Monty Don reveals one thing you need if you want to grow 'anything' over winter

With the remnants of Hurricane Kirk about to plunge the whole of the UK into a period of very unsettled weather, summer has very much come to an end. But that doesn’t mean gardeners can’t continue to grow useful veg.

Gardeners' World star Monty Don highlights winter salad plants – which can give you fresh salad “every day from the end of October, and into April” – as one good use of your garden over the chillier months.

But, he warns there is one thing everyone must have if they wish to be successful in the garden over winter.

"If you're going to grow anything in the winter months, you need maximum light," he warned. The best way to achieve that is with a greenhouse, and Monty urged to clean it going into the winter.

He explains on BBC’s Gardeners’ World: “The important thing is to clean the glass, as that means the light levels can be as good as possible. And you'll be surprised how influential that is. It's really important.”

You can clean your greenhouse glass in a number of different ways, depending on how much dirt and algae you need to shift. The most environmentally friendly and economical solution is to simply use a bucket of warm water, with a quick squirt of biodegradable washing-up liquid. Just use a soft sponge or cloth to rub the glass, using an extendable mop to reach the roof of the greenhouse.

If you’re faced with more stubborn hard water stains or mineral deposits, try a 50-50 mix of warm water and white vinegar – remembering to rinse thoroughly afterwards to ensure your greenhouse isn’t left with a vinegary odour!

You can use commercial glass cleaning products, but it’s not the best solution for a greenhouse. If you do decide to go down that route, try to find something that’s environmentally friendly, and ammonia-free. Take care to follow the manufacturer's instructions, and rinse the glass thoroughly after cleaning.

Monty says that ideal crops to consider through the winter are winter spinach, red mustard, rocket and lamb’s lettuce. Rocket in particular can produce a bumper crop: “Rocket is one of those plants that, if you give it a chance, will grow quite big,” he says, and it as many as five times during the winter months.”

Monty also notes that you will have to keep up your watering: “It is important to keep [plants in the greenhouse} watered because, of course, the inside and therefore not going to get any rain at all.

“In about 3 or 4 weeks time, as a harvest outside in the vegetable garden becomes thinner, we will have access to fresh some of these right through the darkest days of winter.”