Allotment Diaries: nurturing an eco-friendly plot over winter

It barely seems like five minutes since I wrote the summer update from the allotment, but it's well into autumn and there's plenty still going on down on the plot. We've got carrots ready to pull, sprouts developing for winter roasts and Purple Sprouting broccoli for harvesting next spring. And the dahlias are putting on one last epic show!

There's still time to get bulbs in - garlic for next summer, and spring flowers like tulips and irises. And we just managed to get some young cabbages and cavalo nero planted before the first frosts so these can grow through winter under a fleece (more on that below). With the light fading fast in the evenings, we ended up planting out by torchlight but they're in now!

Allotmenting after dark!

If you're cultivating, nurturing or even just dreaming about an eco-friendly plot, here are a few ideas for autumn:

Collect and store seeds

I tend harvest seeds from flowers more than vegetables, such as sweet peas where I've loved the colour. Harvesting seeds can save money as you can plant them next year, or help build your plant collection by taking part in seed swaps - we hold one in The GreenHouse every February. If you harvest from F1 hybrids, you won't reliably get the parent plant characteristics due to the specific cross that produced them, so open-pollinated or heirloom varieties are best for this. Here are some techniques I've used this year:

• Sweet peas: leave a few blooms to go over on the plant and produce seeds pods, Once they're brown and papery, but before they get spotted with mould, snip from the plant, crack open and collect the dried seeds

• Nasturtiums: these will self-seed in abundance, but you can collect fallen seeds and dry out on paper towel before storing

• Teasel and poppies: simply shake dry seeds heads (snipped open for poppies) over a large piece of newspaper and funnel into an envelope

• Honesty: Seed pods will dry out on the plant, then you can harvest the whole stem and gently rub away the papery outer layer of the pods to detach the seeds inside, leaving you with beautiful silvery dried stems to boot.

• Sunflowers: if you've got more than enough for the birds, cut the spent flower away from the stem and hang up to dry, then rub the seeds loose from the head and leave to dry out completely before storing.

  
  

Store your collected seeds in paper envelops in a cool, dry place and remember to label them! Next year I might give vegetable seed collecting a go.

Saving seeds from my favourite blooms

Protect young and/or tender plants

There are plenty of plants that will grow, albeit more slowly, over winter, and it's a great way to keep your plot ticking over and producing goods into next year. This year, we've invested in some Chimney Sheep fleece, made using Yorkshire sheep wool. I've laid this over our newly planted cabbages and cavalo nero like a mini polytunnel and this should protect them from frost and pests, as well as keeping the temperature around them a little higher. The light will still get through the fleece but I will water them regularly just to make sure they stay hydrated.

Chimney Sheep plastic-free frost protection

Mulch empty beds

If you've not yet ventured into the world of No Dig, autumn is a great time to get started. For existing beds, simply add a thick layer of mulch over the top of the soil and let the worms do their work over winter. The mulch will suppress weeds and enrich the soil until you're ready to plant in Spring. Mulching around winter plants will also help keep them hydrated and fed. If you want to create new beds on grass, it's best to lay down a layer of cardboard first then add mulch on top of this.

Mulch can be all sorts of things - well-rotted manure, leaf mould or homemade compost - and these can all be 'free' if you plan ahead (/know a friendly farmer). We have compost bins at home and in the allotment, and add spent plants and flowers, food scraps, egg shells, dog hair, egg cartons and other bits of card, compostable sponges and coffee grounds. You're aiming for a healthy mix of nitrogen and carbon rich components, and within a few months you'll have lovely black compost (with bits of egg shell and twigs in it!) that can be used as mulch or multipurpose compost.

Mulch around plants (yes that's a cork!)

And finally, if you've managed to grow your own pumpkins for Halloween this year, here's a great little book to help you make the most of them from 1st November:

• Don't Waste Your Pumpkin by Emily Gussin has nearly 50 suggestions including recipes and craft ideas.

A wider selection of no waste, no dig and eco-friendly gardening books are available in store at The GreenHouse, 11 North Street, Ripon.

I've been keeping notes throughout the year of things that worked and what I'd do differently, as well as new plants or varieties I'd like to try next year. So I'll be snuggling up in front of the fire and 'plotting the plot' to share in next season's update.