Late winter tends to be a real mixture of weather across the UK, which makes it difficult to generalise when it comes to getting things done in the vegetable garden or allotment. However, there are a few things that you can expect from the next few weeks…
Winter Jobs for the Kitchen Garden:
Weather permitting, spend the next few weeks getting on top of some of the more physically demanding jobs – if there are raised beds or sheds to be built, greenhouse or polytunnel repairs to be done, water butts to install and so on, then these jobs can be done now ahead of early spring when you’ll be wanting to turn your attention to preparing soil, mulching and getting plant supports etc ready.
It’s a good idea to turn compost piles every couple of weeks during these winter months – this can help to disturb any rodents that might be thinking of setting up home there.
There are several soft fruit plants that will benefit from pruning now (see blog post below) and if you have a strawberry patch that’s getting a little out of hand, now is the time to pull up any unwanted runners/plants to create a bit of space. Watch out for the first shoots from rhubarb, and pop a rhubarb forcer over them when they appear for an earlier, juicier harvest.
If you have veggies growing at the moment, the main jobs are keeping them weeded and netted (mainly against pigeons), and protecting them against harsh frosts/snow. It’s worth removing the yellowing leaves from brassicas (particularly brussels sprouts) to keep them disease free, and stake any taller brassicas to help them withstand strong winds.
Winter Harvesting:
If you’ve been growing over the winter then there should be plenty of produce to enjoy now.
Winter salads, spinach, chard and winter lettuces can be picked as a cut & come again. You might see some mustard leaves beginning to flower soon – you can eat these broccoli-like florets quite happily and they’re a great addition to a stir-fry.
Leeks can be pulled up as you want them, but if you see any forming a bud at the top of the stalk, you should harvest quickly otherwise the stems get very tough.
If you have cabbages growing, you should try and harvest them before warmer weather arrives while they are still nice and firm – their leaves will start to open in early spring. The same is true for brussels sprouts – harvest what you can by mid-Feb (ish!). You may see the first shoots of sprouting broccoli appearing towards the end of February which you can harvest as regularly as you like until the plants stop cropping.
Celeriac, swede, turnips and parsnips can be lifted now too. You might even have a few beetroot or carrots to pull up if you’re in a milder part of the country.
Winter Planting:
There’s little to do on the planting front other than dreaming about what you’re going to plant out when spring arrives! We will be shipping seed potatoes in late Jan/early Feb, for chitting (see post below) ahead of planting out in Mar/Apr. Do get your order placed soon as we tend to run out of a lot of varieties quite early on in spring. If you’re new to growing potatoes, you may want to have a look at our guide below – they are wonderful veggies to grow and so much fun to dig up, and you can even grow them in a container if you only have a small garden.