As we reach the end of September, there are plenty of "tidying away" jobs to be getting on with in the kitchen garden, or on the allotment.

But that doesn't mean that it's the end of growing things until next year, as there are plenty of autumn contenders that are keen to get going right now.

Japanese onions, shallots and garlic will all grow on to please if they get their roots into empty soil, and so will a range of salad leaves, including spinach, winter lettuces, corn salad, rocket, and spring onions, too.

Broad beans are probably the best known seeds to sow before winter descends. Once they germinate, there is a short period when they look vulnerable, sending up tender green shoots that can fall prey to pests. A little protection is all that is needed, because the stems soon toughen and become too woody for attack. A cloche is ideal, or just some chicken wire bent into a "tunnel". From then on, the small plants continue to take advantage of any little growing opportunity.

This means that by spring, they should be well ahead, and will provide a good early crop of beans well before those that have had to wait to be sown in spring.

Additionally, their woodiness will see off serious blackfly attack much better than the new tender growth of spring-sown beans.

Hardy peas can be sown in the same way in autumn, although I find that the success of these is much more variable, and rot seems to be more likely, as well as "mouse pruning".

Mice can be voracious pests, doing a lot more damage than slugs and snails, although these are the usual suspects when it comes to garden crime.

Mice and peas are a particularly lethal mix, so many gardeners have clever ways of protecting this popular vegetable from rodent attack. Soaking in paraffin (the peas, rather than the mouse) is just one of these. Sowing the peas in a length of gutter, then transplanting the whole lot into the soil once the peas are well grown, is another.

Finally, if you are keen on becoming a more self-sufficient gardener, then it's worth looking around for the seed heads on your favourite summer crops, and saving a few.

Saving your own seed can not only save you money, but is another gardening adventure in itself, and it needs a bit of research to learn which seeds remain "true" – that is, the same as the ones you started with. And, because they are quite reliable self-pollinators, beans and peas are a good place to start.