Winter is a wonderful time to get your garden prepped to ensure a successful and beautiful garden or greenhouse (despite the cold, misty weather!) We asked our Group Estates Manager, Chris Holdsworth what he will be up to in these upcoming winter months!
Pruning
“Wisterias will get pruned, it’s a great time to prune back all the straggly shoots and remove the dead wood and check ties etc, this annual prune will help encourage plenty of flowers to bloom for the spring. Apple, pear and Medlars can be pruned, most of our trees are mature so it’s only annual pruning as with all pruning dead, damaged, diseased. Crossing branches are removed, aiming to keep an open centre to allow air movement through the tree, making fungal diseases less likely. Be mindful to remove last year’s upright growth to 2-3 bud’s, as these will eventually develop fruiting spurs.”
Fruit, Vegetables and Herbs
“We will start some fruit and vegetable produce in the greenhouse. Chilli’s and sweet peppers can be started early and we’ll start sowing beetroot, Kohl Rabi, celeriac and some turnips into modules ready to go into the poly tunnel late February, along with some sweet peas in early March. As the days get a bit longer we can start potting some herbs like thyme, basil, parsley and some baby leaves, Mizuna, Pak Choi and pea shoots etc. We may sow some San Mazano tomatoes towards the end of January (due to these needing a longer growing season). There’s also a chance to dig over plots adding our homemade compost ready for the growing season ahead!”
We hope we have given you some great ideas on garden preparation to ensure you have a fantastic, successful garden and greenhouse this spring!
Happy Gardening!
