Plan this years planting, rotating crops to get good growth and prevent disease.
Continue to harvest remaining crops like sprouts, cabbage, kale, leeks and parsnips keeping the brassicas netted to protect from pigeons. Remove yellowing leaves to stop fungal diseases taking hold.
Finish digging clear beds and spread manure where required.
Clean greenhouses, polytunnels, pots and trays in readiness for the coming season.
Mid month, start chitting early crop seed potatoes in trays somewhere light, cool but frost-free.
Sow summer brassicas and spinach on a sunny window sill to plant out in February.
Sow Aubergines and chillies under cover in a heated propagator or on a sunny window sill from late in the month.
Prune fruit bushes: Blackcurrants-remove 1/3 of the old, weak or damaged stems to ground level.
Gooseberries, redcurrants and whitecurrants-remove low-lying and dead wood and prune LAST years growth of the main stems back by half. Prune side shoots back to 3 buds.
Apple and pear trees – prune to control their size and shape, but do not prune out more than 20% of the crown in any one winter.
Grape vines- prune by mid January.
Apply winter washes to fruit trees to control overwintering pests.
