By Rubi Ingaglia

With the festive season approaching the thought of snuggling up with a mug of hot chocolate sounds appealing, but the December garden has lots to offer. A cold stint in the allotment won’t seem so painful compared to the tasting of fresh, organic ingredients that will compliment your Christmas roast delightfully.

Here are my favourite crops and growing tips.

	After leaving parsnips to sweeten after frost, it is time to lift their roots in anticipation of your Christmas dinner. For those with a sweet tooth, drizzle with honey and roast, or try coating them in parmesan cheese before roasting for a crispy, savoury alternative.
	Red cabbage is a popular Christmas meal addition, which, along with hearted white varieties, should be cut before the frost. It can be easily prepared in advance, and try adding apples, sultanas, brown sugar and butter when cooking for a gorgeously caramelised dish.
	Brussels Sprouts are perfectly timed for the festive season as they can be harvested as early as mid September, but they can taste better after a frost. To entice those who are perhaps not Brussels sprouts enthusiasts, add bacon or almonds for extra flavour and crunch.
	Seed Sprouts can be sown indoors and harvested all year round. These nutritious fillings are a great addition to those Boxing Day leftover sandwiches.

Also on my menu

	If you’re looking to start your post-Christmas diet early, after being planted in summer, celery and lettuce is ready to be harvested and make crunchy, fresh, low calorie snacks.
	December is the time for planting your gooseberries, pears and rhubarb, but make sure you choose well-drained soil. For summer and autumn harvesting, these fruits will be ideal for scrumptious fillings of those homemade pies.
	As for the herbs, it’s time to pick the leaves of sage, rosemary and thyme. For your plate of Christmas veg, add fresh rosemary to your roasted root vegetables to perfect your plate alongside butternut squash, sweet potatoes and carrots. Use sage for a traditional stuffing, or for a refreshing twist add thyme and lemon instead.

Rubi is a Christmas enthusiast and volunteer at Garden Organic. She’s looking forward to “food and festivities” this December!

Other festive favourites (links open growing cards)
Leek, Radish, Chicory, Cauliflower, Spinach, Swede, Sprouting Broccoli,   Winter cabbage

Garden Organic’s growing resources

Click here to discover unusual crops

Become a member of the UK leading organic growing charity, Garden Organic

Adopt a Veg – send a festive Christmas present

Read lively growing blogs by volunteer Master Gardeners:
Coventry & Warwickshire, North London, South London, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire

We asked Garden Organic’s Master Gardeners for their top sowing tips to get you started growing food this spring. Here are some of their suggestions...

“Sowing seeds is like bingo: eyes down for a full-house!” Steve Penny

“When planting seeds with children, I recommend two seeds per hole to avoid those disappointed little faces.”
Helen Bronstein

	Seed packets always describe perfect conditions for producing the best looking and biggest crops, but seeds can still grow perfectly well without matching these requirements and will give good yields at less than the recommended spacing.” Derek Miller
	“I sow in modular trays, pots or plugs as it is much easier to look after my seedlings when they are not sown in situ.” Keith Wellsted
	Seed packets often contain far more seeds than you use, so why not swap your spares with others to get a wider range of varieties? Also remember that as seeds get older, less will germinate, so sow larger quantities than you did when the seeds were fresh.” Paul Sanders
	“A good rule of thumb for how deep to sow: make a hole twice as deep as your seed.” Alex Collings
	“Sow some beetroot in groups and others spaced out. When they grow, you can choose a bunch of small beetroot or individual bigger ones.” Terry Patterson
	“Create a propagator with a takeaway container as a base and another plastic container as the roof. Place it in front of the telly to remember to keep the compost damp.” Mike Wohl
	“To grow scotch bonnet chillies, I use the seeds from fruit that I have purchased from a market or grocer. Wash the seeds in a plastic tea strainer, allow them to dry on kitchen paper; then germinate them on moist cotton wool covered in cling film. Pot up the sprouted seeds in compost and put on a windowsill to grow on.” Phil Bannister

More top tips from Master Gardeners

• “Sow peas early in the greenhouse in a length of guttering. You can then slide the peas into your trench without disturbing the roots.” Helen Kelly
• “A heated propagator is a cheap and worthwhile investment, but pots on windowsills covered with cling film work well, provided you take this off once seeds sprout.” Adam Lee
• “How about germinating seeds in the nice, warm environment of an airing cupboard? I tried it with aubergine seeds and it worked a treat!” Rosie Humphreys
• “Only sow seeds when the soil is warm. Cover the soil with horticulture fleece or bubble wrap for a few days prior to sowing.” Ray Price
• “For peas and sweet peas, soak the seed overnight and then sow them in paper pots which are particularly easy to plant out.” Maria Elena Brady

“Warm your filled seed trays in advance. Either in a propagator, airing cupboard, greenhouse, or on a windowsill. Then talk to them nicely after sowing! Grow seeds, grow” Ashleigh Rinchey

“Sow little and often. For vegetables that need to be harvested when they reach maturity like lettuce and cauliflower, sow small numbers but do sow regularly; two to three week intervals.” Paul Sanders

• “Fill an empty cardboard egg box with compost. Put one runner bean in each compartment and spray with water. Close the box and look into it in three or four days. Monitor the moistness: not too wet, not dry. When you see the first shoots established, pot on or plant out.” Eulalia
• “Always read the seed packets carefully. Not all vegetable seeds are best sown into pots or trays, for example beetroot, carrots and parsnips are very hard to transplant, so it’s worth waiting until your soil warms up in the spring and then sow directly into their permanent positions.” Karen Webb
• “Jamaica Broad Leaf Callaloo: Sow in container and cover with cling film. Keep in warm conditions. When they reach 6cm, transplant to 7cm pots. When all risk of frost is gone, plant out 30cm apart.” Robert Samuda

For more tips and advice..

• ‘Growing From Seed’ (Garden Organic factsheet GS1)
• Sowing advice from Garden Organic (opens PDF)
• More growing tips from Master Gardeners

Article by the Master Gardeners, collated by Pauline Pears and Philip Turvil

Now is the time to sow seeds for tasty cropping from hardy and tender vegetables.

Get your plate ready for quick growing crops harvested from last spring – ideal for your ‘Big Jubilee Lunch’ on the 3rd June 2012.

Or keep the BBQ hot for summer harvests – ideal for London 2012 celebrations! Please click here to read how Master Gardeners are getting involved with the Games…

Hardy favourites

My seed-draw unleashed a flurry of hardy crops this month.

Sow these chaps direct into the soil – or if slugs are watching you, sow seed in snug pots or modular trays instead, placing indoors or in a sheltered corner.

The following links open PDF growing instructions by Garden Organic:

Annual spinach, Beetroot, Broad Bean, Brussels Sprouts, Leek, Pea, Radish, Rocket, Salad Onion, Summer Cabbage, Pot Marigold, bulb onion, Parsnip, Lettuce, Potato, Calabrese, Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery, and others…

Tender favourites

Seeds of tender crops are just as keen this month.

Start these off indoors on a clean, warm windowsill or in a frost-free greenhouse/polytunnel.

These chaps will be ready for transplanting into their final location indoors once larger enough, or outdoors after the last frost. This last frost is usually mid May in the south of England and London; into June further north.

The following links open PDF growing instructions by Garden Organic:

Aubergine, Cucumber, Okra, Pepper, Tomato, Pumpkin and Squashes, Sweetcorn, spring and summer salad, and others…

Click here to discover unusual crops (opens ‘Sowing New Seed’ project website)

Did you know that Garden Organic publishes a wondrous array of growing tips?

Step by step growing activities…

What to do in the garden in March

Local growing blogs by volunteer Master Gardeners:
Warwickshire, North London, South London, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire

Article by Philip Turvil

Get ready for three groups of crops jostling for your attention this month.

Please click the links to open a PDF growing instructions for each crop.

Group one: ready to harvest

These keen crops include the following temptations for September (and into October with local weather permitting). Deep breath:
Asparagus pea, aubergine, Chinese cabbage, summer and autumn cabbage, calabrese, carrot, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, chicory, courgette and marrow, cucumber, globe artichoke, French bean, runner bean, beetroot, kohl rabi, leaf beet

As well as: leek, lettuce, okra, bulb onion, pea, pepper, maicrop potato, pumpkin and squashes, radish, rocket, oriental salads, spring and summer salads, shallot, annual spinach, sweetcorn, sweet potato, indoor tomato, turnip.

Not forgetting: apple, blackberry and hybrid berries, blackcurrant, blueberry, grape, melon, pear, plum, autumn raspberry, strawberry

And final snips from a whole host of herbs.

Group two: final sowing

These new arrivals want to be sown before winter, looking for an early start and sneaky harvest over the colder months and into spring.

Broad bean, garlic, radish, rocket, autumn and winter salads, oriental salads, annual spinach, chervil, sweet violet

Group three: long stay parking

These crops are intent on ignoring winter and joining you until Christmas and many into the New Year. These have long harvest periods. Another deep breath:

Sprouting broccoli, Brussels sprouts, winter and savoy cabbage, calabrese, cauliflower, celery, chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, kohl rabi, leaf beet, leek, lettuce, parsnip, radish, rocket, autumn and winter salads, oriental salads, salsify and scorzonera, annual spinach, swede, turnip.

And not forgetting year round herbs: bay, rosemary, sage, thyme (although harvest in moderation as they don’t grow much over winter)

Click here for more growing tips from Master Gardeners

Article by Philip Turvil

Extra feeds refresh lucky crops with top-up nutrients during hot weather cropping.

Tomatoes will love you for it. As will other fast living chaps. Focus on your hungriest crop first, such as potatoes; courgettes and relatives; cabbage and relatives; fruiting bushes and little trees, and flowers attracting pest-eating insects.

Remember container grown crops are always hungry. They have restricted roots, so unlike other crops, can’t access nutrient reserves in surrounding soil.

So, what to do?

Extra feeds compliment, rather than substitute – topping-up embedded nutrients found in every good, improved organic soil. Click here for tests (opens PDF). Extra feeds also top up growing medium-mixes that fill up your containers. Click here for recipes (opens PDF).

Start with scattering organic feed pellets for a season-long gain, such as chicken manure. Or just replace (or add to) the top five centimetres of compost a couple of times a season. This works wonders when the new nutrients travel to roots beneath (top-dressing). Try the same with well-rotted manure.

Pouring liquid comfrey feed

For regular kicks…

Using ‘comfrey’ liquid every week or two is marvellous. It’s made from enthusiastic plants that live quietly in the corner of a veg patch. Comfrey feed is especially full of potassium for better fruiting, together will other nutrients. While nettle feed is especially full of nitrogen, good for leafy growth.

Please click here to read Garden Organic’s step-by-step photo instructions for making your own comfrey and nettle feeds (opens PDF)

More growing tips…

Click here for more growing tips from Master Gardeners

Visit Garden Organic’s growing pages

Add posts to Grow Your Own forums

Comment on new BBC Gardening blogs

Article by Philip Turvil

With our dry spring and elusive rain, good crop watering makes all the difference to portion size.

Now is the time to manage your precious water reserve and apply to plants when they need it most.

Life cycle watering…

Step 1 Good seed sowing starts off strong plants that’ll be more resilient in drier months. Ensure moist seed ‘drills’ for swift germination and then enough water for rows of emerging seedlings. The same goes for seedlings in pots and trays on the windowsill where small volumes of compost dry out quickly.
Step 2 Water your eager transplants before planting. If their rootball isn’t wet, water will scoot around the edges as the route of least resistance rather than wetting the rootball. Transplants cannot afford any such stop in growth if they’re to produce good roots quickly for summer resilience.
Step 3 Established plants in the soil are best watered in large amounts, but less often. This encourages deeper rooting and more independent plants. Watering little and often – say daily, promotes shallow roots that will need more water in dry weather. Although do water crops in containers more often, as these can’t root as deeply as soil grown plants.

Top organic tips

1. Water in the morning or evening (less water is lost to evaporation)
2. Water beneath leaves to wet the soil. Wet leaves can be scorched in sunny weather
3. Remove weeds as these compete with plants for water
4. Water more often in windy weather as plants will dry out in these conditions
5. Check if outdoor containers need water even after rain. Dense foliage and ‘rain-shadows’ from buildings can stop water getting to the soil
6. Collect and use rainwater, eg install water-butts for sheds. This reduces the environmental impact and cost of using mains water.
7. Conserve moisture by adding organic matter to soil, such as compost or leaf mould. Dig in, or spread over the soil surface as a mulch.

More growing tips…

Click here for more growing tips from Master Gardeners

Visit Garden Organic’s growing pages

Add posts to Grow Your Own forums

Comment on new BBC Gardening blogs

Article by Philip Turvil

May is when sage really gets going by growing – producing lovely shoots.

Now is the time to start picking growing tips. This is welcome in the kitchen of course, but also encourages plants to produce more shoots from lower down their stems and, somewhat conveniently, become bushier and produce even more shoots for picking. Only give plants light grazing though at this time of year. Wait for the really vigorous growth later in summer for picking handfuls.

View our growing instruction card below for more details

Sage growing instructions

Click links for local growing advice from Master Gardeners in Warwickshire, Islington, and South London

See more growing tips