If you want to be prepared for spring, don't hibernate completely in winter advises London allotment gardener Michael Rand
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| Michael Rand: allotment gardener
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'It's small wonder that novices suffering from this gardeners' hibernation syndrome tend not to stick at it too long.'
Previously, I mentioned that autumn was a good season for slackening your efforts in the vegetable garden, so far at least as weeding was concerned. Now, of course, we're into winter. Time to tidy up and put things to bed. A general point here, which is aimed (mostly, though not entirely) at the gardening novice: don't be tempted to put yourself permanently to bed at this time of year. Your garden still needs you, whatever the season!
I've noticed, for instance, that turnover among new plotholders at the Fitzroy Park allotments, where I do my gardening, is far higher than it might be – and that a large part of this giving up (before you've hardly started), is down to acclimatisation, or rather a lack of it.
The all-year-rounders
Robust, experiences gardeners will work their patch all year round. They'll generally scoff at the cold and get on with things as they pull on extra jumpers. But so many of the new bods hibernate at the very first cold snap, leaving their plots are abandoned.
Then, as winter runs its frigid course and turns to spring eventually, few signs of life are visible beneath the duvets. Unfortunately, while the hibernating plotholder may by lying inert happily, the rest of nature certainly won't. Unlike most crop plants, many weed species, rank grasses and the like, will continue to grow quite well at temperatures of 4ºC or thereabouts.
Hibernate in winter; panic in spring
So by the time the first truly warm spring day arrives in late March or April, the weeds will have had several months' headstart, at which point our hibernating plotholder shakes off the duvet and heads for the allotment finally, only to be horrified at the unwanted foot-high foliage smothering the ground.
Panic sets in at once. Dreams of spring sowing are immediately cast aside and out comes the rusted garden fork. Furious digging ensues, with weed clumps flung hither and yon. And, of course, with that spring sun overhead, bodies soon get overheated and tempers short. A dismal start to the gardening year. It's small wonder that novices suffering from this gardeners' hibernation syndrome tend not to stick at it too long.
Roundup Richard
To be fair, it's not only the newcomers who suffer. There's one old hand at Fitzroy who comes to mind in particular – a man in the prime of life who won't go near his plot for the whole of winter and half of spring. Then, some time in May, he'll turn up, and zap all that unwanted growth with weedkiller. This involves a degree of collateral damage and most of his neighbouring plotholders, doing their best to be organic, have to take the consequences. 'Roundup Richard' – as he gets called in his absence – is not, as you might imagine, universally admired.
Pick your moment
The fact is that in winter, in our part of the world, it's not often that low temperatures alone find brass monkeys begging for soldering irons, but the cold combined with strong winds and/or continuous rain.
So at this time of the year, choose a calm and dry day when you're going gardening. By all means pull on that extra jumper, although the exercise will probably soon have you pulling it off again. And even just a few days spent usefully will leave both you and your garden in far better shape for when spring sowing time comes around again.
About the author
Michael Rand tends an allotment in North London and is the author of
Close to the Veg: a book of allotment tales, price £10.99, published by Marlin Press.
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