Fruit and veg:

Winter-prune apple and pear trees to remove any dead, damaged, congested and diseased branches.

Sort out your seeds, throwing away empty or out-of-date packets and noting down any to buy for the coming season.

Plan this year’s crop rotation to ensure you grow each type of crop in a different bed to previous years.

Prune gooseberries and redcurrants, cutting sideshoots back to three buds from their base.

Clear old crops and weeds from the veg plot, then dig over the soil, mixing in compost as you go.

Plant bare-root fruit bushes, trees and canes into enriched soil, as long as the ground isn’t frozen.

Ensure netting is in place over brassicas, such as kale, Brussels sprouts and cabbages, to protect from pigeons.

Cover rhubarb plants with a bucket or terracotta pot to force an early crop of tender long stems.

Feed spring cabbages with high-nitrogen feed to encourage leafy growth.

Prune blackcurrants, if you haven’t done so already, removing about a quarter of the old stems.

Order seed potatoes, onions, shallots and garlic bulbs for planting in spring.

Garden maintenance:

Repair wobbly or damaged fences, and treat wooden structures with preservative during dry spells.

Give your lawn mower a basic service or take it to a dealer for maintenance, while it’s not in use.

Put up bird boxes in sheltered spots, on tree trunks, sheds or walls, well before the nesting season begins.

Clean and sharpen your tools, including hoes, secateurs and shears, and spray metal tools with oil.

Give empty pots and seed trays a thorough scrubbing ready for the start of the sowing season.

As well as the jobs listed below, there are plenty of indoor sowings you can start now, before transferring to the allotment later in the year. This includes sowing tomatoes, globe artichokes and sprouting broccoli in a propagator, while Brussels sprouts, leeks, onions and spinach can all be sown under cover.

Harvest the last kale leaves. Pick mizuna and sow more. Prepare beds for sowing. Clean and set up cloches. Plant rhubarb. Prune autumn raspberries. Sow broad beans undercover.

Sow seeds indoors ready for planting out next month – or when you’re sure there will be no further frosts. Leaf vegetables. Leeks and onions. Lettuces and other salad crops. Melons. Peas and broad beans. Sweetcorn. Herbs. French and runner beans.

Vegetables that are the easiest to start indoors from seed are broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, lettuce, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. 

Sowing and Planting

Plant out early cultivars of potatoes as soon as possible and follow on planting out at regular intervals with the second earlies and first maincrops until the end of the month. A little bit of forward planning, don’t be tempted to plant out more potatoes than you can protect from any frosty weather further down the line.
Transplant any early peas, broad beans, cabbages or lettuce you may have started off earlier.
Sow the seed of Brussels sprouts, summer cabbage, broccoli, onions and leeks in short rows on a “nursery seed bed”. These will be grown on to be transplanted in April.
Sow in rows in the open ground seeds of round seeded spinach, Swiss chard, early types of beetroot, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, Spring onions, peas, broad beans and turnips. Try sowing the seed of the white form of kohl rabi towards the end of the month.
Plant out onion sets, shallots and garlic before they start to produce shoots. If you are buying any from the site shed or garden centres reject any that are shooting they will only bolt during the summer. Transplant any onions that were grown from seed sown last summer into rows. It is best to treat these as a sacrificial crop to be harvested and used from August onwards.
If you can offer the protection of a greenhouse sow the seed of celery, celeriac, French beans (they are hardy enough to be planted out before the runners), cauliflowers to transplant on the open soil next month.

General

Complete any unfinished digging and winter pruning. Clear the old leaves off strawberry plants and clean up the ground in between the plants before giving them a top dressing of a general fertiliser. Keep some fleece handy to protect the developing strawberry flowers from frost. Any frost damaged flowers are easily identified as they display a tell-tale “black eye” at the centre of the dead flower.
When the weather conditions allow it, complete the preparations of seed beds for direct seed sowing. Spread the job out over several days to allow the surface of the soil to dry out.

Continue with planting out the seed potatoes; aim to complete the job by the end of April. Be prepared to cover the emerging shoots of the earlies with soil if a frost is forecast. Complete the planting of onion sets and carry on making successional sowings of beetroot, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, spinach, spring onions, kohl rabi, radish, turnips, early peas, Swiss chard. Sow maincrop peas and make the last sowing of summer broad beans. You could try an early sowing of dwarf and climbing French beans towards then of the month. Use the darker seeded varieties they are hardier and more suited to the early sowings. Protect them from frosts. On a prepared seed bed sow the seed leeks and summer cabbage. Plant out celeriac grown on earlier and keep the plants well watered all through the summer. Sow under glass, in pots and trays filled with fresh seed compost, the seeds of runner beans, sweet corn, courgettes, pumpkins, squashes, outdoor/ridge cucumber. It is now safe to transplant the cold greenhouse tomatoes in to their final positions keep some frost protection handy. Plant out globe artichokes, either by slicing slips off the sides of main plants or plant out bought in roots. Seed raised plants sown earlier are best planted out towards the end of the month. Water well and feed regularly to build up the crowns removing any buds that may form as soon as possible. Plant out Jerusalem artichokes but don’t allow them to overrun the allotment, if left unlifted at the end of the summer they will quickly develop into an impenetrable jungle.Plant up a new asparagus bed but it will take two more years to establish before producing succulent shoots.

Sowing and planting

Sow dwarf or climbing beans, runner beans, sweetcorn, indoor cucumber, courgettes, pumpkins and squash in the greenhouse or under cover. Continue to sow lettuce, radish, spinach and beetroot direct outside – little and often to keep the harvests coming – and parsnips. You can also sow cabbage, kale and purple sprouting broccoli, for transplanting next month. When sowing carrots, protect against carrot fly.

 Thin out crops sown last month, including beetroot and carrots. Be sure to cover carrots with fleece afterwards, as thinning out releases a carrot smell that attracts carrot fly. Plant out young plants sown last month, including celeriac, courgettes, squashes, pumpkins and marrows and leeks. Hold off if the weather is cold, and protect young plants from cold or windy weather with a cloche or fleece.

Potatoes planted up last month need to be earthed up this month. When the foliage is around 20cm tall, draw up the soil on both sides of the plants, creating a ridge about 15cm high that almost covers the foliage. This prevents the tubers turning green and protects the foliage from frost damage.

Sowing and planting

Tomato Plants – maintain your tomatoes and encourage them to grow up rather than bush out. Pull off all the side shoots which grow on the tomato plant. This forces the tomato plant to grow up and not on growing more leaves.

Marrow and courgette Plants – These can be planted this month if you have not planted them yet. Plant with a trowel making sure the soil ball stays together. Water plant immediately after planting.

Leeks – these can be planted out this month. Choose the best ones that are growing to plant out. Drop the plants into the holes. Do not back fill. Fill the hole with water for the soil to fall back in place.

Garlic – This may be ready to harvest at the end of the month. When the leaves start to go yellow and die back that means they are ready to harvest.

Onions – As well as garlic these will also be getting ready to harvest at the end of the month. When the leaves turn yellow and fall flat and start dying back this is when they are ready to harvest.

Potatoes – As they start popping there heads through the ground cover them with more soil. This will encourage more potatoes to grow. If you are planting potatoes in containers make sure you don’t let the compost dry out but do not over water them. If you planted you potatoes in March they will be getting ready to harvest. They usually take around 10-12 weeks to grow and be ready. You can keep an eye on the foliage dying back on top.

Courgettes, Squash, Pumpkins – These will be ready to plant out this month just make sure that you harden them off for a couple of weeks first or the shock of the cold air at night may kill them off. 

Brassicas – Now is the time to be planting out your cabbages, cauliflowers and broccoli. Add extra protection round them by using brassica collars round the plants. 

Cucumber plants – pinch out the ends on cucumber plants when they have reached 8 leaves. Make sure the plants are watered regularly. If you are growing things under glass like a greenhouse or cold frame apply a white wash or shading so that the sun does not scorch the plants.

Sowing and planting

Now is the time to sow veg to harvest during the winter months, including kale, winter cabbage, spinach and radicchio. It’s a good time to sow carrots to avoid carrot fly, as well as continuing with radishes, beetroot, lettuce and runner beans. If you fancy growing potatoes for Christmas, now is the time to plant some.

First early and second early potatoes should be ready to dig up this month – they don’t store well, so enjoy them straightaway. Globe artichokes and climbing beans will be ready to pick this month. Harvest garlic and onions when their tops have gone yellow and leave them to ripen in a dry, sunny spot. Strawberries and raspberries can be enjoyed this month, too – if birds are a problem, cover them with netting.

In warm, damp weather, watch out for potato blight – in particular, dark edges on the leaves. Tomatoes grown outside are also susceptible to tomato blight.

Sowing and planting

There are still quite a few things you should be sowing in August. Spring Cabbage and Chinese cabbage, which is a late crop as well as hardy lettuce. Although we think of lettuce as a summer crop, it is a surprisingly hardy plant and under cloche and in the greenhouse can easily be available for a Boxing day salad rather than some tasteless import from sunnier climes. Sow spring onions like White Lisbon winter hardy which will grow, albeit slowly, to add zing to that salad along with some fast growing radishes. Late spinach can be sown in August along with a last sowing of kohlrabi and turnips.

Plant out the savoy cabbages and cauliflowers to grow on for the earliest crop as well as hardy kales.
Your runner beans will be at the top of the canes now so pinch out their growing tip to encourage bushier growth below. Pick all runner, climbing and dwarf beans regularly except for the haricot varieties such as Borlotti where we want the bean rather than pod for table. Stop tomato plants now to encourage fruit to swell and ripen. Stopping is the process of cutting off the growing tip so the plant’s energy is not diverted into foliage from fruit. Keep your tomato side shoots in check, you want tomatoes not masses of foliage. Ensure they are watered regularly, drying out prevents the plant from taking up sufficient calcium and the deficit causes blossom end rot.

Sowing and planting

Now is time to start sowing the vegetables that will provide valuable winter harvests and earlier spring and summer pickings. You can sow leafy veg such as spring cabbages and spinach, winter salads, broad beans and peas for earlier harvests next spring, onions, shallots and garlic, and quick-growing crops such as turnips and radish.

Continue to drag soil up around the stems of winter brassicas and put stakes to the Brussels sprouts, kale and sprouting broccoli to give support against strong autumn and winter winds. Also inspect any recent transplants and gently heel them back into the soil if they look as if they have been loosened by recent gales. Give the winter vegetables a dose of tomato fertiliser to help them through the winter. Courgettes will slow down and stop producing fruits soon but keep a close eye on the winter pumpkins and squashes; when you notice that the stem near the shoulder of the fruit begins to darken and harden it is ready for cutting and drying off inside the greenhouse or shed.

Harvesting

It’s time to harvest the last of the crops such as runner beans and courgettes, as well as pumpkins and squash. It’s also the time to harvest maincrop potatoes.

Sowing and planting

You can sow peas and broad beans now. Rhubarb crowns can also be planted now, established clumps can also be divided.

Staking

Brussels sprouts can blow over in heavy winds when leaden with crops, so stake them now with a sturdy cane to prevent this.

Improve soil

While the plot is relatively empty, it’s a great opportunity to improve the soil. This doesn’t have to be hard work – either sow a green manure, or spread a 5cm layer of well-rotted manure on top of it – worms will work it into the soil over the winter.

Plant garlic, onions and shallots. Garlic, onions and shallots are all easy to grow. Shallots and onions are grown from tiny bulbs, known as sets, and garlic is grown from cloves. Cover with fleece to protect them from the worst of the weather. 

Prune fruit bushes. Blackcurrants, redcurrants, whitecurrants and gooseberries can be pruned any time between November and March, while they are dormant. Prune out any dead, dying or diseased wood and aim for an open, goblet shape.

Cut down autumn-fruiting raspberries. Autumn-fruiting raspberries bear fruit on new wood, so cut down all of the old canes to the ground once they have finished fruiting, between November and March.

Net brassicas. You’ll need to protect your brassica crops from hungry pigeons at this time of year. Use mesh and make sure that it lifts clear of the brassicas, otherwise birds will be able to peck through it.

Stake Brussels sprouts. If you haven’t done so already, stake your Brussels sprouts, as they can get top heavy and topple in heavy winds.

Take hardwood cuttings from fruit bushes. Taking hardwood cuttings from fruit bushes is very easy to do, and will give you a decent-sized plant in a few years. 

Harvest crops. You can harvest a surprising amount of crops in November, including maincrop carrots, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, celeriac, celery and cauliflower.

Fruit & Vegetable Growing Guide for December

Sowing & Planting in December on the Vegetable Plot:

There’s not a lot you can plant out in December but if you’ve not got round to it, you can plant out garlic direct. They actually benefit from a period of cold, which prompts growth later. Garlic doesn’t like to sit in water, so if your soil is heavy and holds water, try dibbing a hole with an old spade handle or suchlike. Put about an inch of sand into the base and plant the clove on top, filling above with fine compost. This ensures good drainage and stops rotting. Onions sown towards the end of the month will make excellent plants and bulbs, benefiting from the longer growing period. Sow them in seed boxes or as I prefer modules, in the greenhouse. You can use cold frames if they can be kept frost free. Usually that involves keeping an eye on the weather forecast and insulating the frame with anything from newspapers to old carpet when temperatures fall. Remember also that cold frames can heat up to high levels in a little winter sun so particular attention must be given to ventilation. It’s worth removing any yellowing leaves from your winter brassicas. Dead leaves are doing no good and encourage diseases such as botrytis. Wildlife will be on the lookout for food, especially the pigeons, so keep vulnerable plants like brassicas netted.D