Kitchen Garden November 2024

By now many of us will have filled the freezer with tasty fruit and veg and hopefully planted crops to grow over the winter both outside and under cover. There is still plenty to do, but the pace slows, and we have time to reflect on another year. What were our successes and failures, what will we do differently next year… and how might the weather add to the challenges? If you are like me, you’ll love making plans for next season – it’s all part of the anticipation of another growing year ahead. We have some great features in this issue to keep the fire going until it’s time to sow once again. You can keep warm by deconstructing pallets to make some of deputy editor Emma’s practical recycling…

PUT TOOLS AWAY Put away any garden equipment that is no longer needed and secure items such as empty water butts and plastic composters, which could fly about during winter storms. SOW GREEN MANURES Sow field beans and forage peas in empty spaces as green manures. This will help protect and feed the soil over winter, and provide extra material for compost heaps in the spring. PREVENT MOULDS Ventilate under cover spaces to help prevent mildews and moulds. Remember to close them again in the late afternoon to protect plants from freezing night-time temperatures. HARVEST ROOT CROPS Carrots and beetroot can be harvested to store in crates for the winter. Remove leaves but keep them muddy, as this helps to keep the root veg tasty and fresh. MAKING COMPOST As…

PREPARE FOR WINTER After checking greenhouses and cold frames for any signs of damage, and repairing as needed, protect overwintering plants by insulating the glass with bubble wrap. This is especially useful if the greenhouse is single glazed, or quite old (like mine) with a few cracks and gaps. I store all bubblewrap that comes into the house as packaging, or you can buy rolls online or from hardware stores. It helps to have continuous sheets so if you’re using pre-used material, tape it together to make larger sheets, otherwise it can be really fiddly to secure. Bubblewrap carefully stored can last for years. Secure the bubblewrap using greenhouse clips or strong clear tape, such as polytunnel tape. Start by insulating the roof and then covering the sides. Make sure…

WISE WORDS “If you’ve never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden.” (Robert Brault, philosopher) SPUDS, LETTUCE AND ASPARAGUS Steve has been tipping out the last of his bag-grown potatoes. These were the popular early variety ‘Arran Pilot’, planted in the spring and stored until needed, so they have been in the bags for some time. Still, they were in good condition and Steve reports that it was lovely to have the flavour of ‘new’ potatoes in November, so nice in fact, he ‘forgot’ to share them with the rest of the team! Emma decided to leave a couple of lettuce plants to go to flower so she could collect the seed. The flowers are like little dandelion flowers with fluffy parts to allow…

Play noughts & crosses Hi! I’m Belle and I’m here every month to share lots of fun activities for you to do at home, on your own or with your family Have you played the game noughts and crosses? You may have used pen and paper to play. Let’s make it more fun, by playing it outside using natural materials. It’s a simple game for two people that can be played anywhere. YOU WILL NEED: ■ Four straight sticks to make your grid ■ Five of one item, and five of another item. You could choose leaves, acorns, shells or stones. WHAT TO DO: 1. Place your sticks in a grid pattern. 2. Choose a set of five items for yourself, perhaps five stones for example. Then ask your opponent…

BUTTERFLY EMERGENCY DECLARED Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation has declared a national ‘Butterfly Emergency’ with results of this summer’s Big Butterfly Count showing a marked and hugely concerning decline in numbers. Overall, participants spotted just seven butterflies on average per 15-minute count, a reduction of almost 50% on last year’s average of 12, and the lowest in the 14-year history of the Big Butterfly Count. In total, just over 935,000 butterflies and day-flying moths were recorded across the UK from July 12-August 4, down almost 600,000, equivalent to more than a third of 2023’s total, and 9000 counts were logged as seeing zero butterflies, the highest in the citizen science programme’s history. Dr Richard Fox, head of science at Butterfly Conservation, said: “The previous lowest average number of butterflies per count…