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FREE Seed Compost with your order* 

Get your garden ready for spring with Dalefoot’s peat-free composts

Order five bags or more from our peat-free range and receive FREE Wool Compost for Seeds—the perfect way to start sowing your first seeds like tomatoes and chillies, or preparing your flower borders and veggie beds for the season ahead.

Why choose Dalefoot Composts?

• Sustainably Made in the Lake District using renewable, natural ingredients - sheep’s wool, bracken, and comfrey.
• Organic Approved - certified by the Soil Association for organic growing.
• Nutrient-Rich - no need for additional feed as our composts nourish your plants all season long.
• Water-Saving - the wool content in our Wool Compost range naturally retains water, meaning less watering for you!
• Delivered direct to your door
• Save up to £60 with our FREE Wool Compost for Seeds offer. This special offer applies to all orders 5+ bags inc 800L Bulk Bag except 1400L Bulk Bag.

Simply quote ‘SEED’ when ordering online. Full terms and conditions apply—[click here to learn more]. Offer ends Monday 27 January.

Ts & Cs

Offer 5 + 1: This offer entitles each customer to 1 x 12L bags of Wool Compost for Seeds worth £7.99 per bag when placing an order of 5 bags online at www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk or via our sales office on 01931 713281. Put the word SEED in the special instructions box.

Offer 13 + 3: This offer entitles each customer to 3 x 12L bags of Wool Compost for Seeds worth £7.50 per bag when placing an order of 13 bags online at www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk or via our sales office on 01931 713281. Put the word SEED in the special instructions box.

Offer 20 + 4: This offer entitles each customer to 4 x 12L bags of Wool Compost for Seeds worth £7.00 per bag when placing an order of 20 bags online at www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk or via our sales office on 01931 713281. Put the word SEED in the special instruction box.

Offer 35 + 6: This offer entitles each customer to 6 x 12L bags of Wool Compost for Seeds worth £6.50 per bag when placing an order of 35 bags online at www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk or via our sales office on 01931 713281. Put the word SEED in the special instructions box.

Offer 60 + 10: This offer entitles each customer to 10 x 12L bags of Wool Compost for Seeds worth £6.00 per bag when placing an order of 60 bags online at www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk or via our sales office on 01931 713281. Put the word SEED in the ‘special instructions’ box.

Offer 800L Bulk Bag: This offer entitles each customer to 4x 12L bags of Wool Compost for Seeds worth £7.00 per bag when placing an order of an 800L Dumpy Bag online at www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk or via our sales office on 01931 713281. Put the word SEED in the ‘special instructions’ box. This offer is unavailable on the 1400L bulk bag

This offer is available between 12:00 Thursday 17th January 2025 and 12.00 Monday 27th January 2025. Our standard delivery fee is £15 for 3-11 bags and £25 for 12+ bag orders. There is no additional fee for the free bags of compost. Some postcodes are not covered by our standard delivery charge and may be subject to surcharge. The free bags will be sent to the recipient on the same consignment as their order by Dalefoot Composts. Entrants must state they wish to claim the bags either online in the ‘Special Instructions’ or to our customer service assistants before their order is placed. If unstated, we will not ship the free bags separately. This offer cannot be exchanged for cash. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount. Open to all UK residents aged 18 and over, excluding Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands and islands, relatives, partners and employees of Dalefoot Composts. The promoter is Dalefoot Composts. By participating in this offer, customers confirm they have read, understood and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. For more information please contact us via our website at www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk or call us on 01931 713281.

A New Year, and at long last the days are slowly beginning to uncurl, as daylight begins to push back the darkness. Snow drops mark the occasion as they shyly emerge from the frozen undergrowth to reveal their simple beauty. However, with Jack Frost knocking on doors and rattling on windows, there’s no doubt, we’re still in the throes of winter. Although, there may be offerings of the occasional sunny crisp day, this isn’t the time to be outside tilling beds and sowing seeds. A sudden drop of temperature and a bruising sky, will have Jack’s icy grip quickly tightening around your beds and borders, undoing all your hard work. So, don’t play into his hands. Instead, take this time as a period of planning and preparing for this year’s growing season. Write your lists, draw up plans and mark the latest seed catalogues with your ‘must-haves’ and reliable homegrown favourites.

But for those, like me, who simply can’t keep out of the garden, here are a few jobs you can be doing this month to keep bodies warm and green spaces up together.

CHRISTMAS TREE

If you still have it, your Christmas tree will have seen better days, but there is still so much it has to offer. By shredding it as chippings, these can be used as an ericaceous mulch for acid-loving plants, such as blueberries, rhododendrons and azaleas. If you have an allotment, chippings can help create paths between vegetable beds. The branches also make useful plant supports for peas and broad beans.

BEDS & BORDERS

Remove all weeds and fallen debris, and cut away last season’s dead perennial foliage. Ensure you do not cut into new growth as not only will you lose vital young shoots, but you could potentially kill the plant. Once tidied up and cleared away, mulch borders, ideally to the depth of six inches, with Dalefoot Composts ‘Lakeland Gold’. This will not only suppress weeds; it will help protect plants root balls and slowly release vital nutrients into the soil. Be careful not to cover over emerging perennials, shrubs or protruding bulb shoots as this will prevent the sunlight and warmth reaching them, and could encourage rot. By doing this now, not only are you smartening up your growing area, but the mulch will eventually breakdown into the soil, improving its structure.

PLANTS

Prolong winter annual flowers by deadheading regularly. Remove yellowing foliage and keep their pots, containers or hanging baskets, looking healthy with a generous supply of Dalefoot Composts ‘Wool Compost for Potting’.

Ornamental deciduous grasses can be cutdown to a few inches above the ground, allowing new growth to come through. Evergreen varieties shouldn’t be cut until late spring, but you can give them a tidy. Using gardening gloves, simply run your hands through the plants like a comb, scooping up the old debris in the process.

Hellebores will now be making their annual appearance in gardens. To ensure no one misses their drooping blooms, cut away foliage. Not only does this reveal the flower, but old foliage can suffer from unattractive black blotches known as hellebore leaf spot.

INDOOR SOWING

A heat supply in your greenhouse will give you the advantage of making early sowings, for plants such as sweet pea and aquilegia. If you’ve been growing sweat pea since last autumn, then pinch out the tips, this will encourage side-shoots, and result in a bushier plant.

Chillies need a long growing season, so it’s good to get them going over the next few weeks. Using Dalefoot Composts ‘Wool Compost for Seeds’, fill small pots, modules or trays, then tamp down and sow across the soil’s surface. Cover them over lightly, label and sit them in a tray of water. This allows the water to soak from the bottom up, which leaves the seeds undisturbed. Finally, place them somewhere warm to germinate, such as a war propagator matt, a heated greenhouse or a warm windowsill. Sweet peppers and aubergines can also be sown as they too require a long growing season.

Onion sets are a great option to easy onion growing, however, there are more varieties to choose from if you sow from seed. Remember, your sown seeds will require somewhere warm to germinate, such as a heated greenhouse. Once germinated, they will need added sunlight to grow on.

Microgreens, such as mustard and watercress, are a quick-growing crop. Simply sow into a seed tray or pot, fill with damp compost and place somewhere warm. Once they germinate, place your tray on a warm, sunny kitchen windowsill to grow on. There, they can be easily harvested to be used in various tasty meals.

POTATOES

Whether you have ordered them online or bought from your local garden nursery, start chitting your seed potatoes as soon as you have them. Simply stand tubers in empty egg boxes with their eyes facing upwards, then place in a sunny, warm position. Once shoots emerge, keep numbers to three or four, as this avoids energy being lost on weaker shoots. Six weeks on, and tubers should be ready for planting out.

MAINTENANCE

Continue to harvest brassicas, leeks, parsnips and carrots. Once vegetable beds are empty, remove weeds, and add a thick layer of either Dalefoot Composts ‘Wool Compost Double Strength’ or ‘Wool Compost for Vegetables and Salads’. By doing this now, it will give the compost ample time to work into the soil and release valuable nutrients, making beds ready-to-go in spring.

Any fruit or veg currently in storage should be checked regularly to make sure they haven’t spoilt. Turn them over, and remove any decaying or damaged produce. Ensure fruit isn’t touching one another, as the unrestricted air supply will keep them from rotting. If storage space is an issue, wrap your apples and pears in paper and place them together in a box, storing it somewhere cool and dry.

If you can, keep off the grass. The freezing weather combined with your weight can cause permanent damage to your prized lawn.

Frozen water can expand, forcing taps and pipes to burst. Therefore, protect external taps and pipes from frost. If you can, turn off the external water supply altogether.

With the prospect of snow, it’s important to brush fallen snow from greenhouses, cloches, fruit cages and cold frames. The extra weight can break the glass, plus the plants inside need all the warmth and light they can get. Remove snow from delicate evergreens and tree branches to prevent damage.

WILDLIFE

Keep bird-feeding stations topped up and prevent their water supply from freezing. If you have a fish pond and it does freeze, avoid smashing the ice as this can shock and kill the fish. Instead, try to melt the ice gently with warm water. Don’t worry about harming the fish as they tend to remain at the bottom of the pond during the winter.

Gardening is a rewarding, therapeutic and creative pastime. But you don’t always have to be in your green space to get those gardening ideas flowing. So, make a cup of tea, retreat to a cosy nook and let your mind wonder.

Ade

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BIOG

I’m Ade Sellars the ‘Good Life Gardener’, and I’m am award-winning garden writer, gardener, presenter, and content producer, with a passion for growing my own food in my kitchen garden. As well as running my own gardening business, I design kitchen gardens, write for magazines, produce tailored video content for gardening brands, flower shows and outdoor events and I regularly deliver talks and demonstrations around the country.

Website: www.adesellars.com
Instagram: adesellars
YouTube: @TheGoodLifeGardener
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ade-sellars-the-good-life-gardener-7429ba42/

The storm of climate change has been steadily gathering over the past few decades, threatening to bring havoc upon our planet. In 2016 at the Paris Climate Agreement, countries pledged to do what they can to keep climate change below 2 degrees and preferably below 1.5. Now, less than a decade later, global average temperatures have risen by 1.3%, and nothing seems to be getting done by our policymakers to change this. The frustration and anxiety can be overwhelming at times. We can do a lot to help tackle climate change and look after our mental well-being during this time to ensure that we don’t shut down and become stoic. And, like so many things, it starts with a seed.

Resilient Gardens

Resilient gardening means building spaces that can withstand heat and dehydration in summer, and cold and wet weather in winter. Instead of cultivating spaces filled with finicky plants, prone to dying if conditions veer off the norm for more than a few days we need to start choosing hardy plants that are adaptable and strong. We can also build features into our gardens to help them cope. This can include drainage systems and rainwater harvesting systems, using permeable materials and building healthy soil.

Storing and saving our own seeds can also help to build climate resilience. By saving seeds, we can adapt the plants that we grow in our gardens and on our allotments to our local conditions. As these conditions gradually change, so too will the plants’ ability to cope with them.

Cultivating a garden that contains sturdy, resilient plants, produces and uses its own seeds, has healthy soil and harvests and uses its own rainwater builds resilience in other ways too by reducing our impact on the planet.

Resilient plants

Most of us don’t know a lot about the origins of our plants before we get them from a garden centre or online. Whilst having plants in our garden is undeniably better than not having any plants, some plants have a more positive impact than others. Plants that are sourced from elsewhere in the EU are still being grown in peat, which has a devastating effect on this precious natural resource and the climate. Some are also grown with systemic pesticides. These are soluble pesticides taken up by the plant roots, making the plant toxic to small creatures such as bees, butterflies and beetles. Then, of course, our plants also have a carbon footprint despite doing their best to counter it with photosynthesis. Plants shipped from abroad, packaged in plastic, and grown in heated, lit greenhouses using chemical fertilisers and pesticides will never be the best climate-friendly solution. The best thing to do is source your plants locally from places you trust. I highly recommend friends’ gardens for this. If you are able to join a local gardening club, you will instantly have a number of friends willing to share divided plants, cuttings, seeds and seedlings with you. This is by far the best way of sourcing plants. Better still, these plants will be suited to your environment. If you have to buy plants, do your research and ask questions. The simple act of being mindful about your purchases can help to quell anxiety about at least your own part in the climate crisis.

Building soil health

Soil health is one of the most important things in the garden. Not only does healthy soil support healthy plants (which means less need to source replacements), but it also helps your plants cope with extreme weather events and sequester carbon. Healthy soil will have a naturally built structure. This structure is perfectly designed to improve infiltration and store more water. This helps to reduce flooding in our wetter winters and improve water availability in the soil during hot, dry summers. The increased permeability of healthy soils means that we don’t lose as much water through run-off, we shouldn’t get so much standing water, and water will be available at root level most of the time.

Building soil health in your garden or on your allotment is also a really positive thing to do to help fight climate change. Soils are capable of storing an immense amount of carbon, so you can build your very own carbon sink simply by adding as much organic matter to your garden as possible through composting and growing.

Using Dalefoot’s mulches is a great way to naturally improve soil health. If you have sandy soil, Double Strength will add nutrients and improve water retention. If you have clay soils, Lakeland Gold will improve your soil structure, improving permeability and building organic matter content.

Using rainwater

This time of year, it’s difficult to remember a time when it wasn’t wet outside and underfoot. But in the heat of summer, rainwater reserves can become a lifeline. During drought conditions, extreme pressure is put on our natural waterways: streams, rivers and lakes, endangering the wildlife that depends on them. Reservoirs become dangerously low, sometimes even emptying. By collecting and using rainwater, we can all play our part in not adding to their stress. The more rainwater we can collect, store and use, the less impact our garden will have on the environment around it.

Looking after your mental health

We have long known about the effects of gardening on mental health. Unfortunately, in a changing climate, even gardening becomes more of a challenge, and we need to build resilient gardens that look after themselves and us. Spending time outside is known to calm us physically and mentally, and the effect is enhanced when the environment we are surrounded with is full of plants. Taking regular trips to forests, moors, and other natural environments can also help us to feel more connected to the world and relieve anxiety.

Doing something positive in the environment around us can help us regain a sense of control and calm. If you aren’t able to create a resilient garden, spending time outdoors and supporting green initiatives is a great way to stay positive and look after yourself and the planet.

When you have to make purchases, try to support ethical, sustainable companies like Dalefoot Composts. This will help you stay positive and connect with people who are making a difference in the fight against climate change.

Becky

About Me:

Becky Searle is a garden writer, kitchen gardener and soil expert. Her new book Grow a New Garden will be released in April 2025 and looks at how to start in a new garden or start over in an existing garden. It covers how to deal with poor soil and how to plan the space, along with easy-to-follow garden design tips. Available for pre-order now.

If you want to follow Becky's journey, follow @Sow_Much_More on Instagram or Sow Much More on Facebook.

Caption: Stephanie Hafferty

Caption: Simmer Potpurri

Caption: Christmas Pudding Liqueur

In this month's blog, Steph prepares for the dark nights ahead. She shares recipes to that will keep the spirits up and how she uses mulches on her no dig beds to renew the soil for next season.

Winter is a time for enjoying the plot as much of nature slumbers. With fewer plants growing, and most trees leafless, it is easier to see the structure of the garden than during the leafy abundance of the summer.

My small homestead here in Wales is surrounded by trees, so the beds, borders and grassy areas are covered with them. This winter, I have new plans for the orchard beds and so am leaving the leaves in situ to protect the soil whilst I carry out work on the fruit trees and create new paths and beds.

The back garden beds are full of over wintering brassicas, leeks and parsnips, and autumn planted garlic and broadbeans. There are green manures here too, including field beans and caliente mustard, which help to protect and feed the soil during the winter months.

I don’t want a deep layer of fallen leaves here, because they can create a habitat for slugs and other veg munchers, which could be problematical for young plantings in the spring. Instead, I mulch the veg beds with compost: homemade, well rotted manure or bagged composts such as Dalefoot “green bag” Wool Compost for Veg and Salads, or “yellow bag” Lakeland Gold. I also mix “orange bag” Dalefoot Double Strength Compost with this year’s old spent compost, to make a nutritious mulch.

There is a lot of discussion about whether we should rake up leaves or leave them to decompose naturally on the ground. If there are just a few then it is fine to leave them, but a deeper layer can take a long time to rot down, which isn’t ideal for most annual veg growing. Also, wet leaves on grass are slippery, so I rake those up to avoid accidents, using a lawn rake. This lightly skims the surface, gently gathering the leaves without harming the grass and other plants underneath. Some go into a frame made from some old stick fencing to rot down to become leaf mould (this takes two years) and the rest goes into the wild areas and perennial beds as a mulch. It will gradually rot down, feeding the soil and providing habitat for a multitude of creatures to live and forage in.

Days are short so there’s more time spent indoors, preserving the harvest and laying down stores for the winter. At this time of year I am thinking about making goodies for Christmastime, and so am sharing some of my favourite festive recipes for a delicious seasonal tipple, a versatile salt filled with festive spices and a fragrant simmering potpourri to make your home smell gorgeous.

They’re all easy to make using store cupboard ingredients and home-harvested herbs and edible flowers. They look beautiful in the larder or on kitchen shelves, and make lovely festive gifts too.

Christmas Pudding Liqueur

This delicious seasonal tipple isn’t made from Christmas pud, but rather tastes reminiscent of the rich, spiced fruity dessert often served around the festive time.

It is delicious as an aperitif and a cocktail ingredient, make into a hot toddy, and also as an addition to festive baking.

Use a reasonable quality alcohol as the base - most supermarket ones are great, but avoid really cheap booze.

You’ll need:

A large jar for infusing (at least 1.5 litres)
Sieve and muslin for straining
Clean bottles for storing
Funnel for pouring liqueur into the bottles
Labels

Ingredients

• 1 litre vodka or gin (brandy or white rum)
• 300g mixed dried fruit
• 50g chopped mixed peel
• 50g dried apples, chopped
• 100g sugar (muscovado gives more depth of flavour, white is fine)
• Zest of an orange (preferably unwaxed)
• Zest of a lemon (preferably unwaxed)
• 6 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 vanilla bean, split open
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Method

Place all of the ingredients in the large jar, pour over the alcohol and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Replace the lid and leave somewhere out of direct sunlight for a week to infuse. A kitchen countertop is ideal. Shake the jar every day.

Strain through a sieve lined with a double layer of muslin. Leave it to drip so that all the infused alcohol comes through.

Pour into the bottles, replace the lids and label. The liqueur is ready to drink right away, and will keep for around two years.

You can use the boozy fruit mix to add to a fruit cake or other baked festive delights. It is lovely added to apple crumble.

Tip: if you can’t get unwaxed fruit, scrub in warm water and rinse before zesting.

Seasonal simmer potpourri

Simmer potpourris are a lovely way to gently and naturally fragrance the home. Place on top of the cooker hob or on a woodburner to release the gorgeous scent of seasonal fruit, spices and herbs.

This recipe uses dried ingredients, so it can be made in advance and used as you wish. It also makes a lovely festive gift, and can be used as a dry potpourri in a dish.

This recipe is very tweak-able. Leave things out, or add things in, depending on your preference and what you have in the larder. For example, swap the cranberries for dried rosehips, or the rosemary for sprigs of scented pine.

Replace the dried fruit and herbs with fresh, if you’re making it to use right away.

This makes enough for approximately four simmer pots, depending on the size of pot used. I use a cast iron pot about the size of a milk pan.

Ingredients

• 200g dried cranberries
• 15-20 slices of dried orange
• 10-15 slices of dried apple
• 8 dried star anise
• 2 tbsp whole cloves
• 8 springs dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp all spice berries
• 4 sticks cinnamon

Method

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, then either pour into a large lidded jar or divide equally between four jars or bags.

To use

Place the ingredients in a sturdy pan and fill 2/3 full with water. Put on a low heat and simmer for 2-3 hours, or longer. Keep checking the water levels to make sure the simmer pot doesn’t dry out.

All of the ingredients can be composted after use.

Safety First! Treat the simmer pot like any other pan of hot water and do not leave unattended.

Christmas spiced salt

This is absolutely delicious sprinkled over roasted vegetables and all kinds of savoury dishes (vegetable or meat) to add a spiced festive flavour. It’s also good in sweet dishes that benefit from some added salt, such as homemade chocolate truffles.

Ingredients

• 250g sea salt flakes
• 2 tbsp dried orange zest
• 2 tbsp dried lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp finely chopped dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Method

Mix all of the ingredients together and pour into a jar. Label and use when cooking over the festive season.

Fancy extras

Add finely chopped edible flowers such as rose, calendula or blue cornflower petals to the mix for extra colour.

Dried citrus zest is easy to make.

Either zest the fruit and spread over a sheet of baking parchment on a tray and leave in a warm, dry, airy place for a few days (such as an airing cupboard) or use a dehydrator, following the settings for your machine. Many air fryers have a dehydrator setting which is ideal for this. You can also dry it in a low oven.

When completely dry, store in clean, dry jars until needed.

Steph

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Stephanie Hafferty is an award winning garden and food writer and has been shortlisted for the Garden Media Guild 2024 Awards for 'Practical journalist of the year'. 

Stephanie is a homesteader with decades of experience, edible garden designer and teaches how to grow your own - plus what to do with those harvests! She is currently creating a sustainable homestead on a tight budget, on half an acre in West Wales, from where she runs gardening courses.

Follow her journey on her blog, Instagram and You Tube

Website and blog : www.NoDigHome.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniehafferty/

You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/StephanieHaffertyNoDigHomesteading