Winter mix

Asked to get some stuff in from the garden, I came back in with onions from store, green and red sprouts off the plants, uprooted parsnips and fresh cut parsley, rocket and mizuna.

The first day of December brings the first frost.
Lots of brassicas, still to be eaten, drooping a bit in the cold and under the nets furthest away, broad beans and garlic (the latter will benefit from some frost to encourage deeper rooting).

The now bare apple tree, with bird feeders, against the clear sky of the first frosty morning this winter.

Hedges

We have a large beech hedge at the northern end of the veggie patch, I didn't trim it at all last year and it was full of brambles and honeysuckle, so for the last few days I have been wrestling and taming it (only temporarily I know, just while it's dormant), I am sure it will flourish even more next year.

Blueberries

A while back I posted a picture of the puppy hiding amongst the pots of blueberry bushes; since then she has grown and so have the bushes. So today, after the latest band of showers had passed over, I re-potted them, into slightly larger pots, using Ericaceous compost which is specially formulated for growing acid-loving plants - so don't forget if you need to pot some on, don't use ordinary soil - unless you live somewhere where camellias, heathers , magnolias, rhododendrons and such-like thrive.

Hopefully now they can settle in and there'll be some frost through the winter, which certainly seems to improve the crop, we enjoyed blueberries right through this summer and that was after quite a cold snap last winter.

Vendange - our Grape Harvest

We inherited a vine when we moved here 7 years ago, at that time it wasn't productive, but it now seems to be responding to the TLC. You can see the pots full of grapes which we took to our friends' for treading and pressing. We now have a demi-john of red wine (OK grape juice just yet) starting to bubble away.

Topical tips

I have updated the column of advice (on the right) with some of the main autumn jobs in the vegetable garden, if you have some tips to share, let me know in a comment and I'll add them.

Pumpkins

Don't believe all those photos you see, here's one from our garden - the same one each time.

The horses have been busy

I don't think they bag it themselves, but here's a few of the 30 bags of rotted horse manure that will nourish the soil for a new year's growth. I usually don't apply till the spring, but I am going to put some on in the autumn/early winter (saving the bulk for spring), just to add some additional organic matter to the soil for overwinter, in the hope that it keeps the soil organisms happy, so when they get their spring application, they are already in a good mood.

Brussels Sprouts

The sprout plants (green and purple leaf varieties) are flourishing, despite the spell of dry weather (or perhaps because of it - keeping the slugs down). Behind them you can just see some curly kale and beyond, some celeriac peeping through.