What to do in December
As we enter the dark, cold days of winter, you can still keep up your supply of fresh, highly nutritious food by moving some of your growing inside. With just two or three large jam jars for sprouts and four or five seed trays for leaves you can even be self sufficient in salad. The salad you grow will be more nutritious and far more delicious than any salad you buy in the shops at this time of year - and it will cost you a fraction of the price.
Jobs for this month
- Make a sprouter (or three).
- Create a mini microleaf and shoots farm.
- Maintain outdoor winter crops, harvesting them sparingly.
- Enjoy planning and scheming for next year.
1. Make a sprouter
Sprouts are an amazing and extremely healthy food. If you've not eaten sprouts much before, you may find it will take a little time to get used to them and learn how to use them. Persevering - to find which sprouts you like and how to use them in your cooking - is really worth the effort. Working out ways you enjoy eating sprouts can take a little experimentation. This is a simple salad made with alfalfa sprouts, chickpea sprouts, radish shoots, sunflower shoots, avocado and lemon and olive oil dressing.
All you need to sprout is a large glass jar. These are alfalfa sprouts, often described as one of the most complete foods there is.
2. Create a mini microleaf farm
To grow micro leaves and shoots inside you need a reasonably bright window or grow light. I grow mine on a four plastic trays on a small table, next to the window. Radish and sunflower shoots in trays on the left; coriander and cabbage shoots sown and about to emerge in the trays on the right.
3. Maintain outdoor crops
As in November, remember to water during dry spells (it's easy to forget when its cold). The one time you don't want to water is just before a freezing spell - the water will freeze in your pots, potentially damaging the roots. You can harvest a few leaves from your winter salads over the month. They'll most probably taste amazing! So that you don't weaken your salads too much, harvest the leaves sparingly. You want your plants to retain strength so that when the weather warms in early spring, they will put on a growth spurt. I'm harvesting the leaves of these mustards sparingly this month - because I want the plant to survive the winter and put on a growth spurt in the spring.
4. Planning and scheming for next year
Long, dark, cold evenings .... What better time to reflect on your successes and learning of the year? Even when growing in a small space there is so much you can learn from your experience each year. Applying this learning is the route to abundance! You can also dream about what you want to grow next year, and plan where you'll get your seeds (any seed swaps in your area in the spring?), where to add more pots (there's nearly always space for one more!), and any new structures you might want to build.
Your turn
Are you eating home grown food this month? If so, I'd love to hear what you've been able to grow in the comments below.
31 comments
Hi Mark, really enjoying the tips.
I’ve just taken over a 1m2 planter which is full of weeds. What would be the best way to prepare this ahead of growing in spring? Thanks
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