One of the more frustrating aspects of growing your own vegetables is finding that most crops stop growing in late autumn, leaving you with few crops to harvest in the spring. However there are some crops that can be grown through the winter for a welcome spring harvest. Some good plants to start with include:
Broad Beans - not many vegetable seeds will germinate in cool winter temperatures, but broad beans are one of them. However, they sometimes struggle to germinate in wet conditions. If you have heavy soil it may be a good idea to plant them in raised beds and put black plastic film over the ground for a few weeks before planting to raise the soil temperature.
Broccoli - If you plant out winter broccoli varieties in autumn, you'll be able to harvest the heads in mid to late spring. A great thing about broccoli is that it continues to produce secondary shoots after the main head is harvested.
Celery - like Spinach, celery actually grows better in the cooler months as it's less likely to run to seed at this time. Plant seedlings out in early autumn with plenty of compost and they should grow slowly but steadily through the winter. By mid spring the first storks should be ready for harvest
Lettuce - a number of winter lettuce varieties are available which grow well in cooler temperatures. If you love your salads I'd recommend planting them under plastic cloches so you can harvest them through the winter, otherwise plant them out in autumn in a sunny, reasonably well-drained position and they should be ready to pick by early to mid spring.
Spinach - grow seedlings indoors and then plant out in a sunny spot in late winter. Since spinach is a fast growing crop, you should be able the first leaves in less than eight weeks.
The main keys to growing vegetables in cool conditions are adequate sunlight and good drainage. Get these aspects right and you shouldn't have too many problems.
If you have heavy soil that gets water-logged in winter you'll need to construct raised beds with timber, stones or masonary blocks and then add plenty of organic matter to make your soil darker and more friable (darker soil absorbs more sunlight, which helps raise soil temperatures).
Generally, pests and diseases are less of a problem in winter, but watch out for slugs and snails. These can take a heavy toll on young seedling but can be easily controlled by inexpensive slug and snail pellets or removed by hand.
Once the temperate starts to warm up in spring, it's also important to keep plants adequately watered. If plants dry out quickly in spring after a wet winter they are more likely to run to seed early.
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