January on the Allotment

The Allotment in January

This is a good time of the year to feel good about being lazy on the allotment. There is not much to do except feeding the birds and making sure they have water; harvesting our winter vegetables – leeks, sprouts, kale, parsnips, sprouting broccoli, cabbages, salsify and scorzonera and even potatoes if you have successfully managed a crop of earlies for your Christmas.

This winter season it has been bitterly cold until the end of December especially, in Scotland, the North and with snow across a belt in the Midlands. The south has had some cold frosty weather but, nothing too severe. From the 1^st of the New Year [ 2015 – weyhey!] it has been very mild. Of course, the downside of that is that we have had lots of rain although, the weather pattern so far has been for bright sunny days interspersed with dismal heavy rain days.

I haven’t attempted to work on my plot. Most, though not all of my autumn digging has been done. A couple of areas are still waiting but, as I have quite a large area to care for, I don’t feel too guilty.

Maintenance

·         As always, try to keep your plot tidy – free from debris [don’t bring rubbish onto your plot even for the allowed bonfires over the winter months. Any plastic or items which can’t be safely disposed of in a bonfire or composted safely, should be removed and disposed of in bins at home or in Council refuse depots.

·         Bonfires – if you must have these [and I am not judging – I have a bonfire every year for bits of rotted wood, broken, rotten canes and prunings from fruit bushes and trees] – do check on the rules for your allotment site. For mine, bonfires are allowed between November and March but with consideration to our neighbours. Of course, this may not leave too many days when the weather is kind, the kindling and the material for burning are dry enough and you are available. You may only have a few days when this is possible.

·         Pruning – if you have not already done so [and I haven’t yet as my fruit trees have been really slow to lose their leaves this year] apples and pears should be pruned during the winter months when they are dormant. Don’t choose a time when there is a very sharp frost or when one is expected. Plums, Cherries and Apricots should not be pruned during the winter. Blackcurrants, redcurrant, whitecurrant and gooseberries can also be pruned now if you haven’t done so in the autumn.

·         Take care of greenhouses and poly tunnels;

- do any necessary repairs;

- if you use the ground within your greenhouse or tunnel, ensure the ground is not allowed to dry out;

- clean inside and outside of the structure of algae and moulds;

- remove snow from the structure regularly to avoid possible damage;

- if possible, remove any weeds and pests which may have infiltrated your enclosed space.

Planning and Preparation

·         If you haven’t already done so, plan what you intend to grow in 2015 and where you will plant it. Do think about the manure [or not] you will need to add to the ground and what digging and other preparation you may need to do. If you are intending to plant bare-root fruit trees, bushes or roots [rhubarb, etc] this ground should probably be prepared – check the planting instructions from the plants’ providers.

·         If you haven’t already done so and you are planning to buy from a good whole-seller on line or by post - make sure you have a range of catalogues and place your order as soon as possible. Unless you are buying from an allotment shop where the range may not be extensive but the prices are excellent – do make sure your order is in early rather than late as you may not get the varieties you wish.

·         If you plan to reuse pots, seed-trays, growing on trays, etc. do make sure they have been washed before this years’s sowing and plantings on.

Sowing and Planting

·         If you have a suitable germinating space [a good propagator perhaps] and you have a good, well lit, warm, growing-on space, you can now start to sow tomato, chilli, aubergine and pepper seeds. They do need a long growing season in Britain as they are not native and will rarely continue into a second year except in special conditions – I do have a good propagator but don’t have good growing-on conditions. My children bought me a ‘plant light’ a couple of years ago but, even with this equipment, I can only start to germinate these tender plants in mid to late February for successful results. I have found the results – although well into our autumn – to be pretty satisfactory if not spectacular.

Harvesting

·         Parsnips – at their best now. Should have had a bit of frost which improves the flavour. I find mine difficult to harvest as they grow deep and the ground is heave clay.

·         Brussels Sprouts – any variety which is available now – some are early and some later. This year I tried a new variety F1 Cascade from Dobies – they may be a late variety  and they may well have been affected by the dry summer but I am disappointed to find that my exploration of the Dobies website give me little encouragement or information. For me, they have provided reasonably strong plants with button sized sprouts – few of them worth harvesting. I guess, if I had grown them before successfully or if Dobies website had given a more encouraging result to my exploration, I might have been more charitable. However, I have to say that my advice would be to find a different variety

·         Kale – this year , I have grown Curly Kale and Nero di Toscana – that wonderful long, dark leaved kale, so full of essential vitamins and minerals. Do keep harvesting them through the winter. They only downside is the little pesky whiteflies but, wash them out easily to enjoy the vegetable.

·         Leeks – This year, I grew fewer than I have done in fewer years. I have found that when I have been away so much, I have not had reason to harvest them. I have planted and grown two rows across mt plot. Most of them are good – strong, healthy plants which can be trimmed easily.

·         Parsley – well, I am putting this wonderful herb in here as it can still be harvested. Parsley will continue to grow – al-be-it very slowly and will if judiciously harvested through the winter, provide a useable crop. If the winter turns very bitter the parsley will stop growing but, should provide a crop next year.

Of course, you may have many other crops you have managed to nurture in challenging conditions. Do please contact me on my website and let me know.

M