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Joyce Russell

Under cover

December should be a quiet month in the greenhouse and polytunnel. Keep doors and windows closed, water sparingly every few days if soil begins to dry, and keep harvesting to supply the kitchen. Growth is slow at this time of the year and there won’t be any gluts to cope with, but there should be plenty to keep the enthusiastic gardener well fed. Enjoy the break and take a little time to plan for the year ahead. You may also want to drop a few hints for Christmas gifts

Top jobs for DECEMBER


Joyce hard at work

• Clear and tidy
• Start planning for the year ahead
• Feed the soil

Sow and plant (S/P)
• Broad bean (S/P)
• Early pea (S/P)
• Winter lettuce (S/P)
• Mizuna (S)
• Mibuna (S)
• Rocket (S)

Bring in the harvest
• Last peppers
• Last tomatoes
• Salad leaves
• Fennel
• Beetroot
• Spinach
• Chard
• Kohl rabi
• Potatoes


Tomatoes and peppers

If you didn’t remove these last month then the time really has come to evict the lot. Pick any ripe and unripe fruit and spread on a sunny window ledge. There is no point in hanging on to diseased plants, when the new seed will be sown in a few weeks’ time. Try not to pass any problems on to the next generation – plan to grow next year’s tomato crop in a different part of the polytunnel, or greenhouse. Rotating this crop, even if it is only from side to side in a small structure, can make a significant difference to the health of the plants.

Potatoes

Make sure you lift any late-cropping ones and get all small tubers out of the ground. The earliest new potatoes can be planted next month and you don’t want to risk spreading disease to next year’s crop.

Greenhouse gardening gifts

Everyone has their own wish list, but I would like to suggest a few favourites:

A good, waterproof, maximum and minimum thermometer. A remote digital one is perfect, as it will tell you the temperature in the greenhouse without having to step outside of the house.

A soil thermometer. Growth slows to a halt at soil temperatures below 5C (41F), but the border warms up quite rapidly under cover when the sun shines. A soil thermometer will tell you when it is warm enough to plant.

A propagator for those who like to make an early start.

A pair of waterproof clogs – great for dashing out to the greenhouse in wet weather.

Don’t forget the holly

The fieldfares eat all my holly berries long before it is time to decorate the house. The best way to outsmart them is to cut a few branches and push them into the greenhouse soil. There will be enough moisture, and it will be cool enough, to keep the berries red and the leaves glossy until you want to bring the branches indoors.

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