Working in the city all week and getting home after dark it is difficult to always find time to do those all important jobs during the winter months, especially if its raining all weekend., or you have two young kids and you have to wait til they are having an afternoon sleep before you get five minutes to yourself!

So some quick tips for those of us that are really time poor or weather affected.

Weed out and dig over any beds that are empty.

Refresh the soil by feeding it with chicken manure pellets, a healthy sprinkling all over the bed, and some blood n bone. This will give the soil a good boost in nitrogen. Water them in and dig over the bed again. Repeat this process again in six weeks, just before you are ready to plant your spring seedlings.

Tidy up the greenhouse, get rid of split seed-raising trays and wash those have compost on them, this will help reduce disease.

Ensure you protect any delicate plants and new seedlings by covering them with plastic bottles or a cold frame, this will protect them from frost.

Look through your seed catalogues and pick something to try growing that you didn’t grow successfully this past year, or want to try as a first timer. I had great success after 3 years of trying to grow eggplant this summer- persitence pays!!

So, snuggle up and enjoy those warm evenings eating those winter veggies!