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" There&amp;#039;s a definite sense of getting ready for winter at Walnuts Farm this month. Nick is busy preparing firewood to heat the house, and barrow-loads of seasoned firewood that has been chopped on the sawhorse is wheeled up to the porch and stacked bark-side up to protect the logs from the rain. &amp;quot;We have lots of bonfires at this time of year as we do our hedge cutting and maintenance in the winter, and save any of the dry bits to use as kindling,&amp;quot; he says. Planted in blocks, the brassica bed in the kitchen garden looks beautiful in November. The red and green cabbages lend a sculptural quality, while the red stalks of the ruby chards stand out against the November sky. &amp;quot;We leave them there as long as possible to add colour and cheer to an increasingly grey outlook,&amp;quot; Bella says. &amp;quot;And we still have plenty of flat-leaf parsley and celeriac, plus quite a few winter salads.&amp;quot; The first young, small Brussels sprouts, a variety called &amp;#039;Igor&amp;#039;, are ready to be picked, too \u2013 a sign that Christmas is not too far away. The handful of pumpkins grown direct on the compost heap provide a sense of excitement when they&amp;#039;re discovered hidden under the huge leaves. &amp;quot;We only ever harvest three or four and carve one for Halloween,&amp;quot; Bella says. &amp;quot;We dry the seed and sow into individual pots in April or May before planting onto the compost heap where they can sprawl wherever they want.&amp;quot; New fruit is planted out this month and it&amp;#039;s the ideal time to move fruit trees that haven&amp;#039;t done well, such as the quince. The couple are also in the process of moving all the soft fruit from the old cage in the kitchen garden to a more agricultural field system, as well as tying in the next layer of espalier pear and apple branches. Sowing broad beans and garlic is also on the to-do list. &amp;quot;Garlic is the first crop to go into the root bed in our four-bed crop rotation,&amp;quot; Nick says. &amp;quot;It needs a spell of cold to help the cloves divide and a long growing season to mature but good things are worth waiting for.&amp;quot; November crops at Walnuts Farm Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, parsnips, red cabbage, scorzonera, swedes, turnips and &amp;#039;Winter Density&amp;#039; lettuce. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.countryliving.co.uk/wildlife/farming/a364/november-at-walnuts-farm/>