Out and About - Winter 2021

Out&About leisure

are ready to use – bear in mind they are difficult to dig if you want them on a Sunday and there is a frost Saturday night – the tops will ‘die off ’, but they will be fine. Once the tops start shooting again in around March they should be lifted or will go ‘woody’ in the core. Parsnips freeze well. Prepare them as you would ready for cooking – do not blanch. Put them in a bag in the freezer, then take out what you need for each meal – my wife drops them on the floor in the bag to get them apart. Beetroot and carrots can also be left in the ground, but do get frost-affected and the taste goes. They can be stored in bag compost or sand, but I find they start to taste ‘earthy’ which I’m not keen on.

I also find leeks are best left in the ground and harvested as required. If you grow Brussels sprouts, take the tops out around Decembe and cook as open cabbage. This stops the plant p r

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ve better access for ter harvesting. I also ake off any damaged hoots and any eadwood. o doubt those of you ho are experts are now ified, but it works for la t s d N

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me. A real piec

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e of advice now – always carry your mobile phone on the allotment. I recently had a fall and broke my ankle on the allotment and had to crawl some 200 metres for help. I have had six weeks unable to put my right foot on the ground. While in hospital, I met a guy who had been stung by a red ant. He had a reaction that looked like a snake bite and spent five days in hospital, so please be aware.

effort into growing and concentrates its energy into forming sprouts. Don’t be too keen to pull Brussels sprouts up – if you leave them in the ground they will grow shoots which can be eaten like sprouting broccoli. The soft fruit trees will be ready for pruning. I’m no expert in this field, but as a rule of thumb I take off the top of new shoots and ‘thin out’ the growth to

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O&A WINTER 2021