Mid January 2025

Winter cropping under cover

See main photo.

I feel so grateful for the polytunnel at this time of year. It's a very solid one from First tunnels 18 x 42ft. That length is the longest I reckon is viable without having mesh sides for extra ventilation. Most of the time the door is open to allow air over these salad plants.

They have now been there for three months. Most weeks we are picking one or two leaves from each plant at this time of year. They are watered very little, the left-hand bed with annalemma and the right hand by the magnets of Plantsurge - see photo.

Potatoes to plant

Now is a good time to sort through potatoes from last year, to select medium size ones to sprout in light. That gives you compact, green chits, which you can plant more easily than if you leave potatoes in the darkn potatoes will go green and look horrible, but that does not matter!

Tools

These are the tools I use the most, called copper. Actually they are 5% tin, and so really they are bronze. The one I recommend the most is that 'Castor' trowel in the middle. We use them all the time and because they do not trust, they last for years.

See Implementations website.

Tree roots

I don't know how much difference this trench will make. I am fed up with losing so much moisture to trees in the neighbours garden, and this trench is only 30 cm. So let's see what happens but it feels worth trying. It's along the edge of my small garden.

Weather and no-sow

December here was drier than average, with 60 mm / 2.4 inches rain which brought the annual total to 1127 mm / 45.2 inches. The pond dropped low in water!

Then in January we had a very wet four days, and that brought the pond level higher than I've ever seen it, partly because I plugged the outflow pipe to see how much it would rise! It looked beautiful and I like the ebb / flow.

Average temperatures here during the first 10 days of January are 6.5°C / 44°F by day and -2°C / 28°F by night. Now they are higher and look set to stay mild.

However I am not sowing any garden seeds until mid-February. Over many years, I have found there is no gain from January sowing, even early February, with the exception perhaps of broad beans. And chilies, peppers, if you are kitted out for with warmth for seedlings.

Annual compost for no dig

I'm sharing the photo below, to give you an idea of how much iI find worthwhile. That's for a whole year and we don't put any new compost on during summer, when making succession plantings.

To grow great vegetables, whether you dig or don't dig, it's the soil needs to be in top condition. Adding compost achieves this. See my book for more about making your own.

Winter greens outside

Brigitte Brussels sprouts are a mid season variety, with best harvests finishing now, and new growth continuing but with less to pick. Their next main harvest will be sprout tops as long as I can keep pigeons off!

That's what the wires are in this photo, to support black netting which I had removed to take the photo and tidy/remove the yellowing leaves to compost.

27 plants spaced at 60 cm, from a sowing on 8th May (sowing dates 2025 are in my Calendar), have given so many beautiful meals through the first part of winter, with more to come. They went in the ground 18th June, so there is time to grow a first vegetable before planting Brussels sprouts. Here it was carrots, whose harvest finished July, see my No Dig book. It's in audio too, with me reading.

Potting mix compost

There's enough growth on peas, sown a month ago in the greenhouse to see small differences in the potting mixes.

I am comparing my own mix which has some of my worm compost on left, with Urban Wyrm Peat Free. rightAnd the latter is performing well as you can see in the photo.

Worm compost

Adam emptied the wormery. The casts (worm poo) went from the wormery to the barrow via a 10mm sieve, see the video, and now are drying in the garage.

They have a beautiful crumb structure, held with glues from the worm intestines, and they may not need sieving again, even for use in the small 3 cm cells of my module trays.

We shall add some sieved, old woodchip to hold more air.

Farming profitably

I am taking part in this event, online next Tuesday and Wednesday 21st to 22nd. It has worldwide experts about setting up a farm and your life to earn a living.

Once you sign up, access is free and at any time, because the live sessions are recorded.