GardenAction Newsletter
November 2007

 
November, 2007

Welcome to the GardenAction newsletter for November 2007 in your garden.


  
VEGETABLE CARE IN NOVEMBER 2007
OFFERS
CHRISTMAS GIFTS
EXCLUSIVE TO GARDENACTION

The GardenAction Computer Desktop Calendar
Designed by GardenAction this computer desktop diary fires up every time you start your computer and immediately goes to "today's" entry. All the major vegetables, fruit and herbs are covered with sowing, planting, care, pruning and harvesting dates.

You can add notes yourself and enter reminders, birthdays and other memorable dates. It lasts forever, providing you with a reminder of key dates for years to come and the cost is a one off payment of only £7.49.

Even better, we let you try it for 30 days completely free of charge. If you are not happy with it, then you pay nothing. An exclusive Christmas or birthday present which will last for ever.

Click here to download your free trial diary now.

GardenAction Laminated Action Sheets
Designed by GardenAction, these laminated action sheets feature one vegetable or fruit per page. They can be kept in the garden shed and wipe clean at a stroke. All the important facts, including a calendar of action dates (planting, sowing, care and harvest). The dates are personalised to your home town. All for only £1.99 per plastic sheet. An exclusive, useful and lasting Christmas present for the gardener in your life. Click here to make your selection.

VEGETABLES

BRUSSELS SPROUTS
November is prime time for harvesting Brussels Sprouts. You may wish to wait until just after the first frost has arrived which will improve their flavour. Remove any leaves near the base of the plant which turn yellow to help avoid pest and disease.

When harvesting Brussels Sprouts, use a knife to cut them off - simply pulling the sprouts off may well damage the plants.
Click here for more information on Brussels Sprouts.

RADISHES
Winter radishes should be ready for harvest around mid-November.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

TOMATOES
If you still have any tomatoes left, and a frost threatens, harvest them, bring them indoors and ripen them on the window sill. Make a note now of which varieties did best so that you can order those again later in the year for the next season.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

ONIONS
With our mild autumn, onions should still be ready for harvest this month. Plan for where and how you will store them over the winter.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

RHUBARB
Rhubarb crowns should be planted towards the end of November onwards. Give them a try - rhubarb produces a crop in late Spring or early summer when other fruit and vegetables are not ready. If you already have rhubarb it will appreciate being divide every five years or so. If you can't use the extra crowns produced by dividing a plant, maybe a friend or neighbour can use them.
Click here for easy to follow instructions on rhubarb care.

MAINCROP and NEW POTATOES
Some maincrop potatoes can still be harvested in November. Towards the end of this month prepare the ground for next year's potatoes. Also, do a little research on potato varieties because late December onwards is the time to buy your seed potatoes..
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

WINTER CABBAGE
November is a great month for harvesting Winter Cabbage. If any of the leaves are turning yellow, pick them off to avoid pest and diseases.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

BEETROOT
Prepare the ground for next year's beetroot in November. Beetroot stores very well so go to the link below on how to store them.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

 

FRUIT AND HERB CARE IN NOVEMBER 2007
PLUMS
October to early December is the best time to plant a new plum tree. Give it a go, they are delicious! Do check out the link below when considering which plum tree to grow - some plum trees can grow to 9 metres (30 foot) tall and you would need a ladder to reach the fruit! Choose carefully for the size of your garden.
Click here for easy to follow instructions on plums.

BLACKBERRIES
October to November is the best time to plant new blackberry bushes. Blackberry bushes are strong growing plants and will last for many years. With the correct preparation and planting techniques they will repay you many times for your effort. Click on link below for details on which variety to choose, how to plant it and where.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

PEACHES
October is the best time to plant new peach trees.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

PEARS
November is the ideal time to plant your new Pear tree.

CURRANTS (red and white)
Up to Mid-November currants bushes can be planted. Ideal for the small garden, they are tasty and full of vitamin C.

APPLES
November is a great time to plant your new apple tree. The GardenAction article has over 60 pictures of different apple varieties. It also has extensive coverage of when and how to plant your apple tree. Apple tree rootstacks are also covered in depth.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

BLACKCURRANTS
November is the ideal month to plant your new blackcurrant bushes. Did you know that blackcurrant bushes should be planted a few centimetres deeper than they are in the pot? Click the link below for details of this and other information on planting blackcurrants.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

HERBS PARSLEY, ROSEMARY and MARJORAM/OREGANO
Harvest these herbs in November
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

GARDEN PLANT CARE IN NOVEMBER 2007
 
This month the spotlight is on:
CUTTINGS FROM DECIDUOUS SHRUBS

November is a great month for taking cuttings from deciduous shrubs. This includes Buddleia, Cornus (dogwood), Deutzia, Forsythia, Roses, Spiraea, Viburnum and Wigleia. November is the best time because most of the leaves are or have dropped off but next years buds have not yet begun to form. Taking a cutting at this time of year ensures that the cutting will put all it's efforts into producing roots.

The cutting process is simple. Select a healthy stem and cut it to about 30 cm (14 ins) long - choose a portion that has three buds in it. Trim up the cutting and then insert it carefully into a patch of dug soil. Choose a spot which will be out of direct sunshine in the summer. Leave it there until next autumn and you will have more free shrubs! It really is that simple.
Click here for easy to follow instructions.

GARDENACTION ADDRESS: 1 Old School Cottages, Southam Street, Kineton, Warwick CV35 0JN

This Month's Recipe
Potato, Ham and Vegetable Frittata

Frittata is the Italian version of an omelette. It's much more substantial than a French omelette and it contains any vegetables that happen to be in seaon. The basic ingredients are eggs and potatoes.
Click here for this delicious recipe illustrated with lots of step by step pictures.

UNUSUAL
The name Thyme is derived from from the Latin thymus, which goes back to Greek thymós "spirit", originally meaning "smoke".

Its name has also been attributed to Theophrastus, the Third Century B.C. philosopher and naturalist, though it was well known and well used prior to his naming it. Thyme has been given several properties by the Greeks which include its use to restore vigor and clarity to the mind, and its ability to clear the air of illness and disease.

Thyme was burned as a religious incense, and also to give courage in difficult circumstances. It was one of the chief ingredients in ritual altar fires, purifying the animal sacrifices to make them acceptable to the gods, and also to season them.

Thyme was also used to mark the key human events - at funerals, placed in the coffins of the dead. It was thought that the souls of the dead took up residence in the flowers of the thyme plant.
  
 
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