Winter is upon us and after a super dry September with hardly any rainfall, October in Rossinver was considerably wetter than last year and November so far is really wet with rainfall on November 13th the highest this year with 35.5 mm on one single day.
Here are a few tips to prepare your garden for the winter:
- Putting your garden to bed for the winter is mostly a matter of cleaning up and covering up. Clear beds and footpaths between them, from debris and weeds. Before we cover our beds at The Organic Centre we spread farmyard manure or compost on top and then cover the plot with black plastic to prevent nutrients from being washed away and weeds germinating during a mild Winter.
- If you still have kale and Brussel sprouts or leeks or some beetroot growing, make sure your beds are clean and stake your sprouts to prevent them from toppling over in strong winds. If you want to prolong growing and harvesting lettuce and salad leaves outdoors it would be good to have a cloche or fleece available if the weather gets colder.
- Leaves are falling now and rather than regard them as a nuisance, be grateful and recycle them into a wonderful soil conditioner. Leaf mould helps to build healthy soil in several ways. When mixed into poor soil, it improves its texture. The coarse organic material creates air spaces in the soil, making it easier for roots to penetrate. Leaf mould also improves the soil’s ability to absorb moisture and leaves are a favourite food for earthworms.
- If you still have comfrey growing you can make a leaf mould compost by cutting the comfrey and mixing it with the leaves to make a fantastic soil conditioner. All you need to do is put them in equal layers in a chicken wire enclosure and let the rain and air get at it. This could take up to a year to break down.
(The picture above is taken in our Robins’ Garden showing edible violas (Heartsease) in the foreground, a bed covered up and a bed with lettuce still growing, inter-cropped with Winter garlic.)
