Thursday 14 December 2017

December 5th Week

According to My Middleton in Dig On For Victory we have 8 tasks this week :

1) Clean Up and Dig. - Due to it being the last week of the year it's described as a good time to complete cleaning paths. Finish digging and trenching so that the rough soil has 3 months to weather after which the rough lumps will fall and a fine tilth can be easily produced. It also says to apply quicklime to the soil.

2) Order Seeds. - Advises to draw up plans before the year's out and send for your seeds. Suggests trialling a new variety or two. If it's your first year to buy from trusted seedsmen.

3) Prepare Greenhouse. - for seed-sowing and increase slowly the amount of work. Wash it down if not already done. Tidy up seed trays and pots. Get compost and fertilizers ready. If using soil then sterilize first.

4) Anticipate Frost. - It's likely we'll suffer from prolonged periods of frost. Crops such as parsnip, celery and leeks will be hard to harvest so while possible lift a good quantity and heel them together in the bed of a cold frame. Parsnips can be stored in sand. There's a mention of using outdoor clamps to store root crops in but after seeing the devastation done by rodents overwinter on the allotment I personally won't be using a clamp. Check onions you have in store and use those that begin to produce green shoots first before they become soft.

5) Prune, and Prepare for Spraying Fruit. - complete pruning fruit and get ready for spraying. Service your sprayer and check that you have enough materials for your requirements. Use a coarse nozzle for winter spraying.

6) Plant Cauliflowers; Sow Beans. - Plant out cauliflower in a cold greenhouse between larger lettuce. Sow broad beans in seed trays for planting out later.

7) Make Hot-Bed. - for growing salads, young carrots, etc. Make a compost heap too.

8) Put Strawberries in Greenhouse. - Room permitting, you can now put strawberries in pots in a cold greenhouse.

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