Banishing the beige with vintage veg

She Grows Veg are huge advocates of embracing seasonal produce. The small business was built on the simple philosophy that if you’re going to the effort of growing or sourcing good food, it should taste extraordinary and look joyful. And growing your own need not be limited to the summer months: according to co-founder Kate Cotterill, winter can be one of the most exciting times of year to eat.

“All we need is to shift the mindset away from ‘permanent summer’ to genuine seasonality. We’ve got used to expecting strawberries in January,” she says. “But when you eat with the seasons, food is fresher, more nutritious and you feel more in tune with the time of year.”

The hidden cost of always-available produce isn’t just environmental. The further food travels, the more its nutritional value drops – and the less connected we feel to what’s on our plate. Eating with the seasons, and as close to home as possible, means higher nutrient levels, fewer food miles and a stronger sense of rhythm, whatever the weather.

This cycle serves as a kind of scaffolding for our wellbeing in the darker months. “In midwinter, going out to pull a beetroot or a leek from the soil can be incredibly grounding,” Kate says. “It reminds you that life is still happening under the surface.” Even if you don’t have a garden, simply choosing seasonal ingredients at the supermarket or keeping one or two home-grown crops going in pots can recreate that feeling. Winter eating, in this world, becomes less about denial and more about nourishment – for mood as well as for body.

Heirloom vegetables are the old family jewels of the veg world. They’re traditional varieties that have been grown and saved for decades – sometimes centuries – because they taste incredible, look interesting and truly earn their space in the garden. Unlike modern hybrids, they’re open-pollinated, so if you save the seeds, you’ll get the same variety again next year. Cue purple carrots, stripy tomatoes and lumpy squash - heirlooms were bred for flavour and resilience, not supermarket sameness.

Heirlooms are notoriously resilient, ranging from squash and pumpkins that can last for weeks  to hardy perennial herbs that brighten a dish even in the darkest months. These are crops that don’t just survive winter – they thrive in it, giving home cooks something genuinely exciting to work with.

So, what is Kate’s ultimate winter crop? “Mangelwurzel. A root vegetable that was traditionally animal feed, so people wrote it off,” she explains. “But it’s sweet, nutty and incredibly versatile – it’s become a bit of a cult favourite with our followers.”

Kate advises rethinking the winter gardening rulebook. “Traditional spacing advice is written for show gardens, not small patios,” she says. “Most home growers can get away with planting closer, harvesting some things young and constantly moving through the space.”

Whether you’re working with smaller plots, balcony gardens or a few raised beds, Kate suggests:

Cram, then thin

Sow densely and treat early seedlings as baby leaves or mini roots, harvesting them first to naturally opening up space for the remaining plants to grow on. This approach gives you multiple harvests from the same area and the soil is rarely bare,

Companion planting

Use every inch of space you can – the classic Three Sisters technique grows sweetcorn vertically, beans climbing up their stems and squash or courgettes rambling at the base to shade the soil and suppress weeds.

Layer up

Interplant quick crops (like radishes, salad leaves or baby turnips) between slower ones (like brassicas or leeks), so something is always ready to pick.

While cooler conditions are seen as a no-go for many gardeners, they’re less of a barrier than people think. “Plants are usually more bothered by lack of light than cold,” Kate explains. “Give them as much winter sun as you can, use fleece or a cloche when it’s really icy and you’ll be surprised what keeps going.”

Perennials are perfectly placed to withstand winter weather. Once established, they tend to look after themselves and come back year after year – so you’re not starting from scratch each autumn. And even if all you can manage is a trough of hardy herbs and a tray of microgreens on the windowsill, you’ll be better connected to the cycle of the year.

Squash, pumpkins, kale and beans form the backbone of Kate’s cool-weather meals, but they’re rarely served in isolation. “Comfort food doesn’t have to mean feeling sluggish,” she says. “I want dishes that are cosy but still make you feel energised afterwards.”

Here are Kate’s top tips for eating the rainbow, whatever the weather:

Roasted everything

Squash, beetroot, broccoli, radishes – almost any veg improves with a blast in a hot oven. Roasting concentrates sweetness and adds a little char. Batch-roast trays of mixed vegetables at the weekend, then freeze or refrigerate in small portions. Toss through grains like quinoa, barley or farro, top with toasted seeds and finish with a tahini-lemon dressing for easy lunches. One roasting session can set you up for days of quick, colourful meals.

Beans for body

Those drying beans shine in winter stews, soups and casseroles, boosting protein and fibre while turning a pan of vegetables into a satisfying one-bowl supper. “If you’ve got beans in the cupboard and a few veg, you’ve basically got dinner,” Kate says. “You can lean into whatever flavours you like – Mediterranean, Mexican, Indian – and it always feels complete.”

Air-fried mangelwurzel chips

Thinly sliced mangelwurzel, tossed with a little oil and salt and crisped in the air fryer or oven, come out sweet, salty and unexpectedly moreish. Served with a tangy yoghurt or tahini dip, they’re halfway between a snack and a side. “They’re my secret weapon when people say they don’t like root veg,” Kate admits. “You hand them a bowl of chips and suddenly they’re converts.”

Pickles and preserves

Green tomato chutney, quick-pickled rainbow carrots or candy-striped beetroot and simple ferments make winter plates sparkle. A spoon of something sharp and colourful alongside roasted veg or grains immediately wakes up the whole dish. “A spoonful of something sharp and colourful can rescue the dullest dinner,” Kate says. “And it means nothing from the garden has to go to waste.”

Super snacks

Breakfast and snacks can quietly shift too - kale blended into smoothies, grated beetroot stirred into porridge with cocoa and a drizzle of honey, or leftover roasted squash folded into pancakes and breads. None of these changes requires a total overhaul – just a willingness to let winter’s ingredients lead.

Winter is where seasonality and sustainability naturally reinforce one another. When you lean on stored roots, squash, beans and the preserved summer surplus, you’re automatically reducing food miles and packaging without having to think about it. “Seasonal eating isn’t about rules or purity,” Kate says. “It’s about noticing what’s genuinely good right now and building your meals around that.”

Those small choices add up: finishing the last of your autumn radishes in a pickle instead of letting them go limp in the fridge, turning green tomatoes into chutney rather than binning them, choosing UK-grown roots instead of imported soft fruit for a few months of the year. Each one is a tiny act of care – for your budget, for the planet and for your own sense of ease in the kitchen.

If this captured your imagination and your taste buds, then check out shegrowsveg.com – featuring everything you need to thrive, from seed to table. Happy growing!