General

• It's a great time to get tidying up the plot if it isnt raining or snowing. Digging the beds to get them ready for sowing season will mean you don't have a mad rush when march comes

• When its raining why not tidy out the shed/greenhouse in between the showers, get rid of anything you don't need (recyclying of course), make shelfs, disinfect used pots...

• Keep brassica's (broccoli, cabbages etc) netted to stop pigeons devouring your plants

Crops

• Harvest leeks, parsnips, swedes, turnsips and brussel sprouts. Harvest brussels by picking them from the base up

Sowing

• Sow crops indoors like cabbage, cauliflower, carrots and spring onions in modules

Pruning & fruit care

• Apples and pears can be pruned by first pruning out any diseased or dead wood, including any crossing branches. The main shoots should be pruned by a third and the side shoots should be pruned back to 2-3buds

• Redcurrants/gooseberries are done similarly to apples and pears

• Blackcurrants can be pruned now, although there is plenty of time to do it during the winter too. They are one of the easiest of the fruit to prune, simply remove a third of the branches, removing the oldest branches low down on the plant. You can easily take cuttings to make new plants although it will be a few years before the produce fruit. Simply cut off the top 30cm growth with a pair of secateurs,cutting below a bud, chop off the top 5cm just above a bud and place in the soil to 2/3's of its depth and transplant the following winter

If you've only got 5minutes

• Pull out 5 perennial weeds: dandelions, docks etc. Lift one piece of rubbish that's been lying about or blew in and you always mean to move

Happy plotting

Tracy