2 GREAT CROPS TO CARE FOR IN WINTER

1GARLIC

It’s garlic planting time. After a relatively poor crop last year I’m the lucky recipient of some wonderful new garlic from friends further up the valley.

Well-drained friable soil suits garlic with not too much fresh manure.

Visually I find the best part of garlic growing is the time the new spears push through. There is a sense of wonderment, and relief, that there’s growth in the coldest days of the year.

2ASPARAGUS

It’s possibly a little early but sometime over winter I will cut down the spent growth in the asparagus patch, weed out any undesirables, and feed the bed with aged manure and mulch, probably with seaweed.

Our new asparagus bed is about to hit its production stride four years after we started. We sowed seed, planted it out, tended, weeded and fed the plants each year, and allowed ourselves a few small feeds last season. This coming spring I intend to feast!

Asparagus is a longlasting crop and requires initial patience but it certainly pays off. Once established, it is a seasonal, reliable source of high quality food requiring only basic maintenance each year. The yummy and healthy spears arrive at a time of year when the chooks are laying well, so apart from eating them lightly steamed there is also the family favourite of crisp pastry, a light eggy mix and asparagus all baked together until golden.