10 winter vegetables to grow now

It’s time to cut down on your carbon footprint and help lock carbon in the soil, and the good news is that this doesn’t have to be a self-sacrificing activity, it can be a win-win situation if you choose to grow your own food!

Planting a vegetable garden can really help, because not only does it cut down on the pesky food miles that cause so much of our carbon emissions, but if you garden organically it also cuts down on the fossil fuels that are used in the production of agrochemicals (fertilisers and pesticides). And it encourages you to compost, which saves organic materials from being carted off to landfill sites (in gas-guzzling lorries), rotting down without air and producing another potent greenhouse gas – methane. You may even find that, with all the fresh air and exercise, you can ditch driving to the gym and pounding the treadmill – an endeavour which is energy-intensive in more ways than one.

Although it’s October, generally not the time of year when people’s thoughts tend towards starting a new plot, here are ten great winter vegetables you could sow or plant out today that will feed you through the winter and into next year:

1: Grow onions

Overwintering onions, or Japanese onions, can be planted out now as sets (small bulbs). They are completely hardy and stay out in the garden all winter, and will provide you with a crop of onions in June (although you can start pulling them up as soon as they’re the right size). They’re very easy to grow – just take care to keep the soil around them weeded, as they don’t enjoy competition.

2: Grow your own garlic

You can plant garlic today, although you can also plant it into November. You’ll get far better results if you buy garlic bulbs for planting from the garden centre