I don’t know about you, but each year in the veg plot I always start off those first sowings with equal amounts of excitement, anticipation and trepidation.

            Excitement as for me there is nothing more thrilling than sitting outdoors in a warm summers evening, enjoying a meal that was either part or all created from seed that was sown back in the cold and grey days of late winter and early spring. Then I get a feeling of eager anticipation as each day I check those seed trays for the first signs of the green shoots of life emerging from the dark coloured compost, reaching for the light.

            However, there’s also trepidation as I wonder just how successful my veg growing efforts will be during the spring and summer ahead, which can often be at the mercy of the weather. Could it be a wet one bringing in an abundance of slugs and snails to feast on the tender lettuce leaves? Will I forget to keep an eye on the forecast during May and get caught out by a late frost that kills all my early plantings of cabbages because I didn’t cover them over with protective fleece. Or like this year, a lack of rain to ensure my tatties get enough of the wet stuff to reach their full potential and give me a good crop of tatties.

            There’s a stigma around gardening that it’s just  a hobby for when we are slowing down in life, I think what I’ve just mentioned shows what a load of nonsense that is! It’s this buzz that keeps me coming back for more each year and already looking forward to next.

            There’ll be plenty cold and wet days coming in the winter ahead where I’ll be thinking of that, sitting by the warmth of the fire trolling through the seed catalogues looking to see what new varieties I’ll be trialling alongside the tried and tested in my veg plot next year. It’s not all over just yet, with enough crops still growing and jobs to be getting on with, particularly with my Christmas dinner in mind!

            Sorry for bringing that up just now but we are into October now so there’s no point in hiding from it. Even though there is still two and a half months to go, I’m grabbing any chance that I can to think about the tatties, carrots, parsnip and sprouts growing away in the garden just now and set for their big moment in a few weeks time.

            Now, it would seem counterproductive to be leaving some of this veg in the ground when the rest of the gardening world is shutting down all around our plots, but with some it is ok and indeed will become better for it.

            This week saw the first glimpses of frost where I garden, not a particularly cold frost but just enough that you could feel it in the fresh air and a touch of crispness visible on the grass. At this point, a gardeners thoughts instinctively turn alarmingly to all the tender plants growing in their gardens like sweet peas, summer bedding still left in their planters, and the dahlias display, which a harder version of this kind of weather will kill them off for the year. However, with a glimpse to the upward growing stems of Brussels sprouts and the sprawling tops of parsnip foliage, I started to feel the opposite and a smile came on my face as I knew that this cold weather would indeed make these taste even better. And of course, my Christmas dinner!

            Cold temperatures trigger a natural defence mechanism in sprouts and parsnips that turns stored starches within them, into sugars. These sugars lower the freezing point of water inside the plant cells acting like an antifreeze, protecting them to a level from the winter weather and so capable of staying out in the ground for longer. Where we also benefit, is that this conversion results in a more enhanced, sweet and rich flavour making our Christmas dinner plates taste even better. If that is ever possible!

            There’s a couple of things to watch out for though. With the sprouts, the stems can easily topple over with the weight, which is why we ensure the ground is firm around the roots at planting time. The addition of a bamboo cane stake tied onto our sprouts positioned on the windward side of the plant, will be a big help. And I’ve already started harvesting some of those sprouts, also known as buttons, snapping off working from the bottom of the plant.

            Then make sure you get the harvesting time for your parsnips just right near the big day as frozen ground will leave you unable to dig your parsnips out! Happened to me once, never again though I did manage a recovery by carefully pouring warm water around them to soften the soil.

            If you garden on a lighter, sandier soil you can leave your carrots in the ground too but a risk with both during wet winters is that they become ideal food for soil pests.

            And I cant bear thinking about the repercussions of that!