The weather has been mild for the time of year with even a warm start to November. Temperatures over 10 degrees are good for planting out new plants. The temperature is now set to fall below 5 degrees in the next two weeks. Small starter plants are best kept in their pots until after the …Read More about Winter chill coming
Winter salad planting
With the recent cold days it may seem an unlikely time to be planting salad outdoors but, by starting indoors and slowly moving young plants out, a steady supply of greens can be achieved throughout the winter months. Salad crops grow well on cold bright winter days and once established will survive well even under …Read More about Winter salad planting
Raised bed winter planting
While summer planting the raised bed happens over several weeks, winter planting can all be done in a single day. This double cropping the raised bed can only happen as the bed has been well fed with compost over several years. In this respect the raised bed is a working bed for annual food crops …Read More about Raised bed winter planting
Raised bed changeover
The summer raised bed is ready to be changed over for winter planting. The remaining tomato plants have to be removed and composted and the bed fed with compost and comfrey tea. The tomatoes did well this year, despite conditions. The overhead weather protection diffused heavy rain and provided shade in the heatwaves. Plus the …Read More about Raised bed changeover
Winter planting
Autumn is the time for planting winter crops, garlic, beans and onions. The idea is to get these crops established and growing before the hard cold of winter arrives. The plants withstand cold and provide a late spring early summer harvest. With recent heavy rain it is better to start these crops indoors and move …Read More about Winter planting
Making chilli jam
There is nothing better on a rainy cold afternoon than to take one hour and make a batch of hot chilli pepper jam. At this time of the year there are fresh hot chilli peppers so with some basic kitchen ingredients and a set of jam jars, the gardener can become the chef for an …Read More about Making chilli jam