January Gardening News Letter From Jane Follis

I HOPE you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year. We had a very relaxed time catching up on everything, including sleep and I am feeling really excited about 2007. I have some lovely projects either underway or about to start and plenty more to design. My ?to do? list now runs to three pages!

I spent New Year?s Day with my Marshall?s Seed catalogue planning the vegetable garden for this year. I invested in a new juicer over the break and have been stunned at the delicious recipes. My veg patch is going to reflect a lot of the ingredients I will need, including a new blueberry shrub. I have also decided to get rid of my fruit cage and all the fruit bar one row of raspberries. I think they are past their sell by date and I found I couldn?t physically eat all the fruit. This will give the extra space needed for the more exotic vegetables I want to grow.
www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk

If you missed sowing sweet peas last year, Marshalls offer plug plants which they send out at the appropriate time.
My grand hopes of digging it all over during the break were thwarted by the inclement weather and lack of physical energy, (plus needing to do three months worth of accounts) but hopefully I can get out there this weekend and start preparing the ground. The timing will be perfect particularly if we get some sharp frosts as these help to break down the soil ready for planting in the spring. It will also be a great opportunity to empty my compost bins and incorporate this into the soil.

Thank you to everyone who gave me contacts for the database. I have had to put this on hold for a wee while, but having said that a friend gave me a very good idea on New Year?s Eve which could push the whole idea ahead more quickly than I anticipated. I just need to find time to make some phone calls and find out how much it might all cost.

NOTE: We have been experiencing technical difficulties with my website. If anyone has tried to reach me via the ?Contact? page, do please try again, or give me a call. We think it has been out of order since May!!

RECIPE
Roast Vegetables
1 Squash Sweet potato (optional)
Carrots Parma ham
Potatoes Peccorino cheese
Garlic
Rosemary
Olive oil

This combination goes really well with almost anything and has a slight sweetness to it. It is equally good as a meal in itself.
Chop all the vegetables into equal sizes. The sweet potato is optional ? not a favourite of mine, so I tend to leave it out. Leave the skin on the garlic and bash it with the back of a knife. Use about five cloves. Chop up the rosemary and toss everything in plenty of oil.
Put into an oven about Gas Mark 5 or 180 Electric and roast for about 30 minutes until golden brown and not too soft. Add the parma ham, ripped up and return to the oven for about 5 minutes. Flake the peccorino cheese (you could use Parmesan) and sprinkle over.

SEASONAL TIPS
Although we still have a few months of horrible dank, cold weather to endure, I can?t help getting excited at this time of year. As already mentioned the seed order is in the post and I will probably get some of them started in the kitchen as soon as I can, in the hope of an early crop.

I finally pulled, or dragged would be more appropriate, my pots of Agapanthus into the greenhouse and hope they will be comfortable there for the winter. As mentioned last month, do start putting protection around the more tender plants, such as Phormiums and Astelias, particularly if they were planted this year. If you need any advice, please contact me.

All my tools are sitting in the shed ready for a clean. This is a good time to do it, although it is best to clean tools after each use. My intentions are always good, but I am guilty of not following my own advice and tend to leave it. I also try and wash all my pots ready for all those seedlings, using warm water and washing up liquid. At the same time the greenhouse will get a good clean and tidy up.

Some of my grasses, particularly Miscanthus floridulus and Miscanthus zebrinus have really taken a battering by the wind. Normally, I would leave them until early spring before cutting them down, but they are looking tatty rather than attractive, so I shall have a bonfire very soon. I have also lost a huge branch of my buddliea, so this will be going the same way. The rest of the garden is looking remarkably good and just needs a gentle tidy up. I shall be removing any diseased leaves from the hellebores so that I can get the full benefit of their lovely nodding blooms over the next few weeks.

Despite the drought conditions this year, we now have some very wet lawns. Try not to walk on them too much ? this goes for frost as well. The compaction damages the roots and will result in brown patches.

Plant or transplant trees and hedging.
Continue to check ties. The winds have been very strong.

VEGETABLE & FRUIT GARDEN
Sow broad bean, leek, brassicas and onion seeds under glass.
Marshalls sell onion sets and I can thoroughly recommend ?Red Baron?. 100 onions cost about