Rehearsing for the Mars landings in Hawaii and Idaho

Many plants have something to ­offer as the growing season winds down, but to truly take advantage of the best of fall, one should grow the three pillars of the autumn garden.

Step aside, orange carrots! White carrot varieties are taking the culinary and gardening world by storm, offering not just a unique hue but also an array of flavors and textures that make them a must-try. Whether you’re looking to elevate your next gourmet dish or seeking a show-stopping addition to your vegetable garden, these snow-white wonders are sure to captivate your interest.

Imagine harvesting vibrant, violet-hued pods that are not only a visual feast but also packed with nutrients and flavor. Whether you’re spicing up a stir-fry or looking to add a splash of color to your garden, Purple Beans are your ticket to an extraordinary experience.

Hailing from South Africa, agapanthus can be evergreen or deciduous; the deciduous varieties are the most hardy in this country. The evergreen varieties grow in the southern Cape in milder areas, so will need frost protection in the UK – or they can be grown in pots and brought inside.

‘Potato Pete’ was a cartoon character from the WW2 era, whose job was to persuade people to fill up on homegrown potatoes rather than bread made from imported wheat. Potatoes made it into all kinds of recipes during the war, replacing some of the fat in pastry and even turning into dessert. The Ministry of Food published the Potato Pete Recipe Book, which you can read online.

This summer, we will be focusing on the main garden. The aim is to have the structure in place by the end of the year, so I can spending next year gardening rather than building the garden. It’s not that it hasn’t been an interesting experience, and I’m loving watching the design unfold and become the garden we want, but I’ve spent far more of the year wanting to garden than I will spend actually gardening!

How does a kitchen gardener choose what to grow? It’s about balancing quite a complex set of variables, which include the space and time available, the local climate and soil, the gardener’s skill level and what they like to eat. That last one is, itself, quite a complicated topic as culture plays a significant role. There are many thousands of edible plants on the planet; most people only eat a small number and grow fewer still.

Header image: Three sisters (winter squash, maize and climbing beans) summer garden at the University of Guelph. (Hannah Tait Neufeld), Author provided

Michael Dixon, University of Guelph

It’s time to shake the mud of 2016 off our boots, and to prepare the soil for 2017 (metaphorically speaking). I have the bones of a planting plan for next year, which will be subject to revisions, and we know which areas of the garden still need work.

Header image: Anastasiya (left) and myself working on the Haughton crater rim. Mars Society, Author provided.

Matt Damon as astronaut and exobotanist Mark Watney in the film The Martian grows crops on Mars. (20th Century Fox/Handout)