December may seem like the time to hide away at home or even go shopping, but a few hours down the allotment will do you a world of good (all that fresh air and exercise) and ensure you have plenty of homegrown fruit and veg in the spring and summer!
Good plants to grow now are:
Broad beans. Planted now they are ready a month earlier than those sown in spring and they are more resistant to black fly. Good autumn varieties are Aquadulce Claudia and Super Aquadulce.
Garlic. Break the buib into individual cloves and plant individually to a depth of about one inch below the surface.
Onions, Shallots and spring onions. There are quite a few varieties of onions from sets or seed that can go in now.
Fruit plants that can be planted in December include Raspberry canes and Blackberries, Strawberry plants, Rhubarb crowns can be planted in well prepared soil, Gooseberries and Currants now. Blueberry plants can go into acid soil.
Herbs such as Basil, Dill, Chives and Parsley can be sown indoors on your windowsill for winter use.