NOVEMBER has been a kind month so far and the garden has benefited. Temperatures have been higher than usual for this time of year and there has been little rain and wind to disturb us. Weather can change very rapidly so don’t get too complacent. If there is any digging to be done, do it while the soil is relatively dry – a day of rain can make it too wet to walk on.
There are still courgette plants cropping outdoors, although the ones in the polytunnel are doing a bit better. There are still some tender flowers in borders and the first tips of snowdrops and spring daffodil shoots are starting to emerge. It won’t take much of a chill to make a significant change – some plants will die off and some others die back when temperatures drop to more normal levels. The bulbs will just slow their growth as needed – not much will stop them from progressing towards early spring flowering.
In the greenhouse and polytunnel
Tomato plants may still have plenty of ripe fruits. They may also have some mouldy ones and some furry leaves to go with them. It can be tempting to leave plants in place with the aim of picking tomatoes right up to Christmas. If plants are healthy, and disease-free, then this is an option. If there’s any mould on stem, leaves, or fruits, then it makes a lot of sense to lift plants and get all diseased material out of the greenhouse.
Pick all healthy fruit and bring it into the kitchen. Green tomatoes will ripen if mixed among red ones, so you can stretch out the eating period. Remove plants to a separate pile and cover this until all is rotted down before choosing whether to add them to the compost heap. If plants suffered from blight, then it is safest to bag them up and dispose of them rather than risking adding blight spores to your compost.
Check over the bed and remove any fallen fruit, leaves etc. Remove any canes, poles or strings that have been used as supports. The cleaner the soil’s surface, the less likely it is that disease will be carried forward. Ideally, I let the old tomato bed dry out in the winter.
Note: Some seedlings may spring up next year where tomatoes have dropped seeds on the soil. Pull them out and don’t grow them on. You may be lucky and these plants do well, but there’s a high risk of poor cropping and disease issues. By the time plants fail, it will be too late to replace them.
Pick the last tomatoes and bring indoors to finish ripening. (Photos: Ben Russell)
Kale season
There are plenty of tasty green leaves in the vegetable garden now and they will keep on coming for several months. Kale plants come in many varieties and few gardeners grow the coarser varieties that are fed to cattle. There are curly ones, red ones and the long crinkled Nero ones. Some are lighter green and others darker, some have tougher leaves and others are soft and tender.
Plants are green and vibrant at the moment with a good full stem of leaves, from large ones lower down the stem to small ones at the growing points. The lower leaves can tend to be tough, so let them stay to feed the plant. Some will yellow and drop as winter progresses. I usually pick the middle sized leaves for cooking and the slightly smaller ones for salads. Don’t strip a plant and don’t pick the very small leaves – these will grow bigger to feed you in the months ahead.
Kale is an extremely hardy vegetable and it stands well in an average winter. Plants will survive sub-zero temperatures, but it’s best not to pick when it’s that cold so the plants have enough resources to help them recover. Leave plants in place even if they look very tatty. They will perk up as temperatures rise again. One of the best kale treats is the sprouting shoots that grow from the leaf joints next spring.
Cyclamen
Cylamen (pictured left) turns up in every garden centre and plant stall in autumn. Many sellers will still have pots for you to buy if you haven’t got them yet. Small plants have some blooms already and many small rolled flowers hiding under the foliage. There are red ones, pink, white and purple ones, as well as variegated options. Some have variegated leaves as well. Plants do well in a window box or container. They hate wet soil and like some protection from wind. Plant several together to get the best display and you will be rewarded with flowers until mid-spring.
Cyclamen also grow well indoors. I have a pot on a kitchen window ledge that has flowered reliably for many years.
