November 2024: Winter ground prep and ‘no dig’ process

Winter Preparation

My first winter preparation job—the most important one—is to check the shed for draughts, inspect the gutters for leaks and blockages, replace the radio batteries, and gather my winter gloves (both warm and waterproof). And, of course, I ensure my supplies of coffee, tea, cuppa soups (with croutons, naturally), baked crisps, and mini cheddars are well-stocked. After all a boy has to keep his boiler stoked!

Harvest

Harvest and store all vegetables that won’t stand well in the soil over winter, like onions, shallots, beetroot, carrots, celeriac, cabbage, chicory, and potatoes. Maincrop carrots should be fine until temperatures fall below -3°C. It’s good to leave a bit of soil on root vegetables when storing them—DON’T wash them. All apples and pears should be harvested by November, as they’ll start to fall when ready. Store them in that mystical place that experts always mention: a dark, dry, airy place that’s neither too warm nor too cold. If you have somewhere cool and dry, that should suffice. I’m sure you will have just the place!

I store mine in the shed using stacked crates lined and topped with newspaper, covering them with fleece during frosty weather to encourage air circulation. This works well for me. I also dot mini chemical humidifiers around the shed to absorb moisture (found at B&M Store, Crossflats, Bingley, and similar stores for about £2 each). They work a treat! You can also store vegetables in thick paper sacks, flour sacks and the like. Make sure to check them weekly for any signs of rot.

Leeks, parsnips, and winter brassicas will be ok in the ground, though you might want to harvest a few in advance if frost or inclement weather is forecast. If you want them to stand throughout the whole winter, choose varieties labeled as “stands well” in seed catalogues.

Onions and shallots prefer warmth, so store them indoors, either plaited or in onion bags, and in both cases hung in order to ensure good air circulation. Store squashes with a 6-inch stem attached, in a warm place for 2–3 weeks to cure; they’ll then keep for several months. And, parsnips and some other veggies, like Brussels sprouts and spinach, taste better after frost.

Did You Know? Parsnips have a crafty way of protecting themselves from frost! When the weather turns frosty, they produce a liquid similar to antifreeze—happily for us, it’s harmless and adds a delightful sweetness. But in the absence of frost, please resist the urge to sprinkle car antifreeze on your sprouts! It’s not quite the same, and you will be lucky to survive the experience!

Autumn Clean

Leave no place for pests to hide in the garden and greenhouse/poly tunnel. Before overwintering tender plants, remove everything from the greenhouse, sweep out debris, and disinfect paths and staging, including the inside of the glass. A garden disinfectant, such as Jeyes Fluid, can prevent pests and fungi. (If you attended Amy from Harlow Carr’s talk, she showed us HORTISEPT PRO from firsttunnels.co.uk—definitely one to try!) Ventilate the greenhouse for a few days to dry thoroughly.

Also, clean pots and seed trays in preparation for spring sowing. There’s nothing worse than starting spring with a mountain of dirty pots and trays!

Tidy Up

Have a good go at weeds, as they’ll continue to grow during mild winter spells, and rake up fallen leaves, which are a haven for slugs and snails and we’ve all had enough of those this year thank you! Cut back faded perennials to about 5 cm above ground level, but don’t be too tidy—leaving some seed heads benefits insects, looks wonderful in autumn frost, and adds handsome silhouettes to your winter garden. Dig up and compost spent annuals.

Once your borders and beds are tidy, spread a 1-2 inch layer of garden compost or well-rotted manure. Don’t worry about digging it in; let the worms do the hard work!

If you’re planning to lime beds intended for brassicas, do so in autumn unless you’re adding manure as well. In that case, add manure in autumn and lime in early spring to avoid a reaction between the two.

If you can’t source manure or compost, sow cover crops (or “green manure”) like White Mustard or Field/Broad Beans (sown twice as close as normal) Frost will naturally break them down, or you can cut them down before they go to seed and leave the roots in the soil. If using a no-dig method, place the cut tops on your compost heap instead.

Note: the reason I sow the broad beans so close is that when the time is right I cut down every other plant at ground level and leave the remainder to grow on to maturity for (with a bit of luck) an early crop the following year.

No-Dig Principles

No Dig has worked well for me for several years now and the principles are simple. The idea is NOT to dig the soil at anytime to allow the mycelium network to remain intact. Mycelium, a type of fungus, has a beneficial symbiotic relationship with plants, improving water and nutrient availability. Think of it like a delicate spiderweb a few inches under the soil surface that connects your garden but it must remain unbroken.

DID YOU KNOW? The mycelium networks in very large ancient forests spread for hundreds of square miles? Just as well they aren’t spiders’ webs – can you imagine the size of the spiders?

  • Weed and water beds if dry.
  • Spread a 2-inch layer of well-rotted compost, manure or mushroom compost ONCE per year, anytime of the year. This should be sufficient and no need for additional feeding during the growing year.
  • Harvest without uprooting plants. Twist and pull, leaving as much root in the soil as possible to rot down. Cut legumes at ground level and again leave roots in place.
  • Reserve a couple of beds for potatoes, as they benefit from more depth. I also use a bed for sweet peas to allow trench composting.
  • All my beds are no dig.

More Winter Tasks

If you sowed autumn crops or flowers recently as per last month’s fact sheet , you should have some planting out to do soon. Don’t forget to cover them with fleece or mesh throughout winter and check them weekly.

Repair bed edges, prune apple and pear trees, and tend to gooseberries and other fruit bushes. Attention to this will ensure more and better fruit next year. 

How much to prune? Best advice I have ever been given was:

“when you have finished pruning the fruit tree a pigeon should be able to fly straight through the centre of it.” 

Now I am not suggesting you shoo all the pigeons around towards your fruit tree, your imagination will suffice.

Plums only require a very light pruning to control their growth.

Strip tomatoes off the plants and put somewhere warm to ripen.

Planting and Pest Control

If you haven’t planted daffodils, tulips, overwintering onions, shallots, or garlic, now’s the time. Also pot on hardy annuals sown last month. Another good idea is to wrap grease bands around the trunks of your fruit trees to prevent the winter moth caterpillars crawling up into your tree throughout Winter and Spring and spoiling the fruit.

Place them about 18” above ground level.

You may also want to consider spraying your fruit trees with Winter Tar Oil Wash, although not very practical with large trees.

Until Next Month…

We are just about done for this month. I hope I haven’t bored you with all this information.

Next month the Factsheet subject is Seed Sourcing. In the meantime…

Keep Healthy, Keep Smiling, Keep Sowing.

Best Wishes,     

Ramon 07594 456292
Plot 21 Silsden Road site

October 2024: Seeds to sow in Autumn

Hi Folks. This is the first of a series of 12 monthly factsheets I will be putting together for your information or amusement.

I do not intend them to be a definitive technical manual of how to do stuff, but simply more a record of what I grow and how I grow it. In other words what, in my experience, works for me.

So let’s crack on with this one shall we?

It’s a shame so many gardeners ‘put their garden/allotment to Bed’ for the Winter. Autumn is a great opportunity to give yourself a good start to next season. But I do understand that overwintering plants can be a bit daunting.

The idea is, in Autumn (late September to early November), to sow seeds of varieties bred for overwintering. They can then develop a good root system before Winter, during which they tick over and then in Spring they take off giving them a head start on Spring sown seeds and so generally crop 4-6 weeks earlier. Giving time to plant a second crop to follow on (more of that in a later factsheet).

Care must be taken to sow only varieties bred to survive our Northern Winters (see list below) and give them the protection of a polytunnel, greenhouse, cold frame, fleece or mesh as cold winds do more harm to plants than cold temperatures. On the coldest nights it may be necessary to cover even plants in the greenhouse/polytunnel with a fleece.

Due to the cool temperatures in Autumn I find it best to sow into cell tray modules or small pots (except where denoted otherwise below) in my greenhouse and plant out when well established. This includes onion and shallot sets.

Following is a list of varieties I have success with, together with the seed sources I use. Other sources are available.

I will be devoting a whole article to seed sourcing soon. You can view a calendar of my factsheet subjects here.

Vegetables & Herbs

Broad beans:The Sutton  –dwarf, widely available (wa)
De Monica –medium height (wa)
Super Aquadulce –tall (Vital Seeds)
Peas:Meteor –dwarf, 18” (Simply Seeds)
Douce Provence –medium, 2’ (Simply Seeds)
Spring Cabbage:Wheelers Imperial –compact, pointy (Kings)
April –pointy, (Just Seeds)
Wintergreen –bit of a gamble but worth a try (wa)
Cauliflower:All Year Round –bit of a gamble but worth a try (wa)
Parsley:Flat leaved-(wa)
Lettuce:Grenoble Red –green with red edge (Vital Seeds)
Outredgeous –dark red (Vital Seeds)

Both varieties can be harvested by taking lower leaves leaving the plant to grow on.

Spring Onions:Guardsman –(Tamar Organics)
Tipika –Very hardy (Simply Seeds)
Onion sets:Shakespeare –(Simply Seeds)
Centurion –(Simply Seeds)

Autumn sown onions tend not to keep beyond October following harvest so you will need to sow sets in Spring for Winter use.

Shallot sets:Yellow Moon –(Simply Seeds)
Garlic:Carcassonne Wight –(Simply Seeds)
Solent Wight –(Simply Seeds)
Kingsland Wight –(Simply Seeds)
Chives:Widely available
Rocket:Salad varieties NOT Wild –(wa)

Flowers

Sweet Peas:
I suggest you sow half the seeds in October and the other half in February.
(Full range available from Roger Parsons, Owls Acre Seeds, Eagle Sweet Peas)
Ammi Majus ‘Graceland’ –(Plants of Distinction)
Orlay Grandiflora ‘White Lace’ –(Plants of Distinction)
Gypsophila –widely available
Centaurea, various – (Plants of Distinction)
Eschscholzia, Orange King –(Just Seed)

So, that’s it folks. Plenty to go at there so no excuses, get out from under that duvet and start sowing, in Spring you will be so glad you made the effort!

Feel free to contact me if you ever need help or advice or just fancy a nosy round my allotment.

Ramon, 07594 456292;
ramonkporter@gmail.com

Plot 21, Silsden Road allotments. If my white car is parked there, so am I. 

Feel free to call for a chat, tea/coffee and if your timing is good perhaps a toasted crumpet with home-made jam. 

Oh yes, we know how to do it properly on Plot 21!

Ramon’s Growing Tips – Factsheet Calendar

Each month, our Addingham Garden expert, Ramon, shares his passion and expertise to help your gardens and allotments thrive like never before! Check out the release schedule below to stay updated on all the helpful tips and tricks.

2024
OCTOBER (Read Factsheet)Seeds to sow in autumn
NOVEMBER (Read Factsheet)Winter ground prep and ‘no dig’ process
DECEMBERSeed buying. Recommended varieties and sourcing for growing & showing
2025
JANUARYSeeds to sow in Feb/March for first crops
FEBRUARYFertilisers made simple
MARCHPest control – insecticide & fungicide spraying
APRILGrowing for Showing
MAYWeeding made easy
JUNEWatering
JULYComposting
AUGUSTGrowing for seed
SEPTEMBERFruit bush & tree pruning

 

Choose and plant Spring bulbs now for show success

Making Space For Nature

February’s talk by Rick Battarbee…

2024 spring show – 20th april

The spring show & coffee morning will be held on Saturday 20th april from 10am to 12noon. Entries can be made on the morning of the show between 8am – 9am. Judging will start promptly at 9.15am.

See the schedule for full details.

Show Results 2023

The Show results are now listed on the Show section – click on the show tab in the menu bar.

The show was a great success – thank you to everyone who made it such a great day.

Forest Gardening with Pippa Chapman Thurs 29th June

On Thursday 29th June we welcome Pippa Chapman garden designer, consultant & author. Pippa will give an enlightening talk about her own work and how she turned her grassy and paved garden into an abundant, biodiverse, edible and beautiful forest garden. Pippa shares her practical tips with us.

Pippa Chapman has been gardening for over 30 years. In 2007 she left her job as Head Gardener on a private estate, to take a year-long practical apprenticeship at RHS Harlow Carr.

She was introduced to forest gardening and permaculture and in 2010 set up a sustainable gardening business with her husband. She grows a wide variety of fruits, flowers, herbs and annual and perennial vegetables in her small backyard, creating a beautiful, edible and wildlife friendly space.

Join us at the Mount Hermon chapel starting with refreshments at 7pm.

Making the most of the space you’ve got – Thurs 25th May at Mount Hermon

Our next event is a talk by Nigel Eaton, Manager at Moss & Moor in Ilkley and will be full of tips and ideas to make the most of the space – big or small – you might have at your home or allotment.

The event is free to AAGA members and £2 to non-members.

It starts at 7pm with refreshments and ready to get under way at 7.30.

You’ll find us at the Mount Hermon Chapel on Main Street – see you there!

Member’s £50 Monthly Draw

Our first-ever monthly draw took place at the ‘sold-out’ GQT event in April and Sarah Mullen was the lucky winner of the £50 voucher for April to spend at Old Bridge Nurseries in Ilkley.

Old Bridge Nurseries are open Weds-Sunday 9am-5pm. They are at Stockeld Road LS29 9HD

01943 600065

The May draw will take place at our next event which is a talk by Nigel Eaton who is the Manager of Moss & Moor in Ilkley on Thursday 25th May. Do come along.