November, As A Key Month In The Autumn And Winter Transition, Offers A Wonderful Harvest Of Hardy Root Vegetables, Brassicas & Stored Orchard Fruits In The UK.
Table of Contents
Here is a concise list of the most prominent seasonal crops .. plus a few more unusual ones:
Root Vegetables Beetroot, Carrots (available year-round, but British varieties are prime), Celeriac, Jerusalem Artichokes, Parsnips (flavour often improves after the first frost), Potatoes (maincrop/stored varieties), Swede, Turnips, Apios americana (groundnut – a hardy perennial tuber producing small, nutty-flavoured roots that can be harvested through autumn and early winter), Oca (New Zealand yam, often lifted in late November if frosts are mild), Skirret (sweet, slender roots that thrive into winter), Salsify and Scorzonera (known as “vegetable oysters”, lifted in late autumn for a delicate flavour)
Brassicas and Leafy Greens Brussels Sprouts (start of peak season), Cabbage (especially Savoy and Red Cabbage), Cauliflower, Kale, Leeks, Swiss Chard, Winter Salad Leaves (often grown under cover), Sea Kale (blanched shoots from perennial crowns starting to be forced later in winter), Perennial Kales (such as Taunton Deane and Daubenton’s Kale, producing well into the colder months)
Squash and Related Produce Pumpkin (nearing the end of the harvest season), Winter Squash (e.g. Butternut Squash, Crown Prince, mostly from storage), Uchiki Kuri (a smaller Japanese variety often stored into early winter)
Fruits Apples (stored British varieties such as Bramley, Cox, and Russet and a huge range of others including heritage apple varieties that have served gardeners for generations), Pears (late season varieties, often from storage), Quince, Cranberries (small amounts of British grown, but predominantly imported and seasonal for the UK market), Medlars, Serviceberries (rarely cultivated, sometimes found in heritage orchards)
Nuts and Fungi Chestnuts, Walnuts (late autumn harvest), Wild Mushrooms (variety dependent on local foraging conditions), Truffles (especially in southern England, where the native truffle season peaks through November)
Note on Sourcing While many fruits and squashes are now stored rather than freshly harvested, a wide range of hardy root crops and perennial vegetables remain in active growth or are lifted from the soil in November. Experimental or heritage growers in the UK may also cultivate lesser-known species such as Apios Americana, Skirret, and Oca, which offer valuable diversity in winter diets.
