The Cake - Winter 2021

BADGER’S PLOT
JOBS ON THE PLOT
Winter Musings
As the year draws
to a close, a
gardeners
thoughts are
turning to next
year and plans for the kitchen
garden.
Time will need to be
spent pouring through seed
catalogues and getting to
grips with that traditional
conundrum of rotating your
crops around the beds. This
is the practise of grouping
together related vegetables and
growing them in a different
bed each year, over a three
or four year cycle. This will
go some way to controlling
pests and contribute to soil
fertility, especially since peas
and beans release nitrogen into
the soil. ut these days such
traditions are constantly being
challenged.
Alternatively, just decide
what you want to grow, how
much space it will need and
how long it takes to grow.
This ensures that you are
not wasting space as well as
giving you the opportunity
for a second cropping of a
different variety of vegetable.
This method cant completely
ignore rotation because it is
advisable to keep as long a
period as you can between
vegetables of the same family.
As part of your plans for
next year, why not create a
herb bed erbs are easy to
grow and provide much needed
flavour to dishes. Well consider
what needs to be done in the
next issue, but in the meantime
you can start by sowing any of
the following in the greenhouse
in late winter basil, chives,
parsley, mint, sage and thyme.
ike the autumn issue, I have
divided this period into three
late autumnearly winter,
midwinter and late winter.
LATE AUTUMN/EARLY
WINTER
Sowing or planting outside:
broad beans, garlic and
rhubarb.
Harvesting: russels sprouts,
cabbage, kale, leeks, parsnip,
swede and any late sown
beetroots.
MIDWINTER
Sow in a heated greenhouse
early lettuce, peas and salad
rocket.
Outside: There is very little
to be gained from sowing
anything outside at this time of
the year.
Harvesting: Subject to the soil
not being frozen it should still
be possible to lift leeks, swede
and parsnips. Any sprouts
can be collected and cabbage,
anuary ing, can also be lifted.
LATE WINTER
Sow in a heated greenhouse
broccoli, summer and autumn
cabbages, leeks, lettuce, onions
and peas.
Sow outside if conditions are
suitable: broad beans, parsnips
and spinach.
lant outside if conditions are
suitable spring cabbage, garlic,
onion sets if you prefer not to
grow from seed and shallots.
Harvesting: lift remaining
parsnips, swede and leeks.
Commence digging and
manuring beds for next year
if you are not convinced
about the no dig system.
If you are a convert, time
should now be spent clearing
your beds of weeds and
laying down your compost.
Try to finish either of these
tasks before Christmas.
A quick word about
digging and turning your
soil it is said that the upper
layers contain absorbed
carbons and digging and
turning merely releases these
harmful substances into the
atmosphere. any farmers
have now abandoned deep
ploughing in favour of a
shallower approach.
uring this period it is
advisable to sort through
your stored vegetables such
as garlic and onions and
remove any items showing
signs of rotting as this may
spread to the remainder.
In late winter it is a good
idea to start “chitting your
seed potatoes. This is the
process of starting tubers
into growth indoors to get
a slightly earlier crop. They
are placed in a seed tray in a
frost free shed or cool room,
in the light but away from
direct sunlight to encourage
shoots to develop. Always
place them with the end
containing the most “eyes
uppermost.
n drier days when the
soil is not frosty, spend
some time using a rake to
break down larger lumps of
compost on the surface.
ast but not least head
for the plot, if you need to
escape from the frenetic
activity of Christmas
Badger
The Cake Winter 41