IT has been a great autumn for hedgerows and it is a real pleasure to watch all the changing colours. Rowan trees (mountain ash) produced a spectacular display of berries. Although the berry clusters are now mostly fallen, a few may go on to grow new small saplings. Holly bushes have also put on an amazing show – I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many holly berries as this year.
Hedgerows were alight with glowing red fruits, although birds have been doing their best to strip off these tasty berries. There are still places to pick a few branches to decorate the house for Christmas. Push cut stems into the ground in a greenhouse, or stand them in water until you want to bring them indoors – berries and leaves will dry out after a couple of weeks exposure to central heating.
If you want to enhance a winter garden hedgerow, try dotting a few snowberry bushes among more native options. I know a long hedge of snowberry that looks wonderful now, with lots of small white balls among the green leaves.
Salad isn’t just for summer
If you have a greenhouse or polytunnel, then it’s possible to grow a selection of salad leaves right through the year. You can opt for winter varieties of lettuce, like Arctic King, Winter Density, Winter Gem or Valdor, for
example.
In practice, since we don’t get too harsh winters in West Cork, you can also opt to grow some other varieties like Salad Bowl, All-Year-Round, Marvel of Four Seasons, Little Gem etc. A favourite of mine, which does very well, is Black Seeded Simpson. The large bright green leaves stay good to eat even when a plant is bolting.
August or September sowings should be giving you plenty of pickings now. An early October sowing should have produced small plants that will reach their best in February or March next year. You may be able to find some small plants to put in your greenhouse now – try market stalls and small scale growers. It’s probably even worth trying sowing a few seeds if you can keep pots above 6C for a few weeks – don’t go too high on the growing temperature or young plants will fail when you move them out to a cold growing position.
Pick last chilli peppers. They freeze or dry well if you want to store some.
Look after strawberry plants
Check over plants and remove any discoloured leaves. The idea is to leave a cluster of healthy dark green leaves at the heart of each plant. Remove any weeds and liberate any runners. Some rooted runners can be used to grow on new plants, others can just be cleared away if there are too many. Remove any flowers that appear at this end of the year – these won’t amount to anything.
If plants are growing direct in a bed, then make sure there is enough space around each one to allow plenty of ventilation. Crowded plants can lead to mouldy berries. You can apply a compost mulch in early spring to give plants a nutrient boost.
I grow strawberries in pots that I move into the polytunnel from now until they finish fruiting. I tip out the contents of each pot that fruited last summer and shake off as much compost as possible. Keep an eye out for the small curled white grubs of vine weevil – these will eat strawberry roots and inhibit cropping. I squash the grubs and reject any damaged plants, then try to ensure roots are clear before repotting each plant into compost with a small sprinkle of fish blood and bone meal.
Plants in pots need little attention through the winter, other than occasional watering. They produce an early crop in the protected environment of a polytunnel or greenhouse.
Lots of lettuce varieties can be grown in a winter polytunnel.
Prune raspberries
Raspberry canes can be tidied now. Summer varieties bear fruit on the canes that grew in the previous year, autumn varieties fruit on the canes that have grown in the current year. Cut out any dead canes on summer fruiting raspberries and trim the tops on extra-long canes that have grown this year – you are aiming for a sensible height for picking. Tie these new canes into wires, or a frame, so they don’t blow about and snap in a winter gale.
Some autumn raspberries may still have a few flowers and even a few fruits. I prune them now, but you can leave it until late winter. Cut these canes back to a bud about 20cm from the ground before buds start to burst open.
Chilli peppers
It really is the end of the season for chilli peppers in an unheated greenhouse. Frosts may have damaged leaves and fruit will have stopped growing. Pick the peppers and use them fresh – try one for hotness before you use lots. They also freeze or dry well if you want to store some.
