Tales From The Plot, December 2022
The year is coming to an end and the shortest day has now gone, heralding the slow advance towards next season. It’s the last chance to clear any weeds from this year. I try my hardest to start with a clean slate: keeping the current year’s weeds under control is enough of a job without having to deal with last year’s.
Now is the time to take a bit of time to reflect on your successes and to consider what went wrong with any disappointments, always remember that there are no failures in gardening it is almost always down to the weather! I had quite a catastrophic failure this year with the one vegetable that can normally be depended on, runner beans. I set the seeds and they grew well; the plants were soon up the canes and full of flowers. I thought ‘this is going to be a good year’ – however I arrived one day to see all the flowers on the floor. The few beans that were produced were tough and pretty horrid, I still don’t really know what went wrong. Let’s hope next year will be better.
If I’ve done the job correctly and all has been well, Christmas dinner will be a delight, I’m normally able to supply freshly the potatoes, parsnips, brussels, carrots, swede and cabbage for the table and the fact that only the turkey I haven’t produced myself always feels quite an achievement. Allow yourself a little relaxing time around the New Year to plan the coming year and be ready to hit the ground running.
Keep picking the brussels sprouts to ensure they don’t blow open, also harvest winter cabbage regularly although according to variety they can remain in the soil for months. The parsnips and leeks can be left in the ground to be lifted as needed.
If a prolonged cold or wet spell is forecast you can lift leeks and parsnips and store them in containers of old compost or soil to be used at a later date. Cabbages and even sprouts can be lifted with their roots in a soil ball and stored in a shed or greenhouse. Don’t forget to water the soil occasionally.
There isn’t anything to sow in the garden this month however I normally set my onion seeds off between Christmas and New Year in a tray on my spare room windowsill. Clingfilm over the top of the tray helps to aid germination.
Check over all of your tools in the shed to make sure that they are safe and fit to use next season. Clean and wipe down all wooden handles with linseed oil, it not only preserves the wood but makes the wood easier on the hands. Check for pests and diseases on any produce in store especially for rat and mouse damage, set traps to catch them if you have to.
And of course, the most important thing is to have a great Christmas!
Richard Thorpe plot 15 B