v THE HERALD - INDEPENDENT AND PROUD OF IT v 17th September 2026 • The HERALD • Page 61 A J GLEESON BUILDING & GROUNDWORK DRIVEWAYS EXTENSIONS BRICKWORK GROUNDWORK BLOCK PAVING Colours & Designs to suit your requirements Local Work Available to View CALL FOR A FREE QUOTATION New Forest & Southampton 023 8084 4180 Mobile: 07770 771475 Bramdene, Main Road, Dibden, Southampton RYAN FENCING Quality Fencing & Gates 07769 706516 • 023 8084 1203 www.ryan-fencing.co.uk • Find us on Facebook DOWN THE GARDEN PATH Smithwood Landscaping Professional Gardening & Landscaping • SeasonalTidy Ups • Garden Redesign • Fencing •Trees & Shrubs Carefully Pruned • AstroTurf • Rockeries Designed • Ground Cover No JobToo Small as I am a Local Gardener Any advice over the phone is freely given Contact Gary (Master Landscaper) 07707 433194 British Garden Centres’ Guide To Growing Your Own Christmas Veggies Advice from British Garden Centres best sown between February and June, then le in the ground and li ed as needed once the leaves above the surface start to die back, ready and waiting for Christmas Day. Make a note to sow next spring, and you’ll have a harvest for the festive period. Julian Palphramand, Head of Plants at British Garden Centres, said: “Now is a great time to sow quick crops like potatoes and carrots, and for anything else on the Christmas dinner list. There’s a real satisfaction in bringing something you’ve grown yourself to the Christmas table, and you really don’t need a huge garden to do it.” ere’s nothing quite like serving up a Christmas dinner with vegetables you’ve grown yourself, and now is the perfect moment to get started. From maincrop potatoes and quick-growing carrots sown now, to ready-grown young plants of leeks, cabbage, sprouts and sage for an instant head start, there’s still time to ll the table with homegrown produce this Christmas, all of it easy to grow in pots and containers, making it ideal even for the smallest balcony, garden or patio. Sow now for Christmas Day Potatoes: Now is exactly the right time to plant a festive crop of potatoes, ready to li in around 12 weeks. Good varieties for Christmas include Charlotte, Duke of York, Maris Peer and Pentland Javelin. Use a container around 15” in diameter and depth: add 10cm of multi-purpose compost, place up to ve chitted seed potatoes on top, then cover with another 10cm of compost. As green shoots appear, keep ‘earthing up’ with more compost until the container is full. e potatoes are ready to harvest once the plant is in ower, perfect for your Christmas lunch. Carrots: ere’s just enough time le to sow a quick crop of short-rooted varieties such as Chantenay, Oxheart and Round, which take 12–16 weeks to mature and store well for Christmas. Use a container at least 30cm deep lled with light, well-drained compost, free from stones. Make holes 1.5cm deep and 1.5cm apart, sowing three to four seeds per hole. Seedlings should appear within 14 days, but thin out the weakest ones once they emerge. ey will be ready for your family gathering on the big day. Missed the sowing window? For crops that needed sowing back in spring, the good news is garden centres stock strong, young plants ready to pot straight on, still giving you a genuinely home-grown Christmas dinner without having started from seed. Brussels sprouts: A Christmas dinner staple, sprouts are usually sown between February and April for a winter harvest, so look out for young plants in-store now, pot them into a large, deep container and rm them in well, and they’ll stand happily through winter frosts, which only improve their avour for your Christmas lunch. Cabbage: Winter varieties such as Tundra grow well in large, deep containers around 12” in diameter and 8” deep. If you haven’t sown since spring, pick up young plants and pot on straight away. Water at the roots rather than over the leaves to prevent rot, and harvest once the heads feel rm, boil and serve for your lunch before you watch the King’s speech. Leeks: Normally sown March to April, leeks are hungry, hardy plants that will stand in the soil right through winter until needed. Choose a container at least 18” deep, feed young plants with a sprinkle of poultry manure around the roots, and harvest a few at a time with a hand fork for a longer season at the table to accompany your turkey. Sage: No turkey and stu ng is complete without it. Sage is a slow starter from seed, so a young potted plant from the garden centre is the quickest route to a Christmas harvest. It’s a hardy perennial that’s happy in sun or partial shade, in well-drained compost with a little moisture. Ready to pick this autumn Cranberries: Sold as young potted plants, cranberries are ready to harvest from late September to mid-October, which is perfect timing to make and freeze a batch of cranberry sauce ahead of the big day. Grow in large containers (around 12”) and water with rainwater where possible, as they prefer acidic soil. Planning for Christmas 2027 Yes, there are plants you can look at now to ensure you have even more tasty homegrown treats for your Christmas lunch. Garlic: If you’d like garlic on next year’s table, note the diary date rather than the shopping list: cloves are best planted in autumn, from October, in pots around 10” wide with 8–10 cloves per pot, pushed just under the soil surface, pointy end up. Leaves will die back and turn yellow the following autumn, signalling harvest time, a er which bulbs can be stored in a cool, dry place. Parsnips: Sweet, hardy and made for roasting, parsnips need a long season and are Evie with potatoes
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