Make the most of the leaves autumn has left behind
It can be difficult to avoid some of the excesses associated with Christmas and New Year. Those of us with an allotment are the lucky ones. Wellbeing and the benefits of allotment gardening go hand in hand, particularly at this time of year.
Rather than abandoning the plot until springtime, I try and find time to get there and always feel better for it. There’s something almost magical about how everyday stresses seem to vanish on opening the gate and walking down to the plot even if the day is grey and light levels are low.
Autumn colours have been spectacular in East Lothian and my plot is still carpeted with butteryellow leaves from the border of lime trees behind our site. Raking them up is a warming and pleasant winter task. Even just a few leaves put in a sack will rot down into a useful soil improver for next year. Anytime now autumn raspberry canes can be cut to the ground. There are two good reasons for stacking these away. The hollow stems provide useful homes for over-wintering beneficial insects. Next year these twiggy stems are useful plant supports for young peas and beans.
Kale and next year’s purple sprouting broccoli have put on a spurt. Kale is ready for harvesting a few leaves at a time as needed. Rhubarb chard is such a glorious sight that it seems a shame to spoil the display.
Even if the soil is too wet or frozen for walking on, there are some winter jobs that can be attended to. It’s a good time to overhaul huts. Winter storms can wreak havoc. Wind can whip felt off roofs. Gales can even overturn huts.
Plastic cloches and polytunnels need firmly anchoring down. Watering cans need stowing away until spring. It’s an expensive nuisance if things get blown away – to say nothing of the damage they may cause elsewhere when they land on neighbouring plots. Old bricks and heavy metal poles are my favourites for tethering items in place.
It’s an expensive nuisance if things get blown away
We don’t usually have much snow in Musselburgh, being close to the sea. However, it’s as well to be prepared by removing netting from fruit cage roofs so it can’t get ripped by the weight of a snowfall. This also allows free access to birds who’ll dine out on any lurking slugs. I was astonished at the number of slugs I found nestling in my strawberry beds. n