What to Sow and Grow in November
November has arrived - the month when the garden finally takes a deep breath. The pace slows, colours fade, and the year begins to settle into rest. Frosts have swept through the beds, knocking back the tender crops and signalling the true start of winter.
At Fat Tomato, we’re still busy - harvesting the last of the chillies, tomatillos, and tomatoes, saving seeds for next season, and getting the garden tucked up before the cold sets in. Pots are being washed, compost turned, and beds mulched thickly with leaves and organic matter. It’s a time for planning as much as planting - thinking about next year’s rotations, seed orders, and new ideas for the garden.
We should be gathering this year’s medlars once the first hard frost arrives this month, but we have none to pick. Even though the season has been good for growers overall, that sharp cold snap and wind in May destroyed the medlar blossoms before they could be pollinated. It’s all part of the rhythm of the garden - some years bring abundance, others a reminder that nature calls the shots.
HERE’S OUR LIST FOR NOVEMBER:
Garlic and Onions
It’s time to plant garlic and overwintering onions. Choose firm, healthy cloves and sets, and plant them in well-drained soil or raised beds.
We use our own saved garlic alongside new certified organic bulbs from Fruit Hill Farm to maintain diversity. They’ll root and grow new shoots quietly over winter, ready to burst into life next spring.
Broad Beans and Peas
Sow ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ or another hardy variety now. Autumn-winter sowing means earlier crops and more vigorous plants come spring.
Peas and sweet peas can also be sown now - either in trays or straight into the tunnel - for sturdy spring plants.
We sow in trays first, to keep the mice from feasting, and plant out once the shoots are up.
Winter and Spring Greens
Keep beds productive with kale, chard, watercress, corn salad, and winter purslane.
These greens are cold-hardy and will see you through the hungry gap.
We start ours in modules and plant out under fleece once they’re up.
Herbs
Lift and pot up tarragon, mint, and parsley to bring them into the polytunnel, glasshouse or windowsill.
They’ll keep you in fresh flavour through winter when the garden goes quiet.
Green Manures and Mulching
Any empty beds get a good mulch of compost or leaves.
If you still have seed left, sow phacelia or clover to protect the soil over winter.
Otherwise, a thick blanket of organic matter will do wonders for next year’s crops.
OTHER JOBS FOR NOVEMBER
Clear the last of the tomatoes from the tunnel - and turn the green ones into chutney.
Wash pots and trays, ready for spring sowing.
Rake leaves regularly - they’ll soon become leaf mould for next year’s beds.
Plant bare-root roses and trees while the ground is still workable.
Get your spring bulbs in - tulips, daffodils, and alliums for colour after the dark months.
Save seeds from asparagus, herbs, and edible flowers.
Look back at what thrived this year, and plan your crop rotation for next season.
The Honesty Farm Shop is filling with winter flavour - garlic, squash, pumpkins, apples, and our small-batch preserves and cordials made from this year’s harvest. The online shop is restocked, too - ready for anyone itching to plan next year’s garden before Christmas.
Let us know what’s still growing in your patch - tag us on Instagram or drop us a line.