JamieOliver.com

I used to find winter a bit depressing because of the miserable weather. But it’s gone doolally recently – in the last few months we’ve had flash floods, snowdrifts one day, warm sunshine the next, dark morning, dark evenings, trees getting blown down all over the place, and the garden looking as naked and boring as it can. But over the last few years, since I started to fall in love with the idea of growing stuff in my garden, I’ve come to understand how utterly exciting this miserable weather can be! And it’s all thanks to the Yoda of gardening, Walter Revell.


Walter was a professional arable and pig farmer who used to prop himself up against the bar in my parents’ pub every day. He was a big man, strong as an ox, with hands like shovels. (He once ate the eyeballs from a spit-roasted pig at the local village fête and offered some to me with the tendons hanging from the fork – I had nightmares for weeks!) When he heard customers in the pub whingeing about winter being an awful time of year he would say, ‘My friend, this is a time to feed your beds with manure, let the rain, wind and frost help to break it all down into the soil, and make the worms happy. Then sit back and look at your garden – look at the gaps in your naked beds to see where your problems are. Then you can correct them for next year.’

Walter used to enthuse about the different seasons because he saw the advantages each one brought with it. The colder months of winter can help kill off some of the pests and fungi that may have damaged your plants during the previous summer. Cold weather also helps improve the flavour of a whole host of veggies. The entire brassica family, for instance – cabbages, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and kohlrabi – develop a better flavour during cold winter weather. Frosts help to break down their structure so they become less stringy and not only taste better, but are far more tender.

I’ve obviously reached the age where I’ve started to sound like my old man, and like good old Walter Revell. Now, when a good day gets rained off, and the cold weather kicks in, I always think, ‘Well, the garden’s going to love it.’ And I’ve learnt that if you plan ahead and plant an assortment of winter veg in the summer you can reap the rewards from your garden every day of the year. Things I’ve got growing in my garden at this time of year that I get excited about are cabbages and kale, good old Brussels sprouts, carrots, swedes, turnips, celeriac, parsnips, beetroot, winter radishes and Jerusalem artichokes.

There are so many brilliant things you can do with these vegetables, so embrace the cold times and enjoy stews, thick soups, pot-roasts and slow-cooks. Or think about using them thinly sliced in beautiful colourful salads, to make some light, fresh food in the middle of winter. Either way, whether you’re growing or buying from your local farmers’ market, stay optimistic and I think you’ll be surprised by what you see.

How I grow winter veg
Soil
Winter is the best time of the year to enrich your soil. Compost, or well-rotted manure, should be spread all over your veg plot (except where carrots or parsnips are going to be grown). You can leave it on the surface, to protect and warm your soil, and worms and other creatures will slowly dig it in for you. Traditionally all the old dead and finished crops are tidied away in winter. Plants that have suffered from pests or diseases should definitely be cleared up too, but remember that if you’re too tidy you could accidentally kill good bugs like hibernating ladybirds and lacewings. So try to leave piles of sticks or logs and dried-up stalks around the garden – perhaps even buy some ‘bug boxes’ and give your friendly bugs a ready-made winter hotel!

Planting
There are loads of different types of winter veg, and many ways of growing them. I usually so most of my varieties in modules or pots which I leave in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill until they have germinated and grown big enough to face life outside. While still in their pots, the seedlings can go outside in a sheltered spot to toughen them up a bit more.

Some gardeners use ‘seed beds’ in a spare corner of the garden instead of pots and transplant the seedlings into their final positions. Parsnips and carrots must be sown directly into the soil, though, and not transplanted.

Cabbage can be started indoors or sown directly into the soil. For winter use, sow from late March to mid May.

Celeriac is grown as a root vegetable for its large and well-developed taproot rather than for its stems and leaves. It has good keeping properties, and should last three to four months if clamped.

Parnsips can be sown directly into the soil from March to April, 1 to 2cm deep and in rows about 30cm apart. Picking can start from October.

Radicchio is easy to grow and matures after about three months. If left any longer, the leaves become bitter. Once picked, the leaves will keep in the fridge for up to a week. New leaves often grown from the roots after the first cut, even in winter, so don’t pull the plant up until spring.

Swedes can be sown from June to mid July into pots or modules for planting out when ready. Sow two seeds in each pot or module and leave the strongest seedling to grow on.

Turnips can be sown from mid July to mid August in pots or modules and planted out when ready. Alternatively, sow directly into the soil leaving 10 to 15cm between plants.

Harvesting and storing
The ideal way to store any type of root vegetable is by the old-fashioned method or ‘clamping’. In the old days, before fridges and freezers, everyone used to store their hardy root vegetables this way (see page 114).

My growing tips
• If I have space in my vegetable garden for, say, twelve cabbages, I sow about eighteen into the module tray and choose the best ones for planting outside.

• Most winter veg need plenty of water through the summer and autumn and appreciate mulching with well-rotted compost in early autumn. This aids water conservation and feeds the soil at the same time.

• If your garden is exposed, you can help your winter veg to grow by protecting them from harsh weather with temporary windbreaks, or a bit of warmth with garden fleeces or cloches.