As we approach the shortest day it is time to reflect on the passing year and plan for the future.
Personally I found 2024 a difficult year with a wet delayed spring and perhaps a lack of summer sunshine but thankfully no drought or hosepipe ban.
One of the great joys of gardening is there is always more to learn and often a second chance to put it to the test.
So many aspects of a garden are unique to that garden ; soil , orientation, amount of sunshine, size and the amount of time available to tend it.
So having cleaned the greenhouse and poly tunnel ; sterilised the pots and tools now is the time to plan and look at the catalogues.
Whatever the size of a garden I think there are somethings that are essential partly because they are needed little and often and maybe difficult to source from elsewhere. A good collection of herbs comes into this group. Thyme in a large pot , sage and rosemary in open ground. Mint is probably best grown in a sunken bucket to try and restrict its growth. A bed of chives which keeps going year on year and don’t forget to include garlic chives. Annual herbs such as parsley, coriander and dill can be stared off in pots in the warm at the end of February. Parsley will last the year through whether curly or flat leaf but coriander and dill will need repeated sowings either in pots or open ground.
I think a chilli plant is worth a go. For a windowsill try Apache which produces a compact bushy plant providing plenty of fruit. In the greenhouse I grow Cayenne which produces lots of green and red chillies which are quite hot if the whole fruit is used but mild if the pith and seeds are removed. Any surplus fruit can be dried or frozen. Theoretically it is possible to overwinter chilli plants but I have never managed it. However the choice of varieties is huge but as they are self fertile if you find a variety that suits your needs save the seeds and they will breed true.
What crops to grow outside depends on space and time and particularly what tastes best home grown. The most obvious is tomatoes. Commercially tomatoes are picked slightly under ripe to give them better keeping qualities and a longer shelve life but it does sacrifice the development of the full flavour which depends on ripening on the vine in the sunshine.
Beefsteak varieties can realistically only be grown under cover but are well worth the effort. Try Buffalosteak and Big Daddy either as seeds or plug plants.
Tomatoes grown undercover ripen two or three weeks before those grown outside and of course are protected from blight. Shirley is the best medium sized variety and Sungold for a cherry type.
Outside I stick to blight resistant varieties though this year saw relatively little blight.
Try Mountain Magic , Crimson Plum and Cocktail Crush for medium fruit and Crimson Cherry for smaller fruit.
Early potatoes are worth considering as these can be started in late February in buckets or potato sacks to give a crop in mid May. Swift is the earliest but also try Sharpes Express and Red Duke of York which are more floury with great flavour.
For second earlies try Charlotte. I feel main crop potatoes are not worth it unless you have plenty of space or are going for something a little unusual such as Pink Fir Apple.
Food for thought and more next month
Please remember The Horticultural Society and support us in the coming year. Our schedule for 2025 will be out shortly and will be available from committee members and at The Five Bells.
Finally a very happy Christmas to one and all.
Good Gardening
Peter Estcourt