I have learnt my lesson the hard way trying to rush things too soon. In my opinion It’s too early to start sowing seed, no matter how impatient you are. Yes, they will germinate inside in warmth but the low light levels will make your seedlings go leggy and weaker than if you just sit tight and do some other gardening jobs in preparation.
While there are garden related jobs to do, it is also nice to take time out. I encourage you to do so often. Theres no guilt in hanging up your hat for a while and remembering all that there is on your doorstep, outside of the garden bubble. I am very lucky as we live about 15 minutes outside of Brighton, I love being so close to the coast its so beautiful and I love feeling the space and breathing the salty air. We went early morning while the Hoar frost has us in its icy grip, and just over the South Downs the weather opened up like a summers day, not a breath of wind and the warmth of the sun on our faces making us feel like we were on an Ibizan holiday, the water was crystal clear and still, truly magical.
At this time of year I like to take stock and plan for the following year. Theres so much we don’t have control over at the moment, even now this year is an unknown but one thing we can do is make plans for the gardening season ahead. My plans document the year, the best things, the things that failed and things I have liked or disliked, field notes are written for all of it. I make a new plan based on my notes for the following year. I have had a garden diary for over 13 years and find it invaluable to look back in. It’s also a good idea to catalogue your garden with photos because if you are like me you forget what pops up in each month where and what the garden looks like in March compared to say in August. Having a garden diary keeps things really easy and it helps plan months per month what you want to grow and when, especially important if your goal is to have something fresh to eat all year round. For me when I started growing winter salads it was a revelation, to be able to eat fresh salad through winter that totally outclassed the shop bought stuff and I have never looked back. With some planning, even if you don’t have a greenhouse or poly tunnel, you can grow mustards, rocket, lettuce and some oriental greens throughout the coldest months.
If you haven’t mulched your beds yet then nows the time, preferably with your own home made compost, but if you need a lot then its quite hard to produce enough to satisfy your garden needs, then shop bought is fine. I have recently upped the stakes in my compost making game, I now have three 1.2m bays at the back of the garden so I can have a compost rotation going on, I will never make enough but I do try to cultivate the best compost I can. My bins are simply made from palettes, lined with cardboard to keep in the heat. I have an endless source of cardboard from work so its perfect and I do my bit for the recycling.
There are so many compost options on the market, bulk buying is undoubtedly cheaper, local sourcing is also a good option. This year I have sourced spent mushroom compost which I laid on top of my beds at the beginning of January. Feeding the soil beneath our feet by mulching a layer on to of your beds leaving the organisms under your feet to do all the work is sound practice for sustaining a healthy soil environment. I garden using the no-dig method as I believe that leaving nature to do things its own way is best without constant interference (i.e. no digging), there is much written on this subject, my friend Charles Dowding www.charlesdowding.co.uk demonstrates this brilliantly, he has an enormous following and quite rightly, he’s been my go-to over many years and he has a wealth of material for you to learn about this method. It’s also worth watching the Netflix film ‘Kiss The Ground’ to gain an understanding on this topic.
Finally I have had to wave goodbye to my trusty old greenhouse. I felt quite emotional about it, but the toil of the winter weather year after year finally caused it to warp so much that despite me replacing glass almost every week, it really was time to say goodbye. Its been wonderful having it, for me its the one garden item I wouldn’t want to do without so I have taken the plunge and I have a new one arriving in March from Rhino www.greenhousesdirect.co.uk and I cannot wait. Seed sowing for me starts in mid February which is perfect timing for the new arrival in March, once germinated inside the seedlings will make a swift transition into the greenhouse to grow on.
