For the first radio show of the year on CRKC we invited in Eva and Eois from Gaelic Escargot, Ireland’s first Snail Farmers!

We had a great chat about these tasty little creatures – traditionally the enemy of the gardener. I have to admit, it did feel a little bit like payback to be munching on the delicious snails that the lads had prepared for us. It made a nice change to seeing the damage they do as the munch on my brassicas!

After our snail chats we had a little time to talk about jobs to do this week. Here’s what I’ll be doing this weekend:

• Check on stored fruit and veg. Remove any that blemished or rotten items before they cause others to rot too.
• Check on stored Dahlia tubers to make sure they have not dried out.
• As the soil is so dry, it’s possible to wheel a barrow full of compost on it without causing compression or damage to the soil structure. Cover bare areas of soil with compost or mulch to suppress weeds and feed the soil.
• Finish pruning fruit trees but not Plum, Cherry or Apricot. Leave these until late spring to prevent fungal infections.
• Prune Wisteria back to 2 or 3 buds on each side shoot.
• Prune roses and plant bare-root new plants.
• Cover Rhubarb Crowns with well rotted compost or farmyard manure.
• Heft bee hives to se if they need feeding. A hive should have at least 11kg of stores now to survive the rest of Winter.