Christmas dinner is probably the best celebration of long - tended crops for the allotment gardener. Unlike Septembers Grow & Show event, no one sitting around the table on the big day is in pursuit of perfection: family couldnt care less that the parsnips - sown in February - are forked or that the cabbage more closely resembles a colander than a brassica, bearing the evidence of hungry caterpillars. The festive meal is all about flavour, and with mud - caked vegetables dug out of the ground in the morning to be scrubbed and roasted, steamed or boiled by lunch, were unbeatable on that score. I like to leave the harvest until the last possible moment, bringing In bunches of carrots swinging by their feathery tops and the long stem of the Brussels sprouts plant, chopped down so I can slice off each button at the kitchen table. But the big day itself isnt the only chance to teed family and friends with home - grown food at Christinas lime. For пни it lis, Ive been preserving and bottling allotment produce to squirrel away, amassing a sizeable collection comprising elderflower cordial, redcurrant and blackcurrant jellies, sloe gin, gooseberry and strawberry jams, marrow and beetroot chutneys, and rhubarb relish. With an assortment of wicker baskets, picked up in various local charity shops throughout the year, these make some pretty, colourful mini - hampers, and I enjoy filling each one, topped with an envelope of seeds saved from our own patch. My artist husband Richard adds the final flourish by making a different linocut for each fabric jar cover inspired by the crop it contains, and a luggage label tied to the hampers handle.

Grow&cook


Despite all the preparations for Christmas at home, there are plenty of little gardening jobs to do during the winter - if not on the vegetable beds, then in the shed. As a carpenter and joiner by trade, Ivor Packer of plot 18a has created a bespoke build, complete with guttering and water tank, which is the envy of us all. On retiring two years ago, hed managed to salvage enough decking, steel sheeting and old desk tops to construct an entirely recycled shed out of used materials, bar new hinges and the lock And he didnt stop at that: its fully insulated, making it cool in summer and free of chilly draughts during winter.
In the lull between Christmas and New Year, Ivor and Jane, his wife of 44 years, take the opportunity to clean tools, many of which theyve had since they were first married. They carry out the task methodically, beginning with a broad paint scraper that removes the mud left over from digging in the autumn, then brushing off the remaining dirt with a stiff - bristled broom head. "Some old towelling rags dabbed with engine oil are just the ticket," he says, as Jane buffs the tines of a fork until they gleam and he tidies away the bamboo canes, tying them with string in a neat bundle. Ivor finishes the job by hanging the tools up on their allotted pegs, clearly with a sense of satisfaction. The sheds not just a place for activity, though. "I can relax here, once the manures been spread on the soil ready to be rained in," he tells me. "Thats the time to enjoy looking out over the site, catching up with the neighbouring tenants and having the odd gardening debate."
Across the way, Liz is resting her green fingers after я digging session during which she prepared and covered the soil for overwintering, in the company of her Border collie, Shifty, whos taken to sitting in the wheelbarrow. On 25 December, many of us will be scurrying onto the plots exchanging seasons greetings and harvesting winter roots and other vegetables lor the Christmas table. No doubt well all also be excusing ourselves from our noisy festive households over the following days for a few minutes in the relative tranquillity of the allotments - the perfect opportunity to plot the growing year ahead.
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