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All around the garden new growth is slow to emerge this year. Snowdrops are a good month later than we would normally expect to see them in flower and the daffodils are only just beginning to peek through the soil. In the Kitchen Garden overwintering crops are surviving under their cloches and fleece covers, but showing no sign of new growth.

The winter solstice has marked the turning point for winter gardeners and we know that the darkest point of the year has passed and the days will now begin to slowly lengthen over the months ahead.

Weather permitting, it is time to start digging in the Kitchen Garden this week. As a rule of thumb, we usually pay attention to the activities of the local farmers as an indication of when it is time to begin turning over the soil and in our area, the tractors have begun to appear in the fields surrounding the garden.

This week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden, we are trying to trick mother nature into an early harvest by moving a trough of strawberry plants into the greenhouse. The warmth of the heater will spur the plants into life and encourage early blooms.

This week we will be earthing up our potatoes for the final time. They are a really good size now and looking very lush and healthy. Hopefully the tubers are growing just as fast. We will be incorporating some potato fertiliser as we earth them up to give them a good feed at the same time.

A great guest blog from Elementa Design using a 5 step guide to prepare your garden for Summer. Nick Dickinson, a much sought after plantsman and garden designer and offers some great advice in the article.

Gardening is like any hobby - there are endless tools and equipment you can buy if you have the money to invest however the list of essential equipment for gardening is actually fairly short.

Well the week started with a couple of tons of farmyard manure being delivered. Most of this was to go in the kitchen garden so with wheelbarrows and spades at the ready, it was time to shovel manure. We have put about 50 barrow loads onto the kitchen garden plots and the remainder has been stored to go over the flower borders at a later date.

Our tomato plants have now begun flowering in the greenhouse, so next week we will give them a foliar feed wth epsom salts and also begin feeding them with liquid tomato feed. The tomato feed will continue each week throughout the growing season.

This week in Stephanie's Kitchen Garden we will be wrapping up warm before heading out into the cold temperatures. We have been spoilt by the mild winter until now and the freezing conditions have come as a shock. Thank goodness for the winter gloves that Santa left in my stocking this Christmas. There'll be no cold fingers here!

We have had some really frosty conditions in the kitchen garden this week. Which, although looks really pretty has made working the ground quite hard as it has been frozen.

The wonderful thing about gardening is garden tools can make it as labour intensive or relaxing as you wish. You may decide to dig your entire plot by hand, or you might choose to use machinery and then spend more time in the planning.

A favourite crop in the Harrod Kitchen Garden, Garlic is easy to grow and occupies the ground during the quiet months over the Winter. The health benefits of this crop make it an essential vegetable to include in any garden. It is a great crop to grow in pots or raised beds if your space is limited.

Finding that perfect gift can be tricky, but if you are looking for a gardening gift for a greenfingered family member or friend, our range of gifts for gardeners will give you some great inspiration and ideas for the perfect present.

This week we have given the greenhouse a good clean and tidy so it's ready for the less hardy plants to be overwintered and for some autumn seed sowing.