Keep up with winter tasks

Ruth stays busy and preserves her first lemon crop!

- Ruth Hayes

IT may feel like we are buried in the depths of winter, but we are well past the shortest day, spring bulbs are shooting and it won’t seem long before our gardens are springing back to life.

I use these days for keeping the garden ticking over so it’s ready to go when warmer weather arrives, meaning (hopefully) that there are no nasty surprises in store.

Pruning, turning the beds, weeding, and checking that the plants overwintering undercover aren’t bothered by pests and disease are all tasks for these midwinter days. Keep adding to and turning your compost, too, letting rain get to it but also covering it with old carpet during cold spells to keep in the heat and speed up the decomposition process.

One of the things I tried this year for the first time is preserving the little lemons off our tree. This is the first year it has cropped sufficiently, and preserving the fruits is a great way of keeping them for use in a wide range of recipes, from Moroccan chicken tagines to marinades, pasta dishes, soups, and salads.