It is always so interesting to me to mark the difference in growing seasons among all the climate zones represented on this thread.

The time for sowing seeds of any sort is long past here in my climate zone, and the only two things I would even think about planting seedlings of right now are basil and tomatoes.

Okra? I may live in the south, but there are two southern foods I can not abide - okra and grits.

Back to different climate zones - one thing that I know little about, but which I think factors into what we can grow and when is day length. Some of you northern folks have much shorter growing seasons in terms of first and last frost date, but those longer summer day lengths have got to make a difference. Here in the USA, coastal Washington and Oregon are much further north, but are in a milder climate zone because of ocean currents, and I think that may be true for the UK also.

Stilly, can you readily grow fall crops of lettuce, broccoli, etc.? You have a longer fall day length than do I. By the time temps cool enough here to fall-seed lettuces and cabbage family plants, the day lengths are too short for the plants to reach harvestable size before it gets too cold for the plants to grow to harvestable size. They over-winter well (lettuce and mesclun mixes need a cold frame, but not cabbage family plants) for early to mid-spring harvesting the following year, but not gonna get fall salads or kale from seed sown in late summer or fall.

When I read about gnu and pdq and carrots and asparagus germinating in July, it boggles my pea-brain.

Love it.