VEGETABLE PATCH : Scorzonera (‘Duplex’, ‘Lange Jan’) is one of those crops that rewards patience — and today’s descending Waxing Crescent is exactly the kind of quiet, root-focused energy that suits lifting it. Slide a long-handled fork 25–30 cm deep alongside each row to avoid snapping the brittle taproots, then ease them up with a slow, steady tilt / Sow winter radishes (‘Black Spanish Round’, ‘China Rose’) directly in place at 1 cm depth, spacing seeds 5 cm apart in rows 25 cm wide — they’ll bulk up steadily as temperatures drop / Thin autumn-sown spinach (‘Matador’, ‘Giant Winter’) to 10 cm between plants so each rosette has room to spread without competing for nutrients; thinnings make a fine addition to a salad bowl / On sandy soils, water carrot rows (‘Autumn King’, ‘Flakkee’) lightly before lifting to loosen the ground without washing away the fine root hairs — this keeps them firmer in storage.
INDOORS : Pot up chive clumps dug from the border, dividing each into sections of 8–10 bulblets and settling them into 15 cm pots filled with a loam-based compost; placed on a bright windowsill, they’ll keep producing fresh cuts well into winter / Check stored onions (‘Sturon’, ‘Red Baron’) and shallots (‘Mikor’, ‘Griselle’) — remove any showing soft patches or mould immediately, as a single compromised bulb can spread quickly through the tray / Sow lamb’s lettuce (corn salad) in a seed tray under cover at 0.5 cm depth; germination is reliable between 10–15 °C and seedlings will be ready to transplant under a cold frame within three weeks.