Keep busy in the garden .. Whatever the weather
Winter is just around the corner and while some of us may dread the countdown to colder, wet days, there is still plenty to do in the garden!
Planting garlic
Garlic needs a longer growing season to grow lovely large bulbs, so May is the preferred month for planting. Buy garlic seed bulbs from your local garden centre as fresh is best — and the better the seed bulb, the greater the success! Always select a healthylooking specimen, avoiding any that are too soft or have mould on them.
Choose a sunny spot with welldrained soil that has been prepared with plenty of compost before planting. Gently break off each clove from the seed bulb (don’t bother with the very small cloves) and plant them individually about 40mm deep and 60mm apart with the pointy ends facing up. Cover with soil and a fine layer of mulch on top. New growth will appear in three to four weeks, but they won’t be ready to harvest until summer.
Hedge pruning
A good month to do a final tidy-up trim of hedges. There won’t be much
growth until spring so don’t be too heavy-handed.
Fruit Tree Pruning
Time to get pip and stonefruit tree pruning under way. Before you start, make sure your tools are sharp and clean to stop the spread of any disease. Always make a clean cut at a 45-degree angle so water will run off the cut and not invite fungal diseases. Having good access to fruit at harvest time means reducing the height of your fruit trees where needed. Remove weak, thin growth and inwards growing branches. Thin out where branches are crowded — good airflow and access to sunlight is essential to ripen fruit. Spray with copper compound after pruning and add a layer of mulch around the tree, but not touching the trunk.