Cream of the crop; You may still be reaping the rewards of your hard work on the allotment, but don't down tools just yet as there are winter crops to be planted. Hannah Stephenson finds out more.

NOT only will new crops keep the soil covered over winter and help to suppress weeds, you'll have a bonus crop of quick-maturing vegetables before the winter closes in - while some are hardy enough to keep harvesting until spring.

Others will get a head-start on spring-sown crops and should be ready several weeks early.

Which? Gardening, the Consumers' Association magazine, trialled veg including onions, peas, beans and winter salads to see how they would fare planted in the autumn.

The trial, featured in the September edition of the magazine, found that garlic is a crop worth starting in autumn unless you've got cold, wet soil - in which case, wait until February.

Buy or order the bulbs now, but wait until November before planting them. Split the bulbs into individual cloves just before planting, about 15cm apart. Ease them into the soil, and make sure their tops are hidden or the birds may take them.

They should produce plants about 15cm tall before winter, which will be tough enough to survive the season, and you should be harvesting them by July. The garlic variety 'Solent Wight' was best in the magazine's last trial.

You can also plant onions in the autumn, spacing the sets 10cm apart in rows 30cm apart during October or November. These will overwinter like the garlic and should be dried off and ready to harvest in mid-July, a couple of weeks before spring-planted onions.

Peas and broad beans can be sown in October and Buy two November, provided you choose a sunny, sheltered spot. Sow broad beans in double rows with 20cm between plants each way, to make it easy to support the plants in spring, by running string round the outside tied to posts. compatible trees - even self-fertile varieties crop more heavily with a compatible pollinator that blooms at the same time.

Cut down border perennials.

With peas, dig out a shallow trench 3-4cm deep and at least 15cm wide. Scatter seeds roughly 5cm apart each way.

The plants should reach 15-20cm tall before they stop growing in mid-winter.

The traditional broad bean 'Aquadulce Claudia' is a safe bet, but the small-podded 'Stereo' is also worth trying.

If you want salad all winter, go for the winter-hardy varieties. While you can sow them in the ground, you may have better results sowing them in modular trays or small pots inside this month to protect them from slugs and snails, and then plant them out in October and November.

Cover the plants with horticultural fleece to stop the pigeons feasting on them, and provide protection from hard frosts.

In 2008, Which? Gardening trialled winter salads, and most of them provided pickings of leaves from January to April. Pick individual leaves or cut whole plants as soon as they are large enough until they start to bolt in spring.

Reliable varieties of hardy lettuce include the cos 'Winter Density' and the butterhead type 'Valdor'.

If you have seeds left over from spring you may want to have a go and see what comes up.

You may have success if you make September sowings of carrots, beetroot, radish, turnip and kohl rabi, spinach and leaf beet. Reliable types include the carrot 'Early Nantes', lettuce 'Little Gem' or 'Salad Bowl' and beetroot 'Boltardy'.

Give the area a good soaking several days before you sow, especially if the weather's been hot.

Aim to harvest before the first severe frosts, or cover the crops with fleece to extend the season.

The full report is in the September issue of Which? Gardening, a subscription-only gardening magazine published 10 times a year. For details on how to receive three issues of Which? Gardening for pounds 3, telephone [phone] or visit which.co.uk.

CAPTION(S):

GROUND WORK Buy or order the bulbs now, but wait until November before planting them.