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Vegetables to sow in autumn in the UK

Updated: 16 October 2026

The bed is empty in October, and you want vegetables to sow in autumn in the UK that will still be there in spring. On a mild or sheltered plot that means an early bean and a winter lettuce under cover. Compost, depth and spring tomato dates are on [how to sow vegetable seeds](/hub/herb-seeds/vegetable-seeds/sub/vegetable-seeds-how-to-sow). Who each packet suits is on [best vegetable seeds](/hub/herb-seeds/vegetable-seeds/sub/vegetable-seeds-best). Prices are on the [vegetable seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/vegetable-seeds). The Products Compared editorial team updated this page on 15 October 2026 from the National Allotment Society, the RHS, Thompson & Morgan and these amazon.co.uk listings. We did not overwinter a trial row.

The bed is empty in October, and you want vegetables to sow in autumn in the UK that will still be there in spring. On a mild or sheltered plot that means an early bean and a winter lettuce under cover.

Our top picks

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Broad Bean Aguadulce

Best overall

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Broad Bean Aguadulce
7.3/10about £3.49
View offer
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Cauliflower All The Year Round

Rank 2

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Cauliflower All The Year Round
9.2/10about £2.09
View offer
Just Seed Just Seed Lettuce Winter Density

Best value

Just Seed Just Seed Lettuce Winter Density
7.6/10about £3.10
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What October is for
  2. 2.Aguadulce broad beans
  3. 3.Winter Density lettuce
  4. 4.Cauliflower, tomatoes and potato seed
  5. 5.Which packet from this set

What October is for

Garlic and onion sets sit on the National Allotment Society’s October list, and they are not packets in this comparison. The seed choice here is the bean and the winter lettuce. An exposed or waterlogged bed is told to wait until spring for beans. If water sits after rain, or the bed is open to the coldest wind you get, postpone the beans. A sheltered garden on soil that drains is where the same packet can earn its place.

Aguadulce broad beans

Mr Fothergill’s Aguadulce is the autumn bean in this set, at £3.49 for 45 seeds, with an autumn and winter sowing feature. Catalogues often spell the type Aquadulce Claudia. Thompson & Morgan names Aquadulce Claudia for October or November, with fleece in a hard winter. The RHS allows hardy broad beans outdoors in those months at 5 cm deep. The title still says flower seeds, while the plant type says broad bean. Several of the seven stored reviews had not reached a harvest. With 45 seeds you do not have a spare row if the first sowing is lost.
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Broad Bean Aguadulce

Testsieger

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Broad Bean Aguadulce
7.3/10about £3.49
View offer

Winter Density lettuce

The plant entry calls Winter Density a semi-cos. The amazon.co.uk listing is thinner. It says a winter planting period and an expected height of 25 cm, and it states 500 seeds at £3.10. One reviewer estimated about 100 seeds, and another received seed dated to expire in the same month. Check the date before you fill a frame.

Cauliflower, tomatoes and potato seed

All The Year Round is a qualified yes for an overwintered plant, and it is a different job from a November bean. Black Cherry does not belong in this month. An autumn sowing spends a packet that needs warmth you will not have. Spring dates for that cordon are on tomato seeds. The mixed potato listing does not belong here either. Reviewers say the contents were not seed potatoes, no variety is named, and October is not a reason to try an £8.99 mix in place of tubers.

Which packet from this set

Buy Aguadulce when the plot is mild or sheltered, the soil drains, and you can deal with mice. Buy Winter Density when you can cover it. Add the cauliflower only if clubroot is absent and you are inside its September or October window. Skip Black Cherry until spring. Skip the potato mix. On a cold, wet, exposed allotment, wait until spring for the beans. The bean fails first when the drainage or the wind is wrong.

Common questions

What can I sow in October in the UK?
On a suitable plot, hardy broad beans and winter salads under cloches, which is the National Allotment Society’s October list, along with garlic and overwintering onion sets. In this set that means Aguadulce where the site is mild or sheltered and drains, and Winter Density in September or October under cover. Leave Black Cherry and the potato mix for another month.
Will Aguadulce survive on a cold, wet plot?
The RHS limits outdoor October and November sowings of hardy beans to mild or sheltered, well-drained sites. An exposed or waterlogged plot should wait until spring. One review saw a November sowing beginning to pod in May, and another saw germination in heavy wet clay under a polytunnel. Copying that date on a cold, exposed site is a different garden from those two.
How do I stop mice taking the beans?
Mice eat broad bean seed in the open ground, which is the RHS warning. If they are active, sow in pots and plant out later. Fleece in a hard winter, as Thompson & Morgan suggests for Aquadulce Claudia, protects plants from cold. It does not replace a pot when mice take the seed before it emerges.
When do I sow Winter Density, and do I need a cloche?
Sow in September or October, in a greenhouse or, in mild areas, under cloches or in a cold frame, for a spring harvest. The RHS rates Winter Density H2 and still recommends a cloche or fleece. Kings suggests 1.5 cm deep, thinning to 30 cm, and cutting from March to May. Outside the mildest gardens, use the cover.
Can I sow All The Year Round cauliflower in autumn?
You can sow it outdoors in September or October, on Mr Fothergill’s window, at 1.5 cm, if you can plant at about 60 cm and the soil is free of clubroot. That is an overwintered brassica, not a stand-in for a November bean. The listing’s year-round blooming line is not the sowing instruction. Skip it where clubroot has already built up.
Can I sow Black Cherry tomatoes in autumn?
Black Cherry is a tender cordon, RHS hardiness H1C, for a greenhouse or a warm outdoor spot in the growing season. Which? timing is a mid-March or early April sowing, with outdoor planting after mid to late May. An October sowing does not give you that warmth or that day length. Keep the packet for spring.

Related pages

Vegetable seed buying guide

Vegetable seeds

Best vegetable seeds UK for the crop you are sowing

F1 or open-pollinated vegetable seeds: which to buy

How to sow vegetable seeds UK: trays, depth and frost

Sources

Public UK sources named for this comparison. Updated October 2026.

  1. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Explanatory memorandum to the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK, apply to have seeds certified for marketing in England and Wales (retrieved October 2026)
  4. Defra plant health portal, plant varieties and seeds FAQ (retrieved October 2026)
  5. RHS, F1 hybrids (retrieved October 2026)
  6. RHS, lettuce (retrieved October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, Seed Potato Classification Scheme (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved October 2026)