Quieter times now, here at the Farm Garden, but despite plant growth slowing right down we are surprisingly busy. Days are short and temperatures variable – many layers of clothing are needed. As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad weather – just bad clothing!

Our first frosts in late November are looked forward to – this signals the all-clear to start harvesting savoy cabbages, brussel sprouts, celeriac, beetroot, chicory and Jerusalem artichokes. No surprise that these feature in Christmas meals since they are at their best once a few frosts have ensured that the plants convert carbohydrates into sugar as protection. To our benefit, they are beautifully sweet.

The garden is more or less dormant. Fortifying it for the winter is the real work. We carefully cut down our dahlias and top with buckets of sieved leafmould to keep them warm; not forgetting to mark each mould lest we dig into the tubers accidentally. We continue processing seeds for next year and start the careful work of pruning the fruit trees. The fig first, and then the two mulberrys. Slow and careful, this work needs skill and consideration – we are pruning for productiveness, but also for health and aesthetics.

The shop needs dressing for Christmas. We forage for ivy, holly, berries and fir cones, twisting them into wreaths for the display. Dried corn is added in and hyacinths are potted up to make delicate Christmas gifts. Generous friends of the farm donate ceramics, stationery, knitted garments and decorations. Our resident herbalist, Louisa, makes trays of fragrant soap and distils herbs for mixing into various tinctures. How lucky we are to have this skill revived at the farm – we plan more wellbeing products in 2022.

We talk neverendingly throughout the summer about which crops can be processed to sell in the farm shop as jams, preserves and pickles etc. This month is no exception – volunteer Tess heads up this enterprise - disappearing off with trays of rosehips to return days later with a fruity and flavoursome rosehip syrup. Later, we catch her staggering across the farmyard with a large container she’s had stashed away for some weeks. On enquiring, to our delight, she reveals an apple cider vinegar she’s been brewing for some time. The mother swims ominously at the bottom, but is professed to be top quality having produced a tangy brew that tastes initially of cider and then a full but mellow, fruity vinegar. Both concoctions are swiftly decanted into bottle sand labelled for the Xmas display – all will no doubt be gone by Christmas.

We’ve had a great year at the farm garden, working hard, learning together and we love having comments and questions from our many visitors. The garden team would like to wish you a very Merry Xmas and hopefully we will see you in the farm garden when we reopen in January.

- Tanya Reynolds, Volunteer Gardener