IN THE SPOTLIGHT…

December … ways to keep warm in the garden…

Apart from lighting some huge conflagration that also take off your eyebrows and melts you expensive glasses there are other ways to keep warm.  If that opening sentence seemed strangely specific then know I am writing from experience…Ian’s eyebrows were sacrificed and the coating on my glasses melted and wrinkled up – it proved to be an expensive bonfire!

Digging! 

• Please don’t go mad, the last thing you need is a sore back for Christmas and besides it doesn’t have to all be finished before the end of the year.  Pace yourself and be thorough in each small area.  Get those weed roots up, take the fork to whack the clods and turn them into a finer soil. 
• Add manure or compost and twiddle it in – yes, the homemade compost is fabulous and well-rotted manure is best (although heavy, and not always easy to source) but bagged compost will do the job.  You may arrive at just the right time to pick up a bargain as split bags are often sold cheap.  ‘Twiddling it in’ is our own term, spread a layer on the top then sort of prod and twist with the fork to work it in, finishing with one more layer on the top.  I gave up on double digging many moons ago, now I twiddle in and layer on top and let the earthworms do the hard work!
• Safety reminder if prodding with a fork wear something sensible on your feet so that a misplaced prod doesn’t lead you to an unplanned trip to A&E – no, I haven’t done this myself but I know someone who did.
• The benefit of digging a small bit, twiddling and layer on top is that it look amazing when it is done!  So smart and neat and ready for next year and you can clearly see what you have achieved.  Don’t immediately start digging the rest - remember the sore back – instead feel inspired to do some another bit next time.
• But why dig in December?  Leaving it until the last minute before spring sowing means you will rush, you are more likely to hurt your back and there isn’t time for the compost to be broken down so that goodness cant be used by the plants.  And our weather can delay us – too wet and soggy means you cannot get near the soil without squashing it all down and bringing half of the garden inside with you.  Good soil is just plain mud if you tramp it into the house on your boots.  A crisp, frosty December day just needs that excuse of digging to get outside.
• And another thing, digging uses energy – energy used means calories burned – calories burned before Christmas can only be a good thing!
• I have learnt over the years (and sore backs) is that the job doesn’t end with the last spade full… you still need energy for clearing up, cleaning, tidying away and time to look at what you have done and think, “yeah, good job!” and give yourself a pat on the back for getting outside and active.
• Oh yes, one thing that is a clear result of climate change (in my opinion) weeds grow in all 12 months.  I might have rose tinted glasses but just as Wagon Wheels were bigger when I was young, weeding was not on the December agenda.  Nor was grass cutting but as grass is only grass when it is part of a lawn it is very much a weed when it encroaches on one of the veggie beds or turns up in a container.
• As you are digging take out the weeds and their roots
• Weeds like the protected conditions in the greenhouse, cold frame and under cloches – check those places and root them out!
• If you have overwintering crops gently weed around them.  In fact, winter weeding around your perennials and shrubs can be easier because you can see the weeds… so weed them out carefully!
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Weeding

• Oh yes, one thing that is a clear result of climate change (in my opinion) weeds grow in all 12 months.  I might have rose tinted glasses but just as Wagon Wheels were bigger when I was young, weeding was not on the December agenda.  Nor was grass cutting but as grass is only grass when it is part of a lawn it is very much a weed when it encroaches on one of the veggie beds or turns up in a container.

​    December Sowing Guide

    Special Seed Collections