As we move towards the winter solstice, the nights are drawing in ever earlier. You might have been lucky enough to have a dusting (or an avalanche) of snow last week like us here - we hope you had a chance to play despite any minor inconveniences.

Compared to the abundance and vitality of summer your garden will be moving into its winter dormancy, becoming a place of stillness and contemplation.

While we mostly advocate for our human bodies to go into some kind of winter hibernation in December we know that gardeners, growers and allotmenters will often have itchy, busy fingers wanting to spend an hour or two enjoying a moment of activity in the garden. Here are a few ideas that you might want to add to your December job list:

• It's a good time to finish clearing beds, but you might want to leave some dead plants as habitat for over-wintering insects. Sunflower stalks are particularly good homes for bugs. As a general rule, what looks like untidiness to the human eye is great habitat for the rest of nature. It's all about finding the balance, as with all things in life.
• Rake and gather up any fallen autumn leaves, adding them to your compost or try making your own leaf mould.
• Tidy up and fix tools, propagation areas and garden sheds.
• Check any roots or top fruit for mould or damage that you may have in storage.
• Lift and divide large clumps of rhubarb.
• Protect outdoor brassicas from pigeons with mesh.
• Mulch any bare patches of soil with leaves, compost or straw.
• Hang bird feeders to attract a wide range of different wild bird species to your garden.
• Go through your seed packets and start crop planning for 2025, contemplating this years' successes and failures while the season is fresh in your memory - click below to visit our seed shop:

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A winter warmer recipe from The Little Cooking Pot - Potaje

Here's another yummy recipe from The Little Cooking Pot - the perfect winter warmer and a great way to use up your harvests of outdoor chard.

"When Autumn arrives and there's a nip in the air, we love to cook potaje. Spanish potaje are hearty thick soups, slowly 'cooked in a pot', as it's name suggests. Our favorite is chickpea, chard and smokey paprika. It's a meal in itself but a mixed bitter leaf salad of chicories and radicchios such as Castlefranco, Treviso & Rosa Jolanda is a great side kick. Have you ever tried using marmalade in dressing? It works very well with bitter greens. Try combining extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar (tarragon vinegar is delicious), marmalade, black pepper & sea salt."

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​Potaje de Garbanzos (Chard & Chickpea Potaje)

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800g good quality cooked chickpeas

4 waxy potatoes, diced

Water or vegetable stock,homemade or a quality stock cube

A few sprigs of rosemary

4 garlic cloves, peeled & sliced

2 large bunches of Swiss or Rainbow chard

1 tablespoon of sweet smoked paprika

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Serves 3-4

• Pop the chickpeas & potatoes into a heavy-bottomed pan and cover by an inch with water or vegetable stock, if you are using. Bring to the boil and simmer, until the potatoes become soft and start to fall apart.
• Meanwhile, strip the leafy parts of the chard from the tougher stalks. Finely slice the stalks, pop to one side and roughly chop the leaves.
• Over a medium heat, warm a generous few glugs of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the rosemary & garlic and once the garlic starts to turn golden, add the chard stems and a pinch of salt & pepper. Gently fry, stirring often, until the stalks soften.
• Add the smoked paprika and fry for a minute more before adding the whole lot to your cooked potatoes, using a spatula to make sure you get all the flavourful oil.
• You’re looking for a thick soupy consistency, so add a little water if needed. Bring the potaje to the boil, add the chard leaves and simmer for a few minutes, until they soften.
• Turn off the heat, add a big squeeze of fresh lemon and check the seasoning. Ladle into bowls, topped with parsley and a chopped hard boiled egg, if using. Que aproveche!

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Tip: if you are using the hard boiled egg, separate the yolk from the white. Mix the yolk through the potaje and chop the white to use as topping.

Visit The Little Cooking Pot's website for more inspiration and to buy their great cookbooks.

That's all for now!

All the best

Chloe and the rest of the team

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P.S. Don't forget we've got a great selection of Christmas gifts for your loved ones if you're wanting to shop small, sustainable and ethical this holiday season...!

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