Stephanie's Garden Blog

This has been a week about finding jobs in the garden that keep you warm. We haven't had the heavy snow like some parts of the country but we have had some very cold nights and frosty starts the following day.

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.

The last of the Brussel sprouts have been dug up and the surrounding cage taken down. The cauliflowers and savoy cabbages which were planted in the same area have now been covered with a a popadome crop cover. If left uncovered even at this time of year the pigeons will make as tasty meal of what brassicas are growing.

I have finally had a dry, bright day to remove the fruit cage roof netting. This will prevent any damage to the cage frame from any heavy snowfall that may lie ahead. A lot of the tie wraps that were used to put the netting up were easy quick release ties, but after a time the fingers do start to go numb in the cold.

December has arrived, reminding us that Christmas is fast approaching and a new growing year will soon be here. The month arrived quietly but wet and thankfully no snow, just rain and more rain so a lot of the jobs I had planned for this week have now been moved into next.

This week I have started some seed sowing ready for next year. I have planted a couple of different varieties of sweet peas ready for a spring display and the greenhouse has had a couple of new additions.

Active birds are a great friend of the gardener so don't wait until the depths of winter before putting food out for the local population - start now and help our feathered friends build up enough strength to get through the cold winter.

Composting kitchen and garden waste is an environmentally friendly source of organic matter that helps to reduce landfill and won't cost you a penny.

Well this week has seen me clearing paths and borders of leaves after yet another storm has passed through. Though this storm brought snow and hail with temperatures plummeting to what they should be. Whilst I am raking large piles of leaves, I am always cautious of hibernating hedgehogs, I once found a hedgehog sleeping in the leaves of crocosmia.