The halls are decked and by now the garden and allotment are in tip top shape-earth dug, and richly fertilised, a blank canvas awaiting New Year inspiration. Icy winds and driving rain may prevent us from spending as much time in our outdoor space as we might like but in the quieter moments of December we may…

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Last month’s riot of autumnal colour disappears in fog and mist as November drapes the world in grey. The harvest is over for the most part but there is still much to do, if we are willing. The greenhouse and shed as well as pots and containers could do with a spruce up and the…

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If August is green, the colour of October must surely be yellow or orange, for it is this month that brings along with the falling leaves, the harvest of squash and pumpkin. It is the grinning face of the latter that we see on the last day of this month, candlelit and glowing in all…

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September is a bittersweet month in the allotment. After the languid heat of summer and early harvest, the bluster of autumn bonfires will not be far behind.  Hopefully you will still be enjoying cucumbers, onions, courgettes, lettuce, leeks and spinach. Potatoes and tomatoes should both be plentiful. Toward the end of the month,the last of the…

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‘If the first week of August be warm, the winter will be white and long!’ says the old wife but not many of us will care about that as we bask in the sun, all thoughts of the early darkening  cold days to come banished in the heat.  The allotment at this time is a…

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July is when the hard work put in over the previous months literally bears fruit (and vegetables). It is with both these in mind that we turn our attention to the tomato. Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? The tomato is not alone in its mystery-aubergines, bell peppers, cucumbers, courgettes and pumpkin are…

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In June, harvest salad greens, beetroot, onions, cauliflower, peas, turnips, carrots, fennel, garlic and broad beans. Midsummer’s night traditionally marks the end of asparagus season. Sow French and runner beans, peas, spinach and chard. Pumpkins, courgettes, marrows and other squashes may be sown now,still. But make haste. Water your potatoes. Feed your tomatoes. Enjoy the warmer…

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Take time to sharpen your hoe as an ounce of prevention now with weeds will spare you a pound of cure a little further into summer.  While pellets are always effective, a gravel barrier or eggshell border may well deter the snail and slug on their slow but sure path to your produce. At the…

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While the weather is cool, dig in a 5 or 6 centimetre layer of mulch in your beds and around your perennials, trees and shrubs. Use organic matter such as well rotted manure to prepare the earth for the busy growing season. You might also work in a general purpose fertiliser such as pelleted chicken manure or…

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Sowing begins in earnest now. Mid-month or once the days have gone from lion to lamb, plant broad beans, early peas, carrots, lettuces, spinach, salad leaves, leeks and chard. Plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers – bury them 1” deep and 12-18” apart – bearing in mind that they like to spread and will do so like…

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