Terry Walton is sowing radish and harvesting carrots
Sowing radish and harvesting carrots on frosty days to savour
The festive season gathers momentum and the time of goodwill to all is with us. Nowhere is this more evident than that given us by Mother Nature. Yes, winter’s truly with us and these cold, frosty nights and sunny days are a joy to us all.
When you open the morning curtains you gaze out on scenes that look as if they’ve been dusted by a large salt cellar! White frost glistens under the azure skies giving a view often found on Christmas cards. The sun may be a late riser at this time of year, but it’s worth waiting for!
The other wonderful benefit of these clear, frosty nights is the chance to step out and admire and wonder at that beautiful dark sky. Look up and stare at the thousands of diamonds that shine up there, as well as the moon bathing your surroundings in its pale white light.
Some gardeners grow by the lunar cycle – biodynamics. It’s said that the new moon enhances root and shoot growth, while the waxing moon rests the roots and the shoots grow. Full moons have the opposite effect, and roots grow while foliage rests; during a waning moon both roots and foliage rest. I hope you got all that!
The maincrop carrots that have fed us well since July are coming to the end of their cropping career. The frame that’s supported the fine mesh spread over them to protect from their arch-enemy, the carrot root fly, can now be rolled up and stored away for next year. There are a few more carrots to harvest and then this piece of soil will be prepared with a good covering of well-rotted manure to house next year’s early potatoes.
There’s no problem with my constant supply of carrots as there are two drums of these sweet, orange roots safely tucked up in the slightly warmer greenhouse to be
harvested well into the new year.
There’s little sowing to be carried out at this time of year, that’s the best part of growing. To satisfy my needs, I fill an empty bucket with compost and sow a few radish seeds. These are kept under the staging in the greenhouse and will hopefully supply some midwinter tasty ‘red burny balls’.