Here in Suffolk the weather has turned noticeably colder in the last few days after one of the mildest Novembers we can remember.  It seems odd to enter December without yet having had any frosts on our trial ground.  Now that all the leaves have fallen from deciduous trees it is worth turning them into some valuable leafmould.  Collect the leaves when they are wet, pack them into black bin liners and tie the top.  Make a few holes in the bags with a garden fork, put them somewhere out of the way and in around 18 months you should be able to open bags of rich, crumbly, sweet smelling leafmould – just the job for enriching the soil or using as a mulch.

Pear and apple trees which are growing in the open can be pruned this month, but not those which are trained against walls.  Vines can also be pruned during December, as this will prevent them ‘bleeding’.  Established roses can now be pruned too, especially taller growing varieties, as this will reduce the risk of wind rock in the weeks ahead.  Prune to about half their height before pruning back harder in March next year.  Remove all fallen rose leaves from the soil, as leaving them will encourage diseases.

In the vegetable garden, check Brussels sprout plants and make sure they remain firmly in the ground, heeling more soil around them if they look rather loose.  This will help ensure they continue to crop satisfactorily.  When picking sprouts, always pick the lowest buttons first, working your way up the stalks to the smaller ones.  We always feel sprouts taste better and sweeter after they have experienced a hard frost or two, so we are still waiting to pick ours.  Same goes for parsnips too, in our opinion!

It is not too early to think about early sowings of vegetables for next year – and with that in mind, have you considered giving our vegetable seed tapes a try? These pre-sown paper strips of the most popular varieties – are already selling well ahead of the 2010 growing season, with Carrot Early Nantes 5 and Parsnip White Gem being the current ‘top of the pops’. 

While the benefits of seed tapes, such as ease of sowing and the reduction of the need to thin seedlings, are believed to be of most importance to those gardeners new to vegetable growing, we have received reports that many seasoned gardeners are turning to them, especially for early crops such as carrot and parsnip. Apparently they find they are achieving better results, especially in dry spells.  We believe this is because the paper in which the seeds are sown retains what moisture is available, giving the seeds an even better chance to germinate.  We would be most interested to hear from vegetable gardeners who have used both about the relative merits of seed tapes and packeted seed.

House plants make welcome Christmas gifts, with poinsettias perhaps the most popular all.  Don’t forget, however, that hyacinth, cyclamen and Christmas cactus are all good choices..  Looked after carefully, cyclamen and Christmas cactus in particular can last for several years.  The Christmas cactus is the ideal for anyone who says “I always manage to kill my house plants!”.  It seems to thrive in light or shade, in hot rooms and cool rooms, with or without feeding.  And yet year after year those pink or white flowers appear how ever much it may have been neglected.

If you are feeling energetic, get out there on to the veg plot or allotment and dig over any areas of bare soil, incorporating plenty of well rotted organic matter if possible.  A little hard work now will make you feel virtuous and pay real dividends by improving the quality of next year’s crops.