November, December and a new year

There isn’t a huge amount to write about the last two months. Not suprisingly given the time of year, the weather’s either been grey and dismal (not very inspiring), or bright and frosty (lovely for a walk, not so good for digging), and in my defence there hasn’t been an awful lot to do outside anyway. So it’s been a quiet time in the garden.

We’ve had some lovely frosty mornings, and although I was meant to be defrosting the van for work, I took the opportunity to take a stroll round the garden and take a few pictures. It’s a bit different to the abundant summer!

Beautiful, but actually it’s mainly been like this:

Unfortunately we had to buy some veg for Christmas dinner, but there are still a few things hanging in there. One of my favourite harvests is leeks. I love leeks, they’re so versatile; sauteed, in creamy sauces, with potatoes and bacon, in warming soups and cawl…..mmmm! They are very small this year, more like spring onions, I’m on a mission to find a load of muck, so hopefully next year’s will be a bit more substantial. Today I popped out to find something to add to some very free-range eggs (thanks mum!) and a bit of bacon to make a tasty winter quiche, and was suprised to scratch together this lot:

Leeks, kale, chard, herbs and one little floret of calabrese. Yum!

The herbs I planted earlier in the year are doing well.

I wouldn’t say we’ve had a bumper crop of kale, but it’s nice and steady, definately on the list for next year.

The cabbages I think will come but will be late.

Not too sure about the brussel sprouts though, they’re tiny still.

On a more positive note, the walking onions and garlic have slowed down a bit but are looking healthy. There are still squash to eat – the last Bonbon went mouldy, but the rest are storing well. We still have a bit of salad too – giant mustard, lambs’ lettuce and the odd rocket leaf.

2014 was a busy year for us, and 2015 is probably going to be even more hectic, with some big changes, so I should be realistic about how much we’ll achieve in the garden. However, I already have a whole basket full of seeds ready, and have just spend my free vegseeds.net voucher (thank you!) on some “extras”…I can’t help it, it’s an obsession.

I am very excited about planting these – my grandparents kindly gave me some raspberry and strawberry plants from their garden. I’ve not had much luck with strawberries in the past, my plan is to keep them in pots and see if they do any better than in the ground.

I’ve also kindly been given these pretty herb planters by my parents, eager to do some sort of gardening, and with not much going on outside, I’ve started them off on the windowsill. Fingers crossed….

There are a few signs that the winter lull won’t last forever and spring will soon be here – the spring bulbs are starting to come up and I have some daft primroses out. So, a bit of a boring blog I’m afraid but lots of excitement about the coming year and all the new veg to try growing!