UK growing guide · Autumn
What can I plant in November?
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November is a planting month disguised as a packing-up month. What can you still sow and plant in the UK now? Garlic, hardy broad beans, and bare-root fruit, if the soil is workable. Alongside that, leeks, kale and Brussels sprouts are ready to eat.
I don't dig for the sake of it in November. If the ground is wet, I mulch, cover, and come back. The crops that fail are usually the ones planted into a smear of clay.
What to sow in November
Vegetables to plant in November in the UK, split between sowing under cover and sowing outside.
Indoors or under cover
A cold greenhouse or a frame is enough. You are not after fast growth. You want short, sturdy plants that sit until spring.
- Broad beans — in pots, the reliable option on cold or wet plots
Garlic — one clove to a module if the bed is waterlogged
Lettuce — hardy winter types, in a frame or greenhouse
Peas — a hardy variety in pots, optional; February is often easier
Outdoors
Outdoor sowing is for free-draining soil in a mild spell. If water sits on the bed, don't sow into it.
- Broad beans — hardy types, southern and western gardens, well-drained soil
- Garlic — still worth planting; later cloves make smaller bulbs
What to plant out in November
Plant garlic, any onion sets you still have, and dormant fruit. Spring cabbage can go out if it is hardened off. Nothing tender survives a November night unprotected.
- Garlic — pointed end up, free-draining ground
Autumn onion sets — if you can still find firm sets- Cabbage — spring cabbage, netted against pigeons
- Bare-root fruit trees, bushes and raspberries — while dormant; don't plant into frozen or waterlogged holes
What to harvest in November
This is the month the winter plot earns its space. Pick what you need and leave the rest in the ground, except anything that will rot in store if you delay.
- Leeks — lift with a fork so you don't snap them
Brussels sprouts — many people find them sweeter after a frost
Kale- Winter cabbage and savoys
- Parsnips — fine left in the soil
- Swede
- Celeriac — lift before a very hard freeze if your plot is exposed
Spinach — overwintered plants, pick lightly- Stored squash, onions and apples — remove anything soft
November jobs on the plot
Protection and tidiness beat heroics. A Saturday of small jobs is enough.
Mulch empty beds
Spread compost or leaf mould and let the worms take it down. Covering the soil stops winter rain battering it.
Net brassicas and check ties
Pigeons are the main pest now. Tall Brussels sprouts also need a stake on windy allotments or they rock and lose their roots.
Cut autumn raspberries
On autumn-fruiting canes, cut everything that fruited down to the ground. Summer-fruiting canes are different: you keep the new canes and cut out the old ones.
Clear diseased debris
Blighted tomato and potato material does not go on the compost heap. Healthy stems and leaves can.
Raise pots off the ground
Pot feet or a couple of tiles stop containers sitting in a puddle and then freezing solid.
Frost and where you garden
North and south in November
Frost is now regular over most of the UK. It arrives sooner and bites harder in Scotland, northern England, the Midlands away from the coast, and anywhere high or exposed. Coastal west and the far south-west stay milder, but a freeze is still possible. Tender crops outdoors are finished.
Further north, and high ground
In the north and on high ground, sow broad beans in pots under cover rather than in the open. Plant garlic only if the soil still crumbles. Bare-root fruit can wait for a milder day in a garage, roots wrapped, rather than go into frozen ground. Harvest celeriac and beetroot you have not yet lifted.
The south and sheltered coasts
Southern and south-western gardens can still plant garlic and sow broad beans outside in a mild, dry spell. Mice will find the beans, so cover the row. If you are on clay, pots are still the better idea after a wet fortnight, even in Cornwall or Devon.
Easy mistakes in November
November punishes wet feet more than cold. Drainage, covers and a look through the stores will do more than another packet of seed.
Planting into waterlogged holes
Fruit trees and garlic both fail in standing water. Wait, or plant in a raised spot.
Cutting the wrong raspberry canes
Autumn varieties: cut all fruited canes to the ground. Summer varieties: keep this year's new canes, they fruit next year.
Leaving stores unchecked
One rotting apple or squash softens the rest. Look once a fortnight.
Walking on wet beds
You compact the soil you will want to sow in March. Keep to the paths.
Keep November on the dashboard
Sproutly is a web garden diary for UK fruit and veg growers. Add the plants and the jobs, then see what's due on your dashboard.
Record your sowings
Note what you sowed in November, and which bed it went in.
Plan the month's jobs
Add planting, covering and picking as tasks with a due date.
See what's due
Your dashboard shows what's due and what's overdue. Sproutly does not email you or send a push to your phone.
Sketch the beds
Use the garden planner to try a layout before you plant it for real.
Ready to plan your November garden?
Add this month's plants and jobs to your diary. Basic is free for up to 3 plants and 3 tasks. Pro is £5 a month if you want more, including recurring tasks.
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Gardening advice is provided as a general guide based on typical UK conditions. Weather soil and local climate can vary so always use your judgement and adjust timing as needed for your own garden.