One of my students only mentioned the other day, “I’ve never seen your garden so empty”.
It’s funny, I never really realised just how empty the Exmoor Inspired Studio Garden can look this time of year; such a stark contrast to the riot of plants that grow there from spring through to autumn. But this time of year, is all just a deception, if you look more closely, already there are a few signs of life starting to poke their nose out in anticipation of the warmer and longer days to come.
We are now in late-February, almost coming to the end of winter here in the milder climate of the Southwest of the UK. My garden is pretty sheltered by walls and high fences, which act as a shield from cold sharp winds. Although on that note, we did have an unexpected arrival of a full-sized trampoline and surrounding net cage land in my next-door neighbour’s garden! Transported it seems across from several gardens, over two fences and a road away, by storm Angus! That caused some excitement amongst the neighbours for sure, in our usually quiet little corner of Minehead in Somerset.
Over the winter, I have managed to keep growing and harvesting some spinach, everlasting onions, and some black kale, but apart from that everything is dormant. I have managed to prune everything that I needed to cut back. I keep back some of the sticks and branches from my pruning, and I then later in the year I will use those as plant props and markers, and even for pea sticks, to let my little peas and things grow up against. I much prefer a natural little twig or a stick, then using a cut cane or something that looks manufactured. But sometimes needs must, so I’m not saying my garden is bereft of a bamboo garden cane or two.
Some of the early planting (late January) already done was a bag of Japanese onion sets I received as an extra gift for Christmas. I have planted these in between my Autumn Bliss Raspberry bed, which are now pruned down to their base, leaving a nice open patch to grow something early in. The onions should be ready to harvest by May, just as the raspberry canes are starting to spring to life.
If you visit now, all the beds are covered in a dark, rich, well-rotted horse manure, thanks to Reggie and Fin at their stables back at Riverside Farm. Some may prefer to do this job in Autumn, ideally yes, but I just go with when the muck heap is cleared, it’s all free so “beggars can’t be choosers”. I made 3 trips back and forth, in my little Ford KA, with three empty plastic feedbags at a time. It is heavy stuff when shovelled straight off the heap! So, nine bags have done it, when its well-rotted it doesn’t smell, and as you dig into it, it’s full of worms, fibre, and nutrients. It makes a great mulch for the flower beds on my clay soil, and over time as the invertebrates work their magic and pull it down through the topsoil it is gradually improving the quality.
Note: This time of year, in late winter, I do take care not to completely cover anything that is starting to shoot through, bulbs and any perennials, etc.
The muck on the vegetable’s beds, has been there for about 6 weeks now, the rain is washing some of it through, but here by the sea and in my sheltered garden I haven’t had any real frost as such to break it down further, so I will lightly fork it in and also add a further top dressing of compost to get the soil ready for some planting. Hopefully this effort will make all my vegetables grow well. They say some root vegetables don’t like freshly manured beds, although I have found so far, that if you dig it through that my carrots and my beetroots, all have grown well.
What needs to happen now, is the ground needs to warm up. I am desperate to get planting although the climate is a little warmer here, I am still waiting until March for planting seeds directly into the ground. But to speed the process up a little, I do start to put out my cloches in position in February. I just use the corrugated plastic cloche, but you could use sheets of Perspex or glass from picture frames. These can start warming the soil and keeping any heat in, in readiness for seeds to be sewn and seedlings I have coming on in the back bedroom window.
Here’s looking forward to March and all it’s gardening madness!
See you there. X