Humph's Happy Horti-cult: harvesting, preserving, mulching, leaf-gathering, bulb-dibbing, seed catalogue-surfing and hunkering down for winter

[Lexilicious]

Following on from the original March to August thread. For all - whether still gardening through the winter or planning to sweep the shed, hibernate, sharpen the tools and get started again in the spring.

Happy gardening again!

Merry Christmas to you all. Sadly no home grown veg yesterday but did have delicious home grown ham.

Well done for getting some jobs done, DH informed me that he has a list for us to get through this week.

And I have just had a little spree on Crocus. If you buy at the moment, you get a free copy of the RHS magazine (which, ingrate that I am, I don't want as I'm already a member) and I was pleased that my discount as a subscriber to GW magazine effectively made the postage free.

Only 4 weeks now until the seed potato fair and then the gardening year begins in earnest ...

fgrin that Humphrey trumps the home grown veggers by having home grown ham!

We should have got together and pooled our veg + ham and had a complete meal.

Anyone else ridiculously excited about their garden next year? When I read your post about only four weeks till seed potato time, I came over all enthusiastic.

Until today, I was feeling quite glum about the gardens - the front garden looked a mess because of the withered tomato plants (I had put them there because the front garden is paved and so hotter and sunnier) and the back garden was also tatty. Thanks to my slog today - I moved a rose that I earmarked for a move months ago and planted a few things that I had been saving to go underneath it and filled all the wall pots with violas - things are looking much better. The lawn needs a good raking and there are still lots of rotting leaves and apples on the beds, but I reckon they're good humus! There are new shoots coming through all over the place (including on the alchemilla mollis, bizarrely) and then, when it occurred to me that the potato fair was only a month away, I felt that optimistic, hopeful surge that comes in early spring!

that optimistic, hopeful surge is one of the best of all feelings

Oh yes especially if you've been married a long time!

this is my new indulgence for the front garden

that is stunning

I want one now

::Whispers temptingly::

It's half price in the Crocus sale. It caught my eye and ::ahem:: suddenly my finger clicked on the 'buy' button.

this one smells SO good although it isn't as pretty as your one

And does anyone have any suggestions for what to buy for my ::cough:: birthday memorial pot?

It's about 2 foot tall, quite slim and glazed in turquoise, something like this. I had thought standard rose with something frothy around the bottom, but the more I dither, the less sure I am. I want something permanent and with a bit of pizzazz.

Well, who wouldn't want Lycidas in their garden? He does look gorgeous.

I'm still hankering after this, but I'm not convinced it would be right for the turquoise-ish pot and, besides, it's slightly above my £ pain threshold.

Happy Christmas all! no home grown veggies here - was at PILs for 25th - but did get some great garden gifts (most of my list!!) burts bees hand cream, soft touch gloves, a big trug, a sit-on box thing with wheels and (off-list) a planter, squirrel topiary frame and baby box tree which will take about ten years to fill the frame!

Off again tomorrow to Devon for four days so no more opportunity to garden - maybe a quick rake up of the leaves off the lawn and re-tie the frame over my pea/bean seedlings.

Happy Christmas ! We went out for lunch, nowhere near as good as my veg would have been , I'm sure.

All this talk of roses is making my credit card twitch. We've been for a lovely walk in the woods then came home and I've been pottering in the garden. Have been splitting primrose clumps and trying to establish in the back garden.

Been taking cuttings of climbing roses in the vague hope they will take as my pink climbing one did. One of those cuttings is establishing nicely outside the kitchen door and I pegged one end down which has rooted so transplanted that as earth still nice and warm. That's going against some trellis I put up this summer along with something with variegated foliage I found lurking, so hopefully should look good in a couple of years.

I have primroses, a couple of pink roses, one yellow rose, snapdragon all in flower, oh and a little bit of campanula. Not many of each but so weird at Christmas.

Am very excited about the garden for 2012 as we've finally done most of the house and can focus more on garden and allotment.

The home grown sprouts were lovely, really nutty and sweet. I took a stalk to my parents' when We drove down on boxing day. The parsnips were tasty too, a foot long and very sweet, but one had forked so we carved a face on it and called it "mr parsnip"
When we get home, I will plant my early peas and divide my garlic.

Loving the look of that Rose Maud, and I'm not even a rose person.

Anyone got any advice on the best pumpkin/squash to grow for eating? Not had much success on pumpkins previously so am determined to try harder this year but I'm not sure what seeds to order for good combination of 'easy to grow' and 'tasty'.

I grew "sunburst", they were little yellow patty pans, needed no attention and were quite prolific until they got mildew in late October.

Can't grow pumpkins but have success two years running with a Wilko's butternut squash and with a squash called Jaspee de Vendee or something, which is quite sweet. Those yellow patty pan things did ok for me last year but I found them a bit intimidating to cook.

We grew the patty pans last year - they were great and definitely on the list for next year too but need something more pumpkin-like that will store. My butternut squash did nothing last year and the year before I think I had two squashes from 4 plants; will keep a look out for Jaspee de Vendee.

We cheated this year and grew pumpkins from plugs. Our biggest problem every year is theft from the allotment - somehow, the number of pumpkins on the plants always shrinks towards the end of October. Ho hum.

Are the patty pans tasty?

A bit like a cross between a sweet pumpkin and a courgette.

I must try again, then. I have tried to grow them from seed for several years, just for their decorative value, but the seedlings seem to get too leggy too quickly and then the plants don't survive.

Oooooo, went to allotment this morning and harvested some Oca and Yacon. Just had some Oca for lunch, similar to lemony new potatoes, really nice.

I have loads of Yacon with another plant to dig up. Some of the tubers are massive. Only tried it raw so far, it's unusual, bit bland. But there's a lot more you can do with it. DH and DD have had it with pineapple which they said was nice. Still got one plant left to harvest and more Oca. The rain defeated me.