Gardening Diary

" Better to see a mad dog than a hot sun in January."

So, as we emerge, blinking into the low January sun and bilious from a surfeit of sherry and lampreys, we one and all should be out in the garden to take every chance to push on with garden chores. There is much to be done before the great awakening, when urgent tasks multiply and leave no time for pulling up arrears.

So how may we work off that corpulence and crapulence of the festive season? Might we start with mending the torn felt on the shed roof, or cleaning and disinfecting the green house or burning that pile of cuttings left over from the autumn pruning?

Conditions allowing, we may be planting hedging plants, hardy climbers, deciduous shrubs, roses and the hardier perennials. As always we should be looking over recent plantings to see none have been loosened or lifted by frost. Firm staking is vital here.

Towards the end of the month in sheltered spots we may be planting, always weather permitting, Jerusalem artichokes, Horse-radish, Rhubarb and Shallots.

A heavily cropped vegetable garden will slowly increase in acidity over the years, the change may be almost imperceptible but by degrees the quality and quantity of crops, especially brassicas, will disappoint, we may dig in extra manures and fertilisers to boost the yield but these may only increase the acidity. The PH must be adjusted. Assuming the reader carried out autumn digging and manuring, now is the time to lime. It is important to keep manuring and liming at least three months apart as they are uneasy bedfellows. Liming will also help to improve soil condition and workability by causing the very fine particles to be found in clay to join together into larger clumps; the happily named process of flocculation.

In common with one’s children, the showy dahlia is a 'gross feeder ' and will repay preparation carried out now; Planting pockets may be dug and backfilled with herbivore poo manure together with bone meal, this mix will fester down in time for planting out in late spring. The same method works well for pumpkins, courgettes or any crop that will produce heavily from a single plant.

The herbaceous border may have become over-crowded with older plants and may need some attention as to lifting and replanting, those plants to be moved or divided may be dug out now and put in a shady corner with some covering over the root balls. The bed may now be dug over and quantities of horse droppings, compost and bone meal dug in before plants are relocated.

As with the lawn-loving Breton in the Asterix books, an Britisher’s pride is the lawn. Having vigorously scattered the worms casts with the besom we may now apply topdressing at around four pounds a square yard, this may be gently and rhythmically spread back and forth with the back of a rake, and a very calming job it is too.

Cloches. We don't seem to see as many nowadays, but they are essential for drying the soil and warming up the ground prior to sowing seed. By setting out cloches now we may gain

ourselves a month's head-start with the crop and be in a position come Spring to be gloating over our unseasonably early crops.

If cloches were put out at the beginning of the month we may, after the Ides, presume to sow some onion, lettuce, radish, broad bean and round-seeded pea.

Wood ashes from the wood burner will be greatly appreciated by the onions, important to store these in a dry place before use.

Seed potatoes may be stood eye ends uppermost to start the chitting process.

Faded flowers on Azaleas may be pinched off as one passes by.

There are little jobs and big jobs to be seen to wherever we look. For those governed by the fourth humor, melancholia, or those by nature prone to ennui, work in the garden is the best possible remedy. There should be no time left for brooding or boredom.

Do not eat bats.

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