HORTICULTURE:

Growing your own vegetables supplements the supermarket purchases for the larder. When we were young, we grew vegetables for normal consumption and supplemented them with provisions from the grocers etc.

The vegetable plot does not have to be early, mid-season and late anymore because you can store the vegetables in the freezer. I dig over a plot for potatoes, one for marrows and one for runner beans. You can grow other vegetables that your soil can sustain. Brassicas are no go here. My potagere contains raspberries and strawberries as well as rhubarb.

The Lawn. In the winter, before spring, the turf needs aerating. One way is to get 2 boards and bang 4" nails through them about 3" apart the length and breadth of the boards, tack down a piece of rope across each board so thet they can accept your feet. Then march up and down your lawn spiking the turf as you go. The other method is to use a garden fork. Stab the turf to at least 3" deep and give the fork a few twists to loosen up the soil. Work in rows in order to keep consistent.