Those November Garden Jobs

The weather was cold but dry, and I managed to get a few hours over the weekend in the garden to tackle a few overdue jobs and a general cleanup. Three out of my five raised beds have been dug over, weeded, and stones removed. I'll leave the other two for another day.

I didn't get a chance last weekend to plant my over-winter garlic and onion sets as the weather was too wet. They are now in the ground. I covered the bed with some netting as the birds and cats dug up a bunch of last year's crop shortly after planting.

Redcurrant and gooseberry bushes got a good pruning. I removed a lot of the oldest stems, cutting them down to ground level. Also removed any diseased or weak branches. Light and air can now get in freely around the remaining stems.

My strawberry runners have been growing in small pots for the last few months. With the roots starting to appear from the bottom of their pots I decided to cut them from the parent plant and transplant into their final position in a raised bed. I don't expect to get any fruit from these new plants next season as it is better to snip off any fruit and let the plant put its energy into getting well established.