The passage of autumn into winter always feels to me like a slowing-down period; a time for reflection. Everything is slowing down, it seems, not just me, and I find it harder to tap into my energy because my instinct is to be still. Which is fine, only I also need to get going at times!
In summer I could do all my winter garden jobs in a flash, but I’m looking at the leaves in the garden right now and I don’t even want to go outside, let alone deal with all the things that need doing.
I need to get out there though, if only to gather up the leaves. Have you discovered what a wonderstuff leaf mulch is? It’s superb for padding out raised beds, for instance. If you’re thinking of putting some in, fill them with layers starting with cardboard topped by sticks and twigs, then a good layer of leaves and topsoil to finish. It saves the cost of a raised bed full of expensive / hard to come by topsoil and hides a wealth of nutrients beneath the surface.
In other gardening news, the rainbow chard is still growing well in the polytunnels and brings such pleasure at this time of year. Its vibrant colours and enthusiastic abundance give me a much-needed spring in my step whenever I go down there.
In the kitchen, we’re making spanakopita next week. I have a bee in my bonnet and I won’t be happy until I’ve made some, so that’s a nice departure from the shorter days. I’m in seasonal canapé mood too. In the summer I removed our little fish pond and extended the patio, so I’m planning a Christmas canapé party around the fire pit with tattie scones with hot-smoked salmon and crème fraîche, and cranberry and venison on toast. I think even I can find the energy I need for that! As for Christmas – we live in hope!
Vicky Moffitt, of Vallum Farm on Hadrian’s Wall, shares the trials and tribulations of the Kitchen Garden which supplies produce to the farm’s weddings and events, and Restaurant Pine. Vallum, Military Road, Newcastle, NE18 0LL, tel 01434 672 652, www.vallumfarm.co.uk
