Happy Winter Solstice, Christmas or Winter Festival!

[Galina]

I hope that everybody is enjoying a good time celebrating with tasty nosh (homegrown most of it probably) and with great company! May Santa (or the Present Elf) be very generous, especially with the gardening gifts and rare seed packets..

And may 2016 be a fabulous year for you and yours with peace, happiness, health, friendship, love and of course with just the right weather for the garden and allotment that you wish for.

Season's Greetings!

Galina

[Galina]

Happy New Year!

May 2016 be good to you and your families. Hope the plot won't disappoint either. All the best!

Galina

[triffid]

Happy Winter Solstice/Yule 2018!

From the Almanac 2018, a job for December:
'Make a bean trench in which to plant next year's beans. The trench should be about a foot deep and wide. Line it with newspaper and fill it with kitchen waste as you have it, topping up with soil each time.
This will provide a rich root run for this greedy and thirsty plants.' Lia Leendertz.

[clumsy]

Happy Solstice or Christmas.

[jayb]

I love it when the Winter Solstice arrives! In the midst of all this gloom and wet, its marking gives me hope of bit by bit longer days and in the distance warmer weather! Roll on the snowdrops

Happy Solstice, Holiday, Christmas or Seasons greeting to the New Year all

x

[Galina]

Yes the longest night is over and whilst it does not yet feel like the beginning of spring, there is no denying that the days are going to be longer. And even when it is cold out, a crisp sunny winter day is enjoyable too and lifts the spirits. We are through the darkest and from now on it is getting lighter. Best wishes to all for this time of celebration. And may we all enjoy a good gardening year in 2019 too.

[Galina]

It is nice to have some fresh veg in the winter too. This was our Christmas starter salad plate and we had prawns with it. I was pleased what I could still find in the garden and the black tomatoes were the last picked green and ripened indoors, but black tomatoes keep their flavour better than red ones. And they also keep for a while in good condition.

[triffid]

Looks lovely, what a luxury I'll remember the tip about black tomatoes for keeping quality.

[clumsy]

That actually looks good for fresh veg straight from the garden. Very impressive.

[Galina]

It is that time of year again. May you all have a blessed time, with peace, fun, good company and a little bit of what makes life really special. May your worries diminish and happiness reign over this festive season. And let us hope for a really good 2020 full of new seeds and gardening successes. We always toast absent friends and family at midday on the 25th and I would like to send a virtual 'cheers' to you also.

[clumsy]

Virtual cheers to you Galina. Merry Christmas to all.

[Jang]

And Christmas cheers to you and to all contributors.
Having spent several happy, rather sleepless nocturnal hours in the last two or three days/nights catching up on many very interesting and informative threads going back a few years, this forum has become quite a part of my Christmas cheer! I feel far more briefed on Achocha, Daubenton's kale and others, and looking forward very much to experimenting this coming season. So many thanks especially to Galina, Clumsy and Jayb for all the free generous sharing of expertise and experiences.
Have a great 2020 with a wonderful growing season ahead.

[triffid]

Season's Greetings all! Christmas day has now passed but we're only on the Second day of the Twelve days of Christmas. It good to remember as the 25th is so hyped up it is sometimes barely enjoyable for those who have to cook and entertain on the day. We had a quiet day home this year and it was nice to not watch mum or other family nearly kill themselves to get everything 'perfect'. I've been sick as a dog also, which is almost becoming a tradition at this point, but I plan on spending the rest of the 'days of Christmas' tending to the new allotment. Cheers to all.

[jayb]

Late as ever, but Festive greetings to all.
What lovely wishes, comments, ideas, thoughts, and cheer you have all shared.