Home

Ice is nice

Why frost is good for your garden.

Brrr! What a chilly few days we’ve been having. Not that we’re complaining, mind: a cold winter is what an English garden needs to work properly.

photo 5 _MG_4965 photo 2 (1)

 

Last winter was so mild and only gave us a couple of light frosts. This meant the rhubarb struggled as it needs a good winter chill, the slugs were prolific as they didn’t die, and the soil didn’t get its yearly injection of chill that it needs for the surface layer to crumble a little and various pathogens to die.

Oh, and the frost does look pretty, doesn’t it?

_MG_4958 _MG_4989 _MG_4998

But not everyone likes the cold, even if we appreciate it as gardeners. The chickens are so grateful when I bring them a bowl of porridge on these cold days.

photo 3 (1)

They are better at staying warm than people think: it’s the hot of a summer heatwave that they really struggle with. But I do make sure that their coop doors are shut at night, and in the mornings I have to smash their water so that they can drink. They’ll be glad when the spring turns up.

And that’s what we’re waiting for now on F&F. It’s been a fantastic year, moving into our dream garden where we can plant so many things we’ve dreamed of growing for so long. Here’s to 2015 and more flowers, fruit and veg. Thanks for reading, for commenting and for being stylish.

photo 1 (1)

 

Related Posts

Leave a Reply