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I have a confession to make. After raving about the arrival of the purple sprouting broccoli and extolling the virtues of winter veg in my blog last week I realised that I had forgotten to mention red cabbages. Not only are red cabbages easy to grow

I know I keep banging on about cabbages but they are just about the best crops I have grown this year. The wet weather and cooler temperatures seem to have suited all the brassicas well and I've got cabbages coming out of my ears (strange thought

Despite the attentions of the cabbage white caterpillars my Brussels sprouts are doing really well. I think the calabrese acted as a kind of sacrificial crop, as the cabbage whites have gone for these first, the cabbages second and the Brussels last

and I think half of them blew away. The second sowing was drowned in steady, unremitting rain and probably rotted. Still, the few that did grow came up well. Thank goodness you only need a couple to go with Christmas dinner!But what about red cabbage

of sorts).As for cabbages, I've got pointed ones, round ones, red ones and savoy types, not to mention a few that Ron-next-door has given me. I think these should see me through the winter ahead. As long as I can keep them safe from the attentions

on the plot, it's time for the pre-Christmas dinner harvest - only I've cocked up a bit this year! After growing the most gorgeous little button sprouts last year, it dawned on me in September that I hadn't grown any at all this season. I've brassicas aplenty

. But the disasters were beyond my control. The cabbage white caterpillar invasion springs to mind, not to mention onions that simply wouldn't dry off, thanks to the horrifically wet summer we had. This time of year is also perfect for planning how to manage the plot

results with shallots in the past and they pickle well if there are too many to eat.For greens I'm sticking to cabbages (red, savoy and winter types) plus a couple of beds of leeks, because I love them so much. I'll also sow a few herbs and salads like

draw up a crop rotation plan. I actually drew a rough outline of where I was going to grow this year's crops in the autumn, before putting in the onions and garlic. Typically, I never got around to finishing it off.My crop rotation plan comprises a