February in the Walled Kitchen Garden by Shirley Roberts, Academy Gardener at Clumber Park

FEBRUARY. Although most of the plants and trees are dormant at this time of year, behind the walls of the Kitchen Garden you will find a hive of industry as the gardeners get ready for the growing year ahead. Well, perhaps not all the gardens team… our Director of Vermin Control (AKA Mr Tibbs) is often to be found having a nap in the warmest part of the office! 

One of our biggest tasks is pruning the collection of Heritage apples and pears, and with over 450 trees in the garden this is no mean feat! So to boost our pruning power, we’ve enlisted the help of our garden volunteers. In late January, 15 of our hardy volunteers came along to a pruning workshop presented by Jane our Senior Gardener. The first half of the day covered all the ‘theory’ of pruning, plus essential tuition on how to keep your tools clean and sharp. Then after lunch, it was off out into the orchards for some hands-on sessions. Winter pruning is essential for the health and vigour of your trees, and will reward you with a bigger and better crop of fruit. Although it can seem daunting at first, pruning is fairly straightforward and our volunteers soon got the hang of it! 

Here are Jane’s 3 ‘top tips’ for gardener’s new to pruning: 

1. Keep your tools clean and sharp 
2. If you're not sure why your pruning it, then don't! 
3. Keep stepping back and looking and what you've done to see if it looks OK 

For more help and advice, ask one of our gardeners or volunteers next time you visit the garden. They’d be happy to talk you through it! 

The garden will be open during Half Term 11– 23 February, check our website for opening times. Not all our crops are dormant though… some of them, like our rhubarb collection, are beginning to show signs of life. Just like our Victorian predecessors, we put terracotta ‘forcing’ pots over the emerging stems (Rhubarb ‘Timperley Early’ in this case) to force them into early growth by excluding light. New stems are usually ready to harvest about 8 weeks after they’ve been covered in this way, and are much more tender and sweet than stems produced later on. The downside to this method is that it exhausts your plants quite quickly, so it’s never a good idea to force your rhubarb crowns for more than 2 years in a row. They need a bit of a rest afterwards! 

We’re also still busy harvesting our produce. The leeks and cauliflowers are looking amazing right now, and the gardens team can vouch for their flavour too! We’ve also some tasty leafy crops such as chard (pictured), watercress and many salad varieties. This is undoubtedly due to the mild weather we’ve been having so far this Winter, but it also pays to give your leaves a bit of extra protection. A cloche or some horticultural fleece can really pay off when pickings are slim in the garden. Look out for our produce in the Clumber Park shop and on the menu in the restaurant. 

And finally… What do you think this is all about? Come along to our Winter Wassailing event in the garden on 2 March to find out! Well, if they can wassail on ‘The Archers’…