Top 5 Crops for Exposed, Windy Gardens

On an exposed plot, grow crops that either sit low and sturdy or that you harvest from underground, and ideally ones that don't depend on insects visiting flowers: carrots, onions from sets, swede, dwarf broad beans and leeks. Wind damages plants physically, and it also grounds the pollinators some crops need to set fruit. Runner beans that flower and then don't pod are often a wind-and-pollinator problem rather than a gardening one. Dwarf broad beans are the one flowering crop here, and they set pods without insects.

Wind exposure is a common Scottish plot problem. The windiest parts of the UK are the north and west, because the prevailing south-westerlies leave them more exposed than the south and east, and how exposed a plot is varies a lot within Scotland. A coastal or island allotment typically takes a harder, more constant battering than a sheltered garden a few miles inland.

Two kinds of wind damage

The physical side is plants being knocked about: thick leaves, low growth and sturdy stems help, and it is why a runner bean wigwam or a trellis of climbing French beans struggles on an exposed site. For windbreak siting see allotment layout planning, and for support structures that hold up in wind see vertical growing and trellising, both worth reading if you also want something taller.

The quieter problem is pollination. When runner beans fail to set pods, one cause is a lack of pollinating insects, perhaps because of cold, wet or windy weather, and a sheltered planting location encourages bee visits. Bees and other pollinators fly less, and less far, in wind. A plant can look undamaged, still standing with leaves intact, and still fail to crop because the wind kept its pollinators grounded during the narrow window when the flowers were open.

Wind also affects soil and young plants directly. An exposed bed dries out and can cap (form a hard surface crust) faster than a sheltered one, which matters most for direct-sown crops like carrots or swede that need a workable surface to germinateA seed sprouting: breaking dormancy and putting out its first root and shoot, given the right warmth and moisture. Full definition →. Every crop is most vulnerable before it is established, so covering a new sowing with fleeceA lightweight, breathable fabric laid or draped over plants to trap a little warmth and keep off frost, wind and some flying pests. Full definition → or mesh until it gets going is worth doing whichever crop is in the ground. Firm a newly planted leek in well, since a loose one rocks in the wind and the rocking can damage roots before they grip.

That gives two questions to ask about any crop before you commit a bed to it:

1. Does the plant cope with wind? Is it low, sturdy and self-supporting, or is the part you eat underground and out of the wind entirely?
2. Does the edible part need insect pollination? A root, a bulb or a self-fertileA plant that can set fruit using its own pollen, without needing a second, different variety nearby to cross-pollinate it. Full definition → flower doesn't depend on bees finding its flowers, so a windy pollination season doesn't touch it.

A wind-suited crop scores well on at least one of these, ideally both. The five below do.

The five picks

Carrots

Carrots ask little of the wind, because the part you grow them for is never up in it. They want an open, sunny site. The foliage is fine, feathery and low, so there's no tall structure to blow over, though a gale can still batter the leaves without touching the crop underneath. The root forms and matures entirely underground, so pollination doesn't come into it. Full sowing and spacing detail is in the carrots growing guide.

Onions (grown from sets)

Onion foliage is upright, narrow and low, and sheds wind rather than resisting it the way a broad leaf does. It needs no staking or support. The bulb needs no pollination to form: an onion set already contains the beginnings of the bulb, and growing it on to full size is a matter of soil, spacing and time. Sets go in during early to mid-spring for harvest from July to September, and overwinteringKeeping a plant alive and intact through the cold months, whether left outdoors, moved under cover, or stored dormant. Full definition → (Japanese) sets can go in during autumn for harvest in June and July. Full detail is in the onions growing guide.

Swede

Swede's edible root sits below ground for the whole season under a low rosette of leaves that never needs staking. It wants an open, sunny site, and shelter isn't mentioned as a need. As a root crop it needs no pollination to produce the part you eat. The closely related turnip shares the same underground-root, no-pollination profile and grows faster still, so it is worth a look on the same exposed bed if you want a quicker turnaround. Full detail is in the swede growing guide.

Dwarf broad beans

This is the one pick that is a fruiting crop rather than a root or bulb, and it answers both questions directly. 'The Sutton' is the variety to look for: a dwarf variety that is ideal in containers and windy sites. Most broad beans need sturdy stakes at the corners and every 1.2m along the row, but small or dwarf varieties usually support each other, especially in double rows, so there's no tall structure for the wind to catch.

Pollination matters here because broad beans are a flowering, pod-forming crop. Broad bean flowers are self-fertile and don't need an insect visit to set a pod, unlike a climbing crop such as runner beans. Full growing detail is in the broad beans growing guide.

Leeks

Earthing upDrawing soil up around a plant's base as it grows, most often potatoes, to keep light off developing tubers and support tall stems. Full definition →, done anyway to lengthen and whiten the shank, also helps keep the plants stable during winter storms, so ordinary cultivation gives a standing crop real wind stability with no staking. Leeks are harvested for the white stem before the plant flowers, so pollination plays no part. Late varieties can stay in the ground through winter and into spring. Leek rust is a bigger problem here than wind, and resistant varieties such as 'Oarsman' help if you have had it; the leeks growing guide covers it in full.

The comparison

A few more crops, on both sides of the list

Kale copes with a Scottish winter about as well as any vegetable, but tall varieties need staking against winter gales on exposed sites, unlike the five above. Garlic and parsnip fit the same profile as the five picks: garlic is a bulb needing no pollination, low-growing and typically autumn-planted, and parsnip is a root crop harvested well before it would flower. Either is a reasonable substitute for onions or carrots on an exposed bed.

Blackcurrants run the other way. Avoid sites prone to cold winds or late frosts, which can damage the flowers and reduce the crop. If your plot is exposed, give blackcurrants the most sheltered corner you have, or think twice about them.

Common questions

Sources