VEGETABLE PATCH : Before the sign shifts this morning, a fruit day opens a short window — use it to harvest any roots already in the ground for immediate use, pulling parsnips or black radish while the soil is still damp and workable. After the changeover, a root day takes hold for the rest of the day, ideal for sowing under cover: push carrot seeds 1 cm deep, spacing them 2 cm apart in rows 25 cm apart in a cold frame or deep module tray. Turnip follows the same logic — sow 1 cm deep, seeds 3 cm apart, rows 25 cm. If you have a sheltered bed, black salsify is worth trying: sow 2 cm deep, seeds 3 cm apart, rows 30 cm. The Full Moon arriving this afternoon brings peak sap energy, which helps seeds absorb moisture quickly — water modules gently after sowing.
LANDSCAPING : Cold mornings leave the soil just damp enough to work without compacting it. Garlic cloves can go into a well-drained bed now: push each clove 3 cm deep, tip pointing up, 12 cm apart. If you still have tulip or hyacinth bulbs waiting on the shelf, settle them in today — tulips at 15 cm deep, 10 cm apart; hyacinths at 12 cm. A light mulch of straw over the bed will buffer any sharp overnight frosts without smothering the emerging tips.