January is one of the busiest months in the garden. Most of the years planting takes place in the glasshouse, but first off is digging out and preparing the outdoor soil.

The garden here is fairly big so the digging is done with a garden tiller. It’s great for getting the soil into a nice fine tilt, leaving it easy to work with and it is very good for a small seed bed. As the tiller digs deep it can be used for opening potato drills. Early potatoes get off to a good start when sown in February with sprouted seed and soil that is in a good condition.

We believe that the soil here is in great condition because for decades only rotting farmyard manure has been used

Other small seeds that enjoy this kind of soil condition include carrots and parsnips. However, others like peas and beans are sown raised drill as water logging during bad weather can rot the plants easily.

We always use good-quality organic seed. Everything here is organic, meaning no sprays of any kind are used and no artificial manure either. We believe that the soil here is in great condition because for decades only rotting farmyard manure has been used.

As a plant grows, nutrients are taken from the soil, leaving it depleted so long-term fertilisation planning for the soil is important. This garden has been going now for over 60 years and has never refused to produce a crop of everything splendidly every year. So get out, get gardening you won’t regret it.