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Under cover

December brings the shortest days, along with some of the wettest weather and a rush towards Christmas and New Year celebrations that means the garden usually comes bottom of the list. Unless you have a heated greenhouse, there isn’t much incentive to head outdoors.

Thankfully, there isn’t much to do out there either, but it does feel good to end the year on a high note with the greenhouse and polytunnel all tidied and ready for the year ahead; with the seed list ordered and the knowledge that spring enthusiasm has a month or two to go before it needs to kindle into life. Best of all, there should be plenty of lovely fresh produce to add to any celebratory meal.

In praise of tape!

I have had the same polythene on my polytunnel for more than 12 years. What’s the secret? Well, in the first place I got as good a grade of polythene as I could find. In the second place, I planted a windbreak hedge along one side to lessen the strong prevailing winds. But possibly most important of all, I stocked up on tape on the same day that the new polythene arrived. At the first sign of any small hole or rip, I dash out with a bowl of soapy water to clean around the wound. I use kitchen towel to dry the polythene so the tape will stick and I have the right sort of tape to seal and reinforce the damaged area.
In an emergency you can use Duck (also called duct) tape. It will hold things together for a while. Parcel tape will peel off within days if the weather is wet. Masking tape lasts a little longer. There are several brands of clear tape sold specifically for mending tunnel polythene and these work much better than any other off-the-shelf product. Tape comes in different widths. Ask the supplier of your tunnel, or ask at a garden centre, or order from a garden catalogue. I would recommend getting the widest roll you can find – the cost of the tape is minimal when compared with the time and money spent on replacing the whole polythene cover.
Check the polythene regularly. A small rip can suddenly extend for metres if a strong wind catches it before you do. Trim the corners before applying any patch, to prevent peeling. Allow plenty of overlap to cover any weakened areas around the rip.
The same tape can be used on a greenhouse to hold glass in place, or to stop a crack from spreading.
Become a tape fanatic and you won’t regret it!

Tomatoes and peppers

All the other summer crops will be long gone, but in a good year tomatoes and peppers can hang on until December in an unheated structure. You may even be able to pick the last cherry tomatoes for Christmas dinner, but it isn’t really worth hanging on to diseased plants just for a handful of fruit. I prefer to clear all tomato and pepper plants by the beginning of December if they have been grown in the border. This gives the soil a longer time to recover and gives you the chance to scrupulously remove any fallen leaves and fruit. Dig lots of good compost into the empty bed, keep this damp so microbes can do their work and you should have a healthy border for planting in the spring.

For more advice, see this month's issue, available to buy online!

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