Organic Gardening Magazine

December fruit

• Apple and pear trees can be pruned this month, or at any point before mid-February (see pages 54-55). Stone fruit, however, should not be pruned during the winter months.

• Grapevines must be pruned while they are dormant; once the sap starts to rise they will bleed copiously from pruning wounds. Prune all the laterals back to two or three buds to leave just a framework of main stems. These too can be cut back if the vine is outgrowing its welcome.

• Start forcing the first of your rhubarb crowns this month to produce a February crop; mulch them with manure, top this with leaf-mould or straw, and put a clay forcer or upturned bucket on top.

• Keep checking stored fruit. Anything that is showing signs of deterioration can be put out for the birds, who will be running short on wild and windfall fruit by now.

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Ornamentals

• Any remaining spring bulbs can still go in this month; they will flower slightly later than those already in the ground, but an extended flowering period can be regarded as a bonus.

• Bring forced bulbs that you want in flower for Christmas into the house. Accustom them to warmth gradually by putting them in a cool room for the first couple of weeks of December – if you put them straight into a heated room they will bolt into pale, lank growth.

• The shoots of bulbs timed to flower early in the new year should be emerging now; move the pots into a cool greenhouse.

• Sow seed of alpines, which need a period of exposure to cold before they will germinate. Put the pots outside, covered with a sheet of glass to prevent waterlogging. Many varieties of wild flower need the same treatment.

• Sow pelargoniums under cover; they need a long growing season if they are to flower in their first summer.

• You can still lift and divide herbaceous perennials this month, as long as the soil is not too wet or cold.

• Anything of borderline hardiness which you have left in the ground will have its chances improved by the application of a thick mulch.


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December Veg

Sowing & planting
• You can still plant autumn varieties of garlic this month, as long as the soil is not waterlogged or frozen. If your soil is clearly not fit for direct planting, plant the cloves in individual pots.
• In milder areas, a sowing of hardy broad beans under a cloche is worth the venture.

Crop care
• Any winter salads still in the open need cloche or cold frame protection if they are to provide midwinter pickings, and any roots still in the ground will appreciate a mulch along the row.
• Watch out for slugs under your cloches and cold frames; the combination of shelter and food will lure them from miles away.
• Blanch endives and force chicory roots to add variety to your winter salads.
• Invert buckets (or bespoke forcing pots) over seakale plants to produce a crop of succulent young stalks to harvest in early spring.

Harvesting
• If winter weather sets in, harvest a week’s supply from the veg plot whenever you get a chance. Heel roots and leeks into a shallow trench by the house, and stand entire brassica plants, roots and all, in a pail of water in a frost-free shed or garage.
• Check stored crops regularly and remove anything suspect for immediate use or disposal. If there’s any danger of your potatoes getting frosted, add an extra layer of insulation on cold nights.

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