The C word...

Yes - I'm sorry - I have already started to think about Christmas - its four months away and yet I am beginning to think about veg we could have with our christmas dinner and how I can best use the space which I have to grow some winter crops. Part of this comes from the Rocket Gardens winter Veg plants - but the other comes from a great book called "The Diggers Diary" in which discussions are had about growing potatos for Christmas dinner. The main concern seems to be frost damage and insufficient shelter, the Guardian Organic Spetember allotment diary is well worth a read.

The orange potato bags we bought to grow the charlotte earlies in seemed to work very well and they would fit inside my greenhouse which with some fleece lining would slmost certainly be frost proof. I think it would be fun to serve up homegrown potatos on the (almost) shortest day of the year - along with the cabbages, kale, sprouts and maybe carrots. Apparently "Autumn King", Berlicum" and some Nantes varieties can be planted in early autumn ready for winter but need overwintering under cloches when the temperature drops. Beans are also apparently possible.

This has got me thinking about the veg patch & ways in which i could perhaps make it more seasonally suitable. There are still plants growing in it so I can't make too many changes just yet but I am wondering about changing the access onto the plot & putting up a better 'fence' which would give more wind shelter - also which I could use to build winter protection in the form of fleece cloches.

And I haven't even started on the things i want to make for christmas such as chutneys, jams and preserves, cushions and recycled gifts. By which I don't mean giving away presents I've received - I mean making things from other things. I really want to decorate the house and I dont want to use lots of plastic and paper - bit of a spoilsport really!