Allotment jobs in winter: a UK checklist
Winter on the allotment is less about growing and more about getting ready. From December to February the RHS suggests feeding the soil, protecting what’s still in the ground, pruning fruit, planting bare-root trees and bushes, and planning next year’s rotation. Here’s a checklist, with the RHS’s own advice for each job.
Typical UK guidance. Never work soil that’s frozen or waterlogged, and check your site’s own rules on bonfires, manure and structures.
1. Look after the soil
The RHS December page suggests adding homemade compost to any empty areas of the plot to enrich the soil, and its November page suggests covering empty beds with a double layer of cardboard, with tape and staples removed, topped with homemade compost (RHS: December; RHS: November). On heavy soil, adding organic matter improves drainage, and on wet soil the RHS suggests working from a plank of wood rather than treading on the bed, so you don’t compact it (RHS: January).
If you’re tempted by a big winter dig, the RHS’s no-dig guidance is worth reading first. It says digging damages soil structure by destroying drainage channels made by worms, disturbing fungal networks and releasing carbon locked in the soil, and that no-dig beds are prepared by covering the ground with organic matter and planting into it. You can start no-dig beds at any time of year, but the RHS says late winter, February or early March, is best as long as the soil isn’t waterlogged (RHS: no-dig gardening). Your back may thank you, too.
2. Protect what’s still growing
- Pigeons. Protect brassicas with cloches, netting or fleece. The RHS says netting should be taut and fastened securely so birds and other wildlife don’t get tangled in it (RHS: January).
- Mould and mildew. Pick yellowing leaves off Brussels sprouts and other brassicas to help prevent grey mould and brassica downy mildew (RHS: December).
- Wind. Stake or earth up leggy sprout stalks against wind rock.
- Frost. If hard frosts are forecast, cover trenches of stored root crops with cardboard so you can still get at them (RHS). Celeriac left in the ground benefits from a thick mulch of straw or similar (RHS: November).
- Mice and slugs. Protect new sowings from mice, and early seed sowings from slugs (RHS; RHS).
3. Harvest and store
The RHS lists beetroot, turnips, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, celery, swedes, cabbages and leeks as ready to harvest in December (RHS: December). Parsnips can be left in the ground until needed, or lifted and buried in a shallow trench for easy access, and the RHS says they taste better when frosted (RHS). Late leeks can stay in the ground into spring (RHS: leeks). Keep checking stored fruit and remove any that’s rotting (RHS).
4. Prune fruit
Winter is pruning season for apples, pears, quinces and medlars, and January is a good time for currants and gooseberries. The RHS says February is your last chance to winter prune apples, pears, medlars, quinces, red and white currants and gooseberries, and that established autumn-fruiting raspberries can be pruned in February too (RHS: January; RHS: February). Avoid pruning stone fruit, such as plums and cherries, in winter (RHS: December). Cut out any canker on apples and pears while you’re at it.
5. Plant bare-root fruit
Dormant season is planting season. The RHS says to plant new fruit trees and bushes from November, but never into ground that’s frozen or waterlogged (RHS). Gardeners’ World says bare-root planting season runs from November to March, and if the soil isn’t fit you can pot a tree up temporarily until it improves (Gardeners’ World: January). Bare-root rhubarb crowns are generally available from November to March (RHS: rhubarb).
6. Sow and plant the winter crops
There’s not much, but there is some: garlic, overwintering onion sets and hardy broad beans in autumn and early winter where the soil drains well, onion seed indoors from mid-winter, and early indoor sowings in January. There’s a month-by-month list in our guides to what to sow in November, December and January. In February, the RHS suggests chitting early seed potatoes and, in light soils only, planting out garlic and shallots (RHS: February).
7. Tidy, mend and plan
- Clean and store bamboo canes in a dry place; shorten broken ones for reuse (RHS).
- Order seeds on a rainy day (RHS).
- Save egg boxes for chitting potatoes, and source seed potatoes from a reputable supplier (RHS).
- Plan a crop rotation. The RHS says to plan it before the growing season, when ordering seed, and mark out the plots so you know where each crop goes. Perennial crops such as rhubarb and asparagus don’t fit into the rotation (RHS: crop rotation).
- On a new plot, the RHS suggests testing your soil before the season starts (RHS).
- Don’t home compost diseased material, such as blight-infected potatoes, onions with white rot or crops with rust (RHS).
Keep the plan where you’ll find it
Rotation plans have a habit of living on the back of an envelope in the shed. I made Fork Handles so mine lives on my phone instead: it shows what to sow indoors, sow outdoors, plant out and harvest each month, and keeps a log of what you planted in which bed, so next winter’s rotation is easier. It’s free on the App Store, with one optional one-off purchase.
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Questions
What should I do on my allotment in winter?
The RHS suggests adding compost to empty beds, protecting brassicas from pigeons, harvesting winter roots and leeks, winter pruning apples, pears, currants and gooseberries, planting bare-root fruit when the soil allows, and planning a crop rotation.
Should I dig my allotment in winter?
The RHS says digging damages soil structure and recommends no-dig, which covers the ground with organic matter instead. It says late winter, February or early March, is the best time to start no-dig beds, as long as the soil isn’t waterlogged.
When should I prune fruit trees on an allotment?
Apples, pears, quinces and medlars are winter pruned, with February the RHS’s last chance. Avoid pruning stone fruit, such as plums and cherries, in winter.
Can I plant fruit trees in winter?
Yes, bare-root trees and bushes are planted while dormant, roughly November to March, but never into frozen or waterlogged ground, says the RHS.