one. Never mind: the autumn leaves, which will peak at some point this month for a few glorious days, provide ample compensation. By Halloween, most will have fallen.

Meanwhile, I have two important jobs to do in the vegetable garden. The first is planting garlic for next year (it really benefits from a period of winter cold), a lovely illustration of the continual, cyclical nature of gardening. As most things start to shut down for winter we’re already looking ahead to next summer. The other is to store some undamaged root crops – carrots and beetroot especially – in boxes of old compost for eating over winter.

There are also a number of new crops that are now mature enough to be harvested. They may not be quite as glamorous as summer’s fare, but each has its place. Some can even be counted among the most useful garden crops of all.

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