Page 48 - Simply Vegetables Autumn 2021

Winter pruning of fruit trees and bushes can begin this month. Spur bearing apples produce the fruit on short spurs along the branches. With these, cut back the side branches
to three buds. Tip bearing apples produce fruit at the end of long branches. Prune back branches that that do not show any fruit buds. In both cases, cut out completely any crossing branches and any growing towards the centre. Pears are pruned like spur bearing apples.
With gooseberries and red and white currants, cut out branches growing towards the centre and prune the rest back by half. Blackcurrants don’t form a permanent structure of branches like the others so with these, cut out any weak shoots and about half of
the fruited branches allowing new branches to grow.
If you want more plants of these soft fruits, you can use the prunings as cuttings. They need
to be about 12 inches (30 cm.) long . Remove the buds from the lower half and plant them 6 inches (15 cm.) apart to half their depth in a V shaped trench with a layer of sand in the bottom.
Bush roses can be pruned now, too. Cut out crossing branches and inward growing ones and prune the rest by half to an outward pointing bud. All this pruning can continue till next March if needed.
Cut down your chrysanth plants , dig up the stools and plant them in boxes if you didn’t do them before. They
can be kept in a cold greenhouse or frame over winter. The same applies to dahlias if not done before. Cut them
Dahlia tuber dug up and prepared for storing
down and dig up the tubers. Clean off the loose soil and stand them upside down in boxes to dry. They also need to be kept frost free over winter.
Also in the flower garden, perennials can still be dug up and divided as I have described before. Another method of propagating them is from root cuttings, particularly
those with thick roots. Dig up a plant and cut some of the thick roots into sections between 2 inches (5 cm.) and
5 inches (12.5 cm.)
long and plant them in pots of multipurpose compost. So that you will remember which way
up the cuttings go, cut a sloping cut at the bottom and a straight cut at the
top. Just push them in and cover with a thin layer of compost. If the roots are thinner, lay them horizontally on the surface and cover with a thin layer. Put them in the greenhouse if you have one but they don’t need any extra heat or they can be kept in a cold frame.
Continue to collect leaves and
stack them to make leaf mould as I suggested last month and don’t forget to keep checking the veg and fruit that you have in store.
December 2021
The weather in December often doesn’t allow us to do much outside. The ground is often too wet or frozen. We must, however, take full advantage of decent spells and do as much ground preparation as we can. You will probably have overwintering crops growing such as sprouts, cabbages onions and garlic but all other empty beds should be dug over and weeded if you can. If the weather will let you and you get ahead with this job you could dig trenches for your runner beans and sweet peas. I described the way I do it last January and showed you a picture of my trenches. The sooner this job is done the better to give time for the ground to settle before planting in spring. I don’t usually get it done till after New Year but last December (2020) I did manage to do it.
Winter pruning of fruit trees and bushes can continue this month if
not done before . I described the pruning methods last month so I won’t go through it again. Another thing I described last month was the planting of bare root fruit trees and bushes
and this can carry on till next March if needed. If you want to plant some fruit trees or bushes and you haven’t ordered any from a supplier there will be plenty in garden centres but you won’t have such a wide choice of varieties. Those from garden centres will be pots or other containers and not bare rooted like those from other suppliers. Just tease the roots out before planting and give them a good watering.
Much of my work this month is in my greenhouses. It is time to plant shallots. They can be planted outdoors if you have the bed prepared for them. I never have at this time of year because they go in the onion bed and this gets manured in January or February. I therefore plant my shallots in three
and a half inch (9 cm.) pots in the greenhouse. The tops need to be just visible above the compost. They don’t need the extra heat of a propagator so I just put them on a shelf.
If you want to grow very large onions, the seeds should be sown this month and also leeks. I don’t sow my onions till January or February and
I think this is early enough for most people. I don’t grow my leeks from seed. I order plants from a supplier . They usually arrive this month and I pot them into small pots and put them on one of my warming benches.
Cabbages ready for harvesting
48 Simply Vegetables
Cut down your chrysanth plants , dig up the stools and plant them in boxes