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January feels quiet in the garden and
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the a lotment in the UK, but that is
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when smart gardeners get ahead down at
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the plot. Now, I've had my a lotment for
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20 years now. And at one time, I didn't
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used to come down to the plot in
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September. I used to pack up and not
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come back down until January or February
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time. And I used to be rushing at the
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last minute to get everything prepared
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and ready. and I couldn't do any
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improvements because I didn't have time
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cuz we'd be sewing all the seeds in
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March. And yeah, it used to be a time
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when I'd be rushing to try and get stuff
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done. Whereas now, I'm smart. I use the
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winter wisely. This month, this year,
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we've had a pretty mild winter and it's
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not been frosty. We've not had much snow
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and we've had a bit of rain, but not a
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lot of rain. And I've managed to get
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loads done down at the plot. I've
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repaired all my beds. I've tidied all my
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paths. We've done some improvements.
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We've put some new arches up on our
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plot. We've put some new planters in.
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And yeah, it's all looking in ship
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shape, ready for the year ahead. And
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using that time wisely and planning for
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the year ahead. You're ahead of the
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game. It's all ready. and January time.
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You can also use this time as planning
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and preparing for the months ahead and
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observing your plot. And it's sometimes
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if there's nothing to do, just sit there
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and have a look at your plot and see
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what ideas you want to do for your plot.
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Whether you want to change your layout
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or redesign it or grow something
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different in some place else. Have a
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look where there's shaded areas. So, you
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need to know what to grow in the shaded
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areas. of what's in the light, full
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Observe your plot and see what's working
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and what's not. I always have a little
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notepad where I write down where I've
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grown stuff and how well it's grown so
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that I know if I can grow it there
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another year, not the year after because
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it'll have taken the nutrients, but a
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year ahead. So, I keep notes of
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everything that I do down here at the
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plot. And it's good to keep a diary to
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see how well things have grown and what
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varieties you've grown down at the plot.
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Also, you can spot problems early and if
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something's not working, you can change
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it before it gets too busy in the months
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ahead. And yeah, it's maybe quiet. There
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might not be much to do down at the
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plot, but there's always something that
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you can look at and just enjoy being out
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in the peace and quiet and enjoy the
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relaxation of being in the garden in the
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plot. Obviously, we've had the big bird
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watch recently, and it's nice just to
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sit there and watch the birds come to
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the bird feeders and enjoy them and
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think about having more wildlife down at
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the block because wildlife does help.
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The bees help, the birds help, the frogs
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help, the hedgehogs help eat all the
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slugs. So, have a look at ways that you
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can help wildlife in your garden and a
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lotments as well because they are
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beneficial. So, that is what we're doing
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during the end of January, observing
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what we're going to be doing this year,
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and hopefully we're going to have a good
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growing year down at the pot this year.
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So until next time everyone remember
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keep smiling, keep shining and keep
