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I must admit I am not a winter gardener, but I take my hat off (the one with the RHS badge) to those hardy individuals who are. In fact I have just walked up from the beach and had a splash in the pool and considering where to go for a meal and a cold beer. Apparently the weather back in England is dreadful at the moment. However, when I get back shortly, I will rake up the leaves to give the lawn a chance and prune the apples and pears to open them up nicely. Remember the stone fruit should be pruned by now and winter pruning leaves them susceptible to disease. Hopefully the leeks, parsnips and maincrop potatoes will be standing nicely in the ground. I know I should lift my maincrop, but they stood in the ground last winter with no adverse effect (just the occasional slug or wire worm). They remain so fresh when you lift them.
Hopefully you are working on your plans for next year and reviewed what has been a success this year and what has failed. If it is failing, give it a bit of time but if it will not come good get rid of it. I have some “Flag Irises” which flower for about 2 or 3 weeks each year and then that’s it. So it’s time for them to give way to some long flowering perennials to provide more colour in the borders. I also have a very funny little skimmia in the border which my old dog used to enjoy watering and it is very stunted and not a fine specimen. However, I also have two lovely fulsome skimmia which produce a show of winter berries. So it would be a mistake to get rid of the stunted little specimen as this is of course the male, which is probably why my dog treated it with such contempt. There are a number of shrubs like skimmia and aucuba that are male or female and you need both for the females to produce berries.....isn’t nature wonderful.
One resolution for the New Year is to fertilise more. It isn’t always easy to find that extra bit of time but the results are worth it. Everything is so much more vigorous with more flower and fruit. All the vegetables this year produced bumper crops, except the “Aperitif” tomatoes which I can’t stop cursing. Regular use of “Miracle Grow” made all the difference, in fact the runner bean frame collapsed under the weight. If you can, give everything a feed at least every four weeks, it will be worth it. Also good use of compost and mulch reaps dividends. A compost trench for the beans is essential and it’s not too late to dig one. You can recognise the day when the roots of young runner beans get down to the compost as they take off skywards. Also the compost pocket, which is a hole 12” square and deep filled with well rotted compost and water with topsoil spread over the top. Just plant a young pumpkin, marrow, squash or courgette and stand back. I used to use a lot of horse manure and let it rot down over the winter. The vegetables were good but so were the weeds. I now use dried manure which can be added just where it is needed rather than spread all over. My preference is “6X” which I think smells like Belgian chocolates, although my wife has a different and more accurate opinion.
Good luck to you if you are still working your garden, I hope you have the broad beans in. Aquadulce Claudia are one of the best winter varieties, personally I will plant mine in February, weather permitting, if not then March. Enjoy your gardening plans through the winter months and you will be busting to get started in the spring.
I have made my mind up. I will go to the Jumbuck restaurant for a nice meal, then stroll up to the Beach Club for that cold beer, just need to get something on this sunburn.
Merry Christmas!!
We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.
If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk
Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society
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