Waterford Food Producers Network

December Grower’s Calendar

Preparation

- Continue digging over cleared vegetable beds and adding well rotted compost or manure.
- Get Educated - book yourself on a course over the winter! e.g. the Organic Centre in Leitrim.
- Start a Gardening Diary (gardeners have great plans but bad memories!)
- Start planning what you would like to grow and eat next year including at least one previously untried vegetable.
- Study and compare the various seed catalogues carefully before deciding on the best varieties to grow to suit your needs and tastes.
- Start a Compost corner or heap
- Consider the following for 2009 - a greenhouse, a polytunnel, raised beds, some laying hens!
- Plan a Fruit Garden/Area to include raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries; apple, pear and plumb trees, black/red/white currants. Ask a friend for cuttings.
- Plan a Herb Garden/Area to include rosemary, parsley, coriander, Bay, Sage, Thyme, Fennel, Mint, Chives, Horseradish

Planting Out

- If you haven't already done so plant garlic
- Dividing Rhubarb - rhubarb is a perennial so once you plant it, you should have it for good! Divide clumps every 5/6 years, use a fork to avoid damaging the roots, split into sections with a spade, each piece should have at least one strong bud. Clumps can be lifted now for forcing in early Spring, leave the clumps on the surface of the soil for at least 2 weeks then replant and cover to exclude light with a bucket etc. This method will produce stalks in about 5 weeks.
- Mint, chives lemon balm, parsley, thyme etc can be lifted, potted-up and brought inside for use during the winter.
- Chicory - can also be forced, dig up the roots, pot them up and place them in a dark warm place, the chicons should appear in 3-6 weeks

Tips/Suggestions

- Bubble wrap can be used on the inside of a greenhouse or tunnel to improve insulation.
- Now’s a good time to clean all previously used seed trays and pots to have them ready for next Spring’s madness. Having spotlessly clena vessels in which to grow things helps to reduce the spread of diseases
- Although you need to prepare soil for next year, stay off the soil when it is wet, particularly if you have a heavy clay - it just compacts it and turns it to mud.
- Do interesting things with leaves! Store in bags to make leaf mould or use as cover for bare soil (keep weeds down and prevents drying out)

Harvesting

- Start harvesting Winter cauliflowers
- Continue to pick autumn and winter cabbages, Brussels sprouts, leeks, kale and winter radishes
- Lift Jerusalem artichokes and crops of root veg such as carrots, turnips, parsnips, Swedes and celeriac
- Continue to harvest salad leaves if you are lucky enough to have planted! Corn salad, land cress, komatsuna and mizuna

Routine Care

- Finish clearing away the remains of any plants that have finished cropping
- Do some PH tests on your soil and add lime if necessary
- Garden Hygiene - helps greatly in the prevention of disease carry-over from one year to the next - i.e. remove yellowing leaves from any crops remaining, rake up fallen leaves.
- Slugs are a problem year round & slug control is still necessary now. Mice can be a problem with new crops sown in the ground, under cloches & greenhouse/tunnel - set traps or bait.
- Check stored vegetables and throw out any that are rotting

Processing

- Potato and leek soup. Hearty winter grub.
- Get a recipe for Buttered leeks
- ''Posh up'' sprouts by briefly sautéing and adding some chopped almonds. Yum Yum.
- Beat the recession! Try making beer - a wonderful winter activity and your brew will be ready in the depressing days of January