Becky_Alton, Author at West Carclaze Garden Village

Time to look back

Also, I try to think of the positives – after the 21st of December, the days will start to get longer again! The best advice I can give is to use December as a month to reflect. What worked well for you? What would you change? Has it been a good year? Have a chat with your neighbours or fellow plot holders at the allotment and share your success stories and tips. Ask to do some seed swaps or do some armchair gardening with those seed catalogues you’ve been collecting.

Having a shed in your garden is a god send when it comes to these cold and wet, winter months. Make yourself a cup of tea and have a good tidy up of all your equipment that’s been piling up in your shed from those busy summer months. Make a list of items that need to be replaced. Bamboo canes, netting, compost, stakes, pegs – the list is endless. You can even get creative by up-cycling wood to make some plant labels by painting them with blackboard paint.

Take care of your supplies

Start cleaning your pots and seed trays so they are all stacked and ready for sowing. You can use a horticultural soap, or a dash of washing up liquid in a tub of warm water. This prevents any possibilities of disease passing on to your new plants.

Give your tools some TLC – they have worked hard for you all year so to keep them on top form, clean them up and sharpen any blades. I also like to linseed any wooden handles as this helps protect them by repelling water.

Apple and pear winter pruning

If you’re lucky enough to have an established freestanding (not trained such as cordons, espalier, fans etc) apple or pear tree, now’s the time to do some winter pruning. Winter pruning can happen as soon as the leaves have fallen which usually happens from December to February.

First, ensure the weather on the day is going to be dry and check that there isn’t going to be a frost the following morning as this could damage the tree if fresh wounds are open from pruning. Secondly, make sure your secateurs and loppers are clean and sharp. Always plan your pruning, never take off more than a third off the tree at any time. I always start with the 3 D’s rule – dead, damaged or diseased. Remove any branches that have any of these signs.

Further fruit tree advice

Next, I would look for any branches that cross over from one side of the tree to the other. This is to allow for air circulation. When that branch is full of leaves and laden with fruit there will be a lack of air flow which can lead to pests and disease. Finally, take a look at the shape. I tend to step back and observe the trees shape after a few cuts to assess what I’ve removed. You’re aiming for an open goblet. This is created by removing the central leader, which is the branch that grows straight up through the middle of the tree and keeping the side branches, usually 4-5 to form the rest of the shape of the tree.

If you haven’t yet purchased a fruit tree why not consider the dessert apple Cornish Gillyflower which is a cultivar that was first found near Truro in a cottage around 1813. This apple is a great keeper and can be eaten until the new year.

Bug hotels

Bug hotels are a great idea if you want to help introduce more wildlife to your gardens. Insects need safe spaces to shelter and protect themselves from predators so building something for the winter months will help. Plus, it’s great fun for any age!

Bug hotels can be any size and positioned anywhere, but having a variety of different ones will help with diversity in your gardens. Bees, woodlice, ladybirds and beetles may pay a visit to your hotel even hedgehogs and frogs. I’ve created mine with a few bricks and part of a pallet which is stuffed with pinecones, straw, leaves, and bamboo canes which I no longer use in the garden. I’ve chopped the canes into small sections so the hollow canes can be accommodated. I’ve also popped a few old plant pots on their side and have noticed these are great to dot between herbaceous borders or ponds.

Piles of logs, large sticks & decaying wood are other great ways to attract a different variety of bugs. Centipede, earwigs and woodlice love to dig and burrow into decaying wood but this will also attract birds due to the critters living there.

Frosty vegetables

Frost is often thought as an enemy in gardening, but there are some vegetables that taste much better when exposed to the dropped temperatures. Knowing which plants that is can be helpful as it can allow you to prioritise what to harvest and when, so we get to eat the best tasting crops.

When certain crops are exposed to temperatures dropping to freezing, the plant will convert the starch to sugar. This process acts as an anti-freezing agent to help the crops survive the colder months. Harvest your produce a few days/weeks after the frost. Now you know the process and benefits that frost can add to some plants, you’re probably wondering what crops will taste better. Most root crops will taste a lot sweeter such as parsnips hence why they are such a popular vegetable around Christmas. Also beetroot, popular in summer for their earthy taste, are really sweet after a few frosts.

Keep on harvesting

Many crops in the brassica family also taste better after a frost, such as kale, sprouts and cabbages as their leaves will tenderise. Leeks are another frost friendly vegetable; winter leeks can be harvested over the whole winter becoming an excellent staple to add to your veg garden.

There is still a surprising amount of vegetables to be harvested in the depths of December, like kale, cabbage, cauliflowers and also sprouts. Keep the crop free of any yellow leaves and keep the weeds at bay. Keep an eye out for any pest damages – mice love fresh shoots on broad beans seedlings – always use humane traps over poison.

Keep your cabbages netted to protect them from pigeons. This time of year, they are likely to strip the leaves bare as there is less to eat. Also remove rotten fruit from your fruit trees. Apples, pears and plums can be affected by brown rot, and if left on the tree this can then spread disease. Don’t compost these fruits as the pathogens can sometimes survive compost piles.

Soggy soil

At this time of year although it is cold, the sodden soil is more of a problem. There will still be a lot to harvest from cabbage and kale to beetroot and parsnips, until the frost arrives. The majority of roots are best lifted by the middle of November and stored somewhere cool and dry well away from wet soil.

During this season I always work from wooden boards which I lay down on the beds, as my soil is clay it can be compressed by your feet, which will ruin the soil structure and push out any air.

Bare root

Bare root means when you receive a plant with no soil around the roots. The plant will start to establish a lot quicker than a potted plant that you would traditionally buy in spring. As a bare root is dormant it will be less of a shock to the plant after planting. Local nurseries tend to sell more potted fruit trees/bushes, so I usually look online for bare root plants, there is usually a larger variety available.

When planting bare root in autumn, you’ll be working with moist soil so the plant will have adequate water to survive – but if spring turns out to be a dry one, ensure you keep it well watered. Prompt planting on receiving them is always an advantage but obviously if the ground is unworkable in places, keep the roots in water in a cool place.

(image credit: longfield-gardens.com)

What is crop rotation?

Growing crops in different areas of soil in the veg plot will help reduce soil pests and diseases. The simplest rotation for a small sized plot can be a “four year rotation”.

The easiest way to approach it is by dividing the plot into equal sections and choosing which crops you want to grow, and then grouping them by family. Usual families include legumes (this include peas, broad beans, French and runner beans), brassicas (cabbages, kale, brussels, radish, turnips), alliums (garlic, leeks, shallots and onions) and then potatoes.

Putting it into practice

Each section / family moves a plot forward every year, like in this example:

Year 1

Plot 1 – Legumes
Plot 2 – Brassicas
Plot 3 – Potatoes
Plot 4 – Onions – (include roots on this plot)

Year 2

Plot 1 – Brassicas
Plot 2 – Potatoes
Plot 3 – Onions (roots)
Plot 4 – Legumes

Year 3

Plot 1 – Potatoes
Plot 2 – Onions (roots)
Plot 3 – Legumes
Plot 4 – Brassicas

Year 4

Plot 1 – Onions (roots)
Plot 2 – Legumes
Plot 3 – Brassicas
Plot 4 – Potatoes

Growing rhubarb

Rhubarb can be grown from seed but it’s much easier to buy crowns. Rhubarb can be planted any time from autumn to spring, but it’s best early autumn as it struggles through hot dry months. Prepare the chosen spot by digging in well-rotted manure. When planting make sure the tip of the crown is positioned to be just visible above the soil. Rhubarb prefers a sunny spot but with free draining soil as it dislikes being waterlogged.

At Heligan, we have a couple of heritage varieties – “Penryn” & “Timperley Early”. “ Timperley Early” is a great variety for forcing delicious pink sweet stems as early as February. This variety has been harvested in Britain since the 1700’s and during the wars it was very popular as it was hard to find nutrition through the colder months.

We also have forcing pots positioned next to the rhubarb, which are usually placed over the crowns in late winter, which forces an early harvest in March. The forcing pots block out any sunlight which encourages the plants to grow as early, harvestable food during the “hunger gap”, when there isn’t much else growing. These pots were first constructed in England around 1877 in Yorkshire which was once known for producing 90% of the world’s forced rhubarb due to the perfect conditions.

Other jobs for the plot

With the stormy season coming it’s always a good idea to secure things at your allotment, before the wind picks up. Firstly, stake your brassicas with bamboo cane and twine, as they become heavy with produce. I also like to check over my shed and greenhouse to make sure they feel secure, and I have a good tidy up. Make space for plants that you need to overwinter, but if you don’t have space in your shed, ensure you pop down some horticulture fleece on tender plants to protect them from any frosts that may arrive unannounced.

For autumn sowing of broad beans, prep an area and sow direct around two inches deep and nine inches apart, planted in double rows. The heritage variety sown at Heligan is Aquadulce Claudia which was cultivated around 1937. It is a large, long, podded bean and as it’s hardy, it’s great for autumn sowing.

Last but not least start ordering seed catalogues and make a note of what you would like to grow next year. Having a list will make it easier to be more organised and you’ll know how much space you will have for your crop rotation. Once selected the fun part of buying your seeds can start.

The timeline for bulbs

Spring can have flowers blooming for up to ten weeks, beginning the season with snowdrops and crocus, which both do well in sun/partial shade and can be planted from early autumn. They need a certain amount of cold weather to help break the dormancy and to start flowering. Next to burst through the soil is the early tulips and scented hyacinths, which will fill the gap until the daffodils start to show.

Then we start to see the late varieties of tulips and alliums which will take you in to early summer. Be sure to plant a good amount of allium bulbs as these globe flowers will add lots of height and structure to your garden. Let’s take a closer look at these favourite spring flowers…

Dancing daffodils

Daffodils are best planted from early autumn. When you’re planting, ensure the soil is workable and plant the bulb twice the depth of the bulb with around 5- 8 inches in between bulbs. Daffodils were introduced to English gardens around the 1200’s from Egypt and Greece, and they represent the beginnings of spring to most people.

At Heligan, we have a large collection of daffodils growing in the Kitchen Garden. Here is a list of some of my favourites that you can still purchase today:

Lucifer – cultivated 1890 from Ireland. Crisp white petals with a standout red centre
Rip Van Winkle – cultivated in 1884. A beautiful sunny yellow dwarf variety with cactus flowered head which likes to appear earlier than other daffodils
Pheasant eye – cultivated in 1831. Distinctly fragrant this daffodil still grows wild in meadows stretching across Spain. Often found in colonial gardens with its opal white petals that arch back away from the red fringed centre crown

Vibrant tulips

Tulips arrived from Turkey to England in the 1500’s. During the Victorian era tulips’ popularity grew for vibrant bedding using the short bright single and double flowering varieties.

Early varieties of tulips can flower as early as March but the majority flower form April to May. They prefer a sunny spot as shade will cause the stems to grow tall & weak. Animals seem to love the taste of tulip bulbs and they can be destroyed before they even bloom. If planting in pots put some chicken wire over the top of the pots which will stop squirrels and other rodents eating the bulbs.

Awesome anenomes

Luckily in Cornwall, due to the mild temperatures we can plant anemone coronaria corms direct from September to October for an early February to April flowering. Ensure the soil is well prepared and not likely to become waterlogged during the winter months.

If you are likely to experience a few frosts in your garden, you can wait until spring to plant the corms for an early summer bloom. Before planting the corms, ensure to soak them overnight in tepid water, this will rehydrate the corm and give it the energy to start to germinate. The beautiful fern like foliage will start to show once temperatures rise in spring.

Jobs for this time of year

During the busy summer period in your garden there are so many jobs to do and keep on top of such as weeding, harvesting, watering and sowing – it’s sometimes hard to step back and start thinking about next year! But once spaces start to become empty and you can clear away plants and vegetables that have finished this is a great time to visualise what you want to do next year.

– Start looking at replenishing your seeds, see how many you have left and the dates on the back of your packets. Will they be viable, have you got enough?

– Put markers and names tags on perennials that die back in the winter period before they disappear. I know this sounds garden geeky, but it really helps also mark out with wooden lollipop sticks where you put your bulbs, this will help and prevent you pulling them out.

– In the veg patch, did you grow enough of the food you and the family loved eating? What grew well in your garden? Maybe you want to add some more perennial plants such as herbs.

– In the borders, was it colourful enough, is there enough height and different textures. What pollinators do you want to attract?

– Have you got enough water butts? Do you need to invest in some more going off the weather pattern from this year?

– Can you make your own compost? Leaf mulch? Wormery?

Planning for your future soil

A great money saving and carbon capturing move would be to create your own, compost/mulch and sowing green manure. Green manure is a cover crop that is typically sown in autumn on lots of people’s vegetable patches to help prevent any nutrients from your soil being washed away during the relentless winter rains. Their root systems will help break up any soil density. Nitrogen can be added to the soil which is super beneficial to crops or it can lift nitrogen to the surface making it more accessible to other crops which will help with growth.

Green manure can be a haven for lots of pollinators as well as perfect cover for natural predators like frogs, and beetles that feed on pests such as snails & slugs. It also helps with weeds, and it will reduce the spread due to the amount of ground cover it creates. You should cut green manure down before flowering and when the stems are still soft. Turn it back into the soil or leave on the top of the soil as a mulch and the worms will eventually work it back into the soil. Here are a few plants you can sow for green manure; Red clover (Trifolium pratense), Phacelia and Mustard greens (Brassica juncea).

Leaf mulch

Leaf mulch is gardeners’ gold, if you have a large enough garden that has lots of leaf litter from deciduous trees, collect it into a pile and let this break down by fungi. To help speed up the process you can chop up the leaves with a lawn mower or shears this will speed up the decomposing side.

Try and avoid adding evergreen leaves and conifer needles as they take a lot longer to rot down. Make sure your leaf litter pile is out of sunlight and gets a little bit of rain. Moisture and darkness help speed up the decomposing – it can take up to 2 to 3 years to make a good leaf mould. Once ready this mulch can be added around the base or your plants or on your beds & it will help with insulation from any frosts.

Composting

Composting is a great way of dealing with green waste and it’s beneficial for the environment as it helps cut down on landfill. There are a variety of different shapes and sizes for compost bins so whatever space you have you will to for a bin. Making compost is often considered complex but all you need are these four main ingredients – air, water, nitrogen and carbon.

Always position your compost bin in an easy access location in your garden on bare soil which receives a reasonable amount of sunshine for the heat. What can you compost? All your kitchen waste which isn’t dairy or meat can be added – vegetable/fruit scraps, crushed eggshells, coffee grounds, shredded paper and cardboard, grass cuttings and also garden waste such as deadheaded flowers, leaves, woodchip, sawdust – the list is endless. When adding to your compost heap make sure you have an equal amount of green waste (vegetable, fruit, coffee, grass clippings) which provides the nitrogen to brown waste (leaves, cardboard, small twigs) which provides the carbon. Alternating these layers can help the breakdown process with the addition of water and air.

With regular mixing or turning of the compost, the piles will soon break down, and once the material is a dark rich brown/almost black – your compost is read! Depending on the size and what you have added this can take from two months to over two years. Compost can be added to soil to help retain moisture, encourage beneficial bacteria, and reduce methane emissions which will lower the carbon footprint. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Time to slow down

September is all about slowing down; most of your crops will be coming to an end and it will slowly transition from those hot long summer days to cooler, dewy mornings. Harvesting is a huge biggie during September, this will help to maximise your yields during the last few weeks.

There are still a few seeds that can be sown in September, such as winter lettuce, the last sowing of oriental leaves like spinach and spring cabbage. However, it’s the beginning of overwintering produce too such as onion sets and garlic.

Overwintering onions

Senshyu Yellow are Japanese overwintering onions, and whilst you can buy them as seeds and sow them in August, buying sets are a much easier approach. Create shallow drills around one inch deep and when planting the onion, ensure the tips are only just visible, and be sure to leave around three to four inches between each onion.

If you don’t plant them deep enough birds will likely pull them up thinking the tips are worms. Another variety of an overwintering onion set to try would be electric, a beautiful shiny deep red onion. You will be able to harvest these the following year from May to July.

Garlic growing

Garlic is a great low maintenance crop to grow over winter plus a really satisfying crop when you plait your harvest. Garlic can be planted a little later too, so this gives you time to decide on what varieties you would like to grow. There are two categories; softneck garlic and hardneck garlic. This is down to clove formation, how hardy it is and the flower stalk development.

Softnecks are generally better for the milder climates as they aren’t as hardy plus they store better. Their clove formation is a cluster, not like hardneck garlic that has a single row of cloves around the neck that form a bulb. Hardnecks are more flavourful though they do have fewer cloves, but they’re easier to peel.

Trying elephant garlic on for size

After making your decision be sure to find a good stockist for bulbs. I like to buy mine from “The Garlic Farm” on the Isle of Wight: www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk. They have all the knowledge about garlic, so they also provide you with great tips advice, and some amazing products! This year I’ve ventured for a variety I haven’t grown before – elephant garlic – botanically named Allium Ampeloprasum.

It has a much milder /sweeter taste, and the size of the bulb can grow up to 10cm in diameter. Planting garlic is very similar to onions as they are from the same family “Allium”. Plant each clove around an inch below the surface – no need to peel the cloves before planting and make sure the pointy end is facing up. Leave a few inches between each clove. If you have also opted for elephant garlic make sure to leave a little extra room between each clove.

{image source: gardenersworld.com}

Tools for the job

My shed at the allotment is my little haven. It cost me a total of £66, a few handy friends and a lot of reclaimed pallets. I have my camping stove, whistling kettle, a couple of mugs, (just in case a fellow allotmenteer wants a cup of tea and a chinwag) and my tools. When I first started my allotment eight years ago, I had a spade a fork and a rake – I purchased the cheapest brand thinking that will do me fine, they will last for ages! Little did I know how important investing in decent tools was going to be plus what my most used tools were.

Below is a list of my top used tools. Firstly secateurs – I have my secateurs with me everywhere I go at the allotment and at work, as they are so handy for so many tasks around a garden.

A trusty Cornish shovel

I’ve opted for Felcos – I have both model six & two meaning, I have a bigger pair for some larger cuts if needed. Secateurs need cleaning often plus a sharpen so included with this I have some methylated spirit to ensure I clean away any potential diseases after pruning, and a sharpening stone to make sure the blade stays nice and sharp, making use much easier. You also need a little bit of oil to help avoid corrosion.

Next on my list is a trusty Cornish shovel – this is a shovel with an extra-long straight handle which promotes leverage. It was designed for the use in dense clay soils that you would typically find in Cornish gardens. I use this for any shifting jobs such as mulching or wood chipping paths, as the design really helps. This is also used at Heligan during the long winter months for double digging.

{image source: cornishcabbageplants.com}

The beauty of a dutch hoe

When it comes to hoes, there are so many different types; Dutch hoe, oscillating hoe, swan neck hoe – but which one best? A Dutch hoe is one of the most common designs.

It has a broad head with a sharp blade that slides just below the soil surface and can cut through weed roots, plus with the long handle it makes weeding a lot easier – which is always a bonus! I have a Sneeboer Dutch push hoe.

This is slightly more expensive than shop brands, but these are all hand-crafted tools which have a long history in making gardening tools from the Netherlands. The handle is made of ash wood which means it’s nice to work with in the colder months as metal gets cold in winter, and the head is made from stainless steel, so no rusting.

{image source: harrodhorticultural.com}

Buying into great brands

I get my hand tool Niwaki, which means “garden tree”. It’s a Japanese influenced brand from London. It makes not only sturdy tools but they’re also aesthetically pleasing. I have a large range of hand tools from this company and use them daily. My most used tool from Niwaki would be my “Hori Hori” which translate as “dig dig”. It’s a Japanese designed trowel but can be used for so many jobs, weeding, bulb planting and cutting.

Whilst gloves may not be classed as a tool, they are a huge help! You can get an array of different types, materials, colours. but what’s best? This all depends on the job you want to complete – plus which season! I have summer gloves which are lightweight for those hot summer days, and winter gloves that have a comfy fleece lining! An absolute luxury in the gardening world in winter. Also, waterproof gloves, these seem to be my most worn in the winter months. I’ve trialled a few brands such as Niwaki, Engelbert Strauss, Kent & Stowe being a few, but I feel the size is the most important factor. Once you have found your size then it’s all down to the job you intend to carry out.

So much beauty

There are types that will suit every need and they are classified according to the size/character of the flowers. Some of the sections are as follows; Peony flowered, single & collarettes flowered, Anemone centred, giant flowered, Cactus flowered, pompon flowered, and orchid flowered, to name a few.

At Heligan, every year we invite the Cornish Dahlia society to plant up nearly 1500 Dahlias with a showstopping array of blooms within the garden. These flowers have a strong connection with the Victorians, who felt that dahlias symbolise devotion and love, so they were used widely for wedding celebrations and bouquets.

How to grow your own

Dahlias will grow well in practically any soil type and with little attention other than staking and supporting, and the addition of compost or well-rotted manure every so often will help with even better results. They love a sunny spot but need a bit of shelter from strong winds. Shady spots should be avoided as this will make the plant grow tall and weak.

Dahlias aren’t deep rooting plants so they will need supports. The best time to add supports are straight after you plant them, placing stakes in the corner of the dahlia beds and lying metal fencing mesh with larger holes which you can buy from hardware stores, over the bed around 1-2 ft off the ground. This will help the blooms with support and they will grow through the mesh. You can always tie the plants individually after they start growing taller. Dahlias included in borders or dwarf varieties probably won’t need as much attention, but you can always tie them in to a few canes.

When to plant

If like me you don’t have the biggest area to grow in, you can always use pots. Make sure the pots are big enough to home the tuber so they won’t become pot bound once the dahlias start to grow, and fill them up with some peat free compost.

Dahlias must be planted in the ground after the last frost. This will be different all over the UK so ignore the calendar and get watching the weather reports as closely as possible. This also depends on the soil type you have as some soils will take a lot longer to warm up as well as the site you are looking to plant them in. If once you have planted them out an unexpected frost is on the horizon, cardboard, straw or even an upturned pot can help protect the tuber in the soil from the cold frost.

Protecting from pests

Dahlias are susceptible to pests in the early stages of growing when the foliage is tender – things like earwigs, slugs and snails. I’ve found having my dahlias in pots has prevented these pests at the beginning of growing ensuring the dahlia has a good head start. Deterrents such as coffee grounds, crushed eggshell and beer traps can help in an organic attempt. Tidy garden beds can help with any hiding places for pests as well as irrigation methods such as a soaker hose. This will wet the soil around the plant keeping the leaves dry which will help deter slugs. Nematodes that you water in can help with small areas but sometimes the most effective way is to hand pick through your beds.

When the flowers are blooming, earwigs like to eat the petals but having earwigs present isn’t bad as they also keep control of aphids and mites, so I try to help with the habitat. Earwigs like dark, moist places to hide so keeping your beds clear of any groundcover will help. To help lure earwigs away from your blooms I tend to put a small terracotta pot upside down on a stick which I’ve stuck into the ground, away from my Dahlias, stuffed with straw.

What to do at the end of the season?

After months of blooms that have created dozens of posies for friends and family what do you do with you Dahlias once they start to fade? Dahlias will not tolerate freezing temperatures, so wait until the plant has died back and when this happens, dig them up and bring the tubers indoors. You can cut back after the first frost as this will turn the stems and foliage black. Leaving the tubers in a little longer, maybe a few days after the frost, can help toughen the tubers skin.

Once you’ve removed from the ground, make sure you label the tubers and check that they are healthy. Let them dry out for a few days out of direct sunlight. Some tubers maybe large enough to divide meaning you will have more plant for next year. Bonus! If dividing your tubers, each one must include an “eye” as this is where the first growth comes from. This takes practice so you could wait until spring as some “eyes” may start to grow.

Keeping them nice and safe until spring

Once they have dried out, store them over winter in a place which depends on how much room you have. I tend to pot all my Dahlia tubers back up in fresh compost and keep them in my shed or greenhouse. This means they are protected from frost also; so I can keep an eye on them. You can also store them in boxes in other growing mix such as vermiculite or black bin bags, but ensure they have ventilation.

Always check your tubers throughout the winter periods, making sure they are not too wet or too dry. When spring arrives, you can thoroughly go through your saved tubers only keeping the best ones, or if they are in pots start watering a little more and look out for growth.

Where to start

What a lot of people don’t realise is that that seeds bought in a pack from the store won’t have been adapted to your soils/environment/climate change and probably won’t produce the best crop you could grow. I’m passionate in raising awareness about saving your own seed. Whilst flowers are quite straight forward, there are a few things you have to know first before you start seed saving from vegetables, and remember that every plant is different so some will be a lot easier than others.

The right time
Instead of harvesting your food to eat you have to leave it in the ground – each plant will set their seeds at different times. Lettuce will only take a few weeks extra to flower but trying to do it during summer months when its drier is best. Other crops take a lot longer to set seed such as beetroot and carrots and will have to be overwintered, so they set seed in the following spring.

Quantities, planting and identification

How many plants?
Depending on the plant you are saving from depends on how may plants you need. A dozen plants will give you a good variety to collect from but some plants give you lots of seeds so a couple of plants would be enough.

Spacing
Crops will be much bigger if left in the ground to save seed from, so space them out more than you would if you were to plant to harvest.

True to self
It’s important to save seed from the best quality plant, any miss shapes, incorrect colour or weak plants will pass these characteristics to the seed, so keep a close eye on the parent plant.

How to keep them safe

Storage
Saved seeds must be kept cool and dry, this is super vital before storing them away too as this can cause the seeds to rot. I keep mine in a cupboard at home as I find my shed can fluctuate too much in temperature.

Cross pollination
Cross pollination is when one plant pollinates another plant of a different variety resulting in seeds having characteristics from both varieties. It can only happen with the same species. This is an important part of seed saving, so you need to do some research to see which vegetables will cross with other varieties. Some plants don’t cross and are self-pollinating plants such as beans, peas, lettuce, peppers and tomatoes.

Have a go!

If you are planting lots of varieties and are wanting to save seed, you will have to plant the different varieties around 100 yards apart from each other or maybe eve more – this isn’t always possible in your back garden due to size so just select the same variety to grow.

If this is your first time, I recommend you go for the easier vegetables to begin with, such as lettuce, peas and tomatoes.

Planning your winter harvest, beginning with potatoes

The preparation for autumn and winter begins now by figuring what summer seeds you need to sow for those autumnal crops. Kale, cabbage, sprouts, and spinach are all on the list, as well as potatoes for Christmas – yes, Christmas dinners are thought about in July! Christmas potatoes can be grown in a compost bag or large pot by filling it half way with compost and placing a few potato seeds inside – Duke of York is one we grow at Heligan which is a great heritage winter potato.

You need to just about cover the potatoes and water well to soak the compost – don’t forget to add a few drainage holes at the bottom of the compost bag. When the shoots begin to appear, cover again with more compost – keep doing this until the bag/pot is full – when foliage dies down leave the potatoes in the bag and they will keep until Christmas dinners are ready!

Preventing Blight

Blight is something that develops on potatoes and tomatoes. In warm damp weather a fungus called Phytopthera Infestans develops spores which can travel by wind. The spores can lay dormant on your crops in dry weather but once summer showers develop the spores spread and the first signs are dark spots on the leaves usually staring on the end of the leaves. If left the blight can then travel down to the tubers which will cause inedible crops. If you spot blight the organic approach is to cut the foliage and stem down to ground level as soon as possible – this does mean your potatoes will stop growing but it will help prevent the fungus travelling down.

Never put your blight waste in your own garden as its likely the spores will linger and the problem will carry on to next year – try and discard in your green waste bins as they will have a system which will have a higher temperatue in their composting bays meaning it will kill the pathogens.

Sprouts & kale - more produce that can be enjoyed through winter

The variants of kale and sprouts that I particularly like to grow because of their flavour are…

Kale –
“Nero Di Toscana” or better known as “Cavelo Nero” cultivated in 1792 from Italy is recognised by its beautiful dark foliage – it’s becoming increasing popular and this brassica can be enjoyed all through the winter months.

“Red Russian” is another ancient hardy heritage Kale cultivated around 1818 – it’s a sweeter variety and has a beautiful oak shaped leaf to harvest.

Sprouts –
“Evesham Special” cultivated in 1920 and described as a good all rounder as it produces a high yield of sprouts of a good size from September to December.

Other tastiness to sow now

There is still time to sow a few things for this season and also time to start prepping for the colder months. Basil, beetroot, broccoli, winter cabbage, carrots, chard, lettuce, radish, perpetual spinach and spring onions are just a few of the seed packets I recommend you collect this month, and have a go at.

I tend to sow a lot of my brassicas in cells and keep them in my cooler cold frame due to the cabbage white butterflies and the heat of the summer causing them to bolt. If you have sown them direct or bought plugs and planted them, please ensure to cover with a fine mesh and secure the edges at ground level as this will stop cabbage white butterflies laying eggs on your plants. To help with bolting, ensure your soil doesn’t get too warm and add a thick layer of mulch to the topsoil to stop the heat reaching the plants root system.

A journey into keeping bees

As a keen horticulturist I also have a keen interest in beekeeping, and have been looking after two hives for nearly four years now. Unlike some other beekeepers, I don’t harvest the honey as I feel I want to be able to just keep a healthy and happy home for them.

By ensuring they have adequate honey supplies makes me feel that they will be happier and healthier bees.

Doing the research

Before I purchased the hives I first wanted to understand bees, their life cycles and the maintenance needed in keeping bees, so I did a 3 month course which was really beneficial and so interesting.

It actually made me even more curious about the activity within the hives and sparked a passion! If you are interested in beekeeping then I would recommend contacting your local Beekeeping Association for advice and to undergo a similar course before thinking about getting hives.

Keeping a close eye

The start of spring and onset of warmer days is the time when I start to inspect my hives and they provide an endless source of fascination for me. I have recently inspected my two hives and have made notes on what I need to do or what I saw whilst inspecting.

I usually inspect every 7- 10 days, and look out for things such as any disease, swarming intentions, the Queen and brood patterns.

Which hive Is best?

I use a hive called a ‘BS National hive’, which is one of the most popular hives to use due to it being super easy to handle for beginners. At Heligan there are still some Heritage Skeps on display – traditional beehives made from woven straw.

These are no longer in common use in the UK due to being more difficult to manage and inspect than their modern counterparts. A National hive consists of the following parts:

The parts of a national hive

A Brood Box – This is where the eggs are laid and the queen stays, this is located at the bottom of the hive.
A Super Box – The place where all the honey is stored and capped and sits on top of the brood box. I’ve recently bought two more supers for my hives as although it is just a small colony of bees, they are expanding. One of my hives didn’t have a super at all, and the other hive has a super full of honey so will give them another box to fill.
Queen Excluder – Between the brood and the super is the queen excluder, which is essentially a flat piece of mesh made from plastic or metal which stops the queen laying eggs in the super box.
Crown Board – This goes on top of the super box – these can have feeders placed on top during the winter months, so the bees have plenty of food supply and then a lid that goes on top.

Making a start!

Once you have a hive in place and are ready to start beekeeping, you will be ready to purchase some bees. You can either do this online, or through an association.

Bees are sold as a nucleus – which will usually be around five frames which include brood and bees. You can also buy queens separately. I opted for the harder approach as a beginner and caught swarms. Most associations also offer practical days to help with your experience which is always great to go to and experience the real buzzzzzz…

A busy time of year

Traditionally, April and May are the two months of the year which have been known as the ‘hungry gap’ which is often the hardest time of the year for UK farmers and growers.

This is because it’s the transitional time when we switch from harvesting any left-over crops from the previous year, and starting to sow the seeds again this year. April brings with it a hefty ‘to do’ list for gardeners as we turn our thoughts towards realising all the early summer planting dreams we planned during those long winter months.

Beetroot

This is the time when temperatures are on the rise and the soil will be warming up ready for direct sowing. However, don’t be tempted to move too quickly as a hard frost could wipe out all your seedlings. If your beds are ready-prepped, here are a few ideas for crops which can be sowed directly during May…

Mark out a straight row and if the soil is dry, pre-water the drill (shallow trench). Sow the seed thinly, around 1 inch in depth. The little seedlings should start to appear after approximately 14 days. This is the best time to thin the seedlings to around 4 inches apart.

Top Tip: When thinning seedlings make sure that you thin them as soon as possible. I usually look for the true leaves to appear and then I know it’s time. If you sow a few short rows every 14 days, this will help provide you with a continuous crop.

Heritage varieties

I love heritage beetroot; a feast for the eyes as well as the palate! A few of my favourite heritage varieties include:

Bulls Blood Beetroot
This variety has an intensely dark red leaf and the foliage can be treated like “cut-and-come again” ( cutting away the mature leaves to let young leaves continue to grow or allow new growth to form and mature). Once the roots are ready, they produce a delicious salad beet.

Chioggia Beetroot
This old Italian heirloom variety is named after the fishing village near Venice where they were first grown. Chioggia boasts an eye-turning red and white pattern which, when sliced, adds a decorative style to any salad.

Lettuce

Homegrown lettuce is both more flavoursome and more economical than buying bags from the supermarket and gives you a delicious variety of colour and flavour. Cut-and-come-again loose leaf lettuce makes the best use of container space and will be easier to maintain. To sow the seeds, first create a shallow drill, 1 cm deep, and sow your lettuce seeds thinly.

Top Tip: If you sow the seeds in the late afternoon, it allows germination to happen in the cooler temperatures of the night. Lettuce has a tendency to “bolt” in hot weather – meaning it will go to seed and produce bitter foliage. To help prevent this, it’s important to mulch around the plants and keep the roots wet. If your area is prone to frost, place some fleece over the bed at night and remove in the morning, this will keep the soil that little bit more protected

Squash, pumpkin and courgette

Mine are looking rather full at the moment, but if you have a windowsill that is free (or are lucky enough to have a greenhouse), then May is a good time to start sowing squash, courgettes and pumpkins – my favourite things to grow!

There are so many interesting shapes and sizes of the Cucurbit family you can grow, and some varieties store well into winter months. They are also great for the kids to grow for Halloween carving. First, prep some 9 cm pots with compost and place a seed within. It’s important to ensure that the seed isn’t lying flat as this can cause the water to puddle on top when you water and rot the seed.

Tips for planting

Planting your squash and courgettes outside can be done around late May /June depending on your area. Ensure you have incorporated lots of well-rotted manure or grow bag compost into your planting hole. These plants are hungry and enjoy lots of nutrients.

Top Tip: Bury a terracotta pot next to the plants roots when they are in situ – this will help with watering as water in the pot will channel it directly to the roots, so no water is wasted to the hot soil.

Potatoes

The first early potato seedlings of the year may need earthing up now. I usually wait until they have grown to around 10-15 cm in height. Gently cover the shoots with the soil from either side of the plant, minding you don’t disturb or damage the planted potato seed.

Earthing up is encouraging your potato to grow more delicious potatoes but be careful not to expose any tubers as this will cause greening, and green potatoes are poisonous. Planting out of your Second early potatoes and maincrops can be completed in April, these will need earthing up later on.

Floral planting

I always plant flowers which not only look beautiful, but will be beneficial for the early appearing bees. The most common bees you will see first appearing in spring are the solitary bees, who live alone as the name suggests, and there are almost 200 solitary bee species in the UK. They are crucially- important pollinators for fruit trees and other food crops, and they will be buzzing about looking for early nectar.

Having a diverse planting scheme will attract different types of bees as each species has a different tongue length, making them able to feed from different-shaped flowers depending on their tongue.

Supporting wildlife

The common garden bumblebee (bombus hortorum) has one of the longest tongues in the bee species and they love to eat nectar from deeper more trumpet-shaped flowers such as foxgloves (Digitalis) or honeysuckles (Lonicera). Some other types of flowers to plant for these amazing pollinators would be alliums, bluebells, wallflowers, lavender, myosotis (forget-me-not) and pulmonaria.

Some easy flowers that you can sow directly that are beneficial to insects include borage, nigella and cosmos – some of these will also self-seed and come back year after year. Lots of flowers will also serve to attract a bounty of other beneficial pollinators and insects such as hoverflies, butterflies and ladybirds which are all crucial to help maintain a healthy ecosystem in your garden.

Plan & Go Wild

Use March to plan how you will use the space in your garden. If your garden is always perfectly pruned, I recommend trying rewilding. No matter how small a space, plant a mix of wild-flowers for the bees and butterflies or simply let the grass grow.

If we all leave a little space in our gardens for plants and grass to grow wild, wildlife has a much wider area to find food and shelter. By all doing a little bit, it will make a massive difference and you’ll be rewarded with lots of wildlife in your garden.

Order Your Seeds

If you haven’t yet stocked up, now is the time to begin ordering. Once you’ve planned your garden design for the year ahead, it’s time to place your seed order. There are many places you can order seeds from, my favourite supplier is Tamar Organics who have been selling organic seeds since 1994. Based on an organic market farm in Launceston, they have a broad variety of popular and more unusual seeds.

Each year, I purchase one vegetable and or flower that I haven’t grown before and give it a go – it’s a great way to set yourself a little personal challenge! Don’t be afraid to experiment, that’s the beauty of growing plants. At Heligan we grow over 300 varieties of fruit, vegetables and flowers so I have a lot to learn from.

I always opt for organic seeds to make sure my plants have the purest DNA. To find an organic seed producer near you, check out the Soil Association.

Spring Clean

This time of year is well known for giving our homes a spring clean but we can also give our sheds, greenhouses and flower beds a clean up. Re-organise your shed so you have everything easily on hand, hose down the greenhouse glass to allow optimum sunlight to shine through to help those young seedlings and dead-head old flower heads. When dead-heading flowers, be sure to look closely before you pull them off as you might just see insects such as ladybirds nesting inside.

When it comes to weeds, a gardener’s job is never done. At this time of year, the weeds are easy to remove because they have not become settled in and by keeping them to a minimum, you’ll give your seeds the opportunity to flourish. Here are a common few weeds keep an eye out for, and remove:

Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine pratense)
Willowherb (Epilobium spp)
Doves-foot cranes-bill (Geranium molle)
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Planting potatoes in March

Potatoes are classified as being either earlies or maincrops. Begin planting ‘Early’ varieties around late March, these are what we call ‘new potatoes’. The Main-Crop comes later in the year and produces a larger harvest and bigger potatoes.

It’s important that potato seeds are ‘chit’. This can be done now. Stand your seeds rose end up (the end with the most small dents or eyes) in egg boxes or trays. I often use old egg boxes. Place in a frost free place – they like to be away from direct sunlight and in the cool so a pantry or cupboard can be a good option. Water frequently and when the shoots are approximately 3cm long, they are ready to go into the ground.

At Heligan, we grow over thirty varieties of potatoes. Each year, we save thousands of the harvested potato seeds for the following year, and we have been doing this since the restoration of the gardens, over thirty years ago! Some varieties are so rare that they cannot be bought at all anymore, meaning that they are extremely precious. One of the oldest varieties we grow is Fortyfold, which was introduced here in the 1800s. Another is Shetland Black which has a beautiful dark purple skin and yellow flesh.

Spring sweetpeas

Sweet Peas

Sweet peas can be sown at this time of year, when we’re emerging from deep winter into early spring. They are a wonderfully fragrant, blousy looking flower which come in many different shades and climb high to add a little drama to your garden. I’ve sometimes opted for the easier option of buying plugs later in the season because it’s a great way to free up any needed space in your greenhouse for other seeds, but if you do have the space they’re a very easy and rewarding flower to grow from seed.

As some varieties have hard shells, they need to be soaked overnight before sowing them to help germinate. Also, if you’re running out of pots, then use a cardboard toilet roll instead – a great way to recycle! Once the sweet peas are ready to go out and be planted, you can pop the whole cardboard container in the ground as it will break down and compost in your soil so there’s less waste, and less root disturbance.

Other growing ideas

If you have the luxury of a heated glasshouse, tomatoes, peppers, aubergine and chillies can all be sown in March too, or you can of course find somewhere warm in your house – I usually do mine on a windowsill and I love checking back every other day to see the progress and new life in action. Seeds that can be sown directly are broad beans, onion & shallot sets.

Luckily in Cornwall we benefit from mild winters which means we can usually get a head start on some sowing.