Phew!

After all the busyness of Christmas and New Year I relish this quiet, dark month and time to slow down, take stock and plan for the coming gardening year.

Hours can be spent, without guilt, studying plant catalogues and deciding on new additions to the borders and, when the weather allows, it’s a good time for tidying up before spring growth makes for more urgent activities. Cleaning used garden pots is just one of such chores.

Advice is to thoroughly remove all traces of soil and scrub off salt deposits before soaking the pots for 10 minutes in a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water. This will ensure that any organisms that may be lingering on the surface are killed off and prevent the transfer of diseases from last season onto new plants.

As my own preference is to retain the patina of age the only pots I clean so thoroughly are those of the plastic variety.