THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN: It's Cold Outside - How To Winterproof Your Vegetable Garden.

This morning , just before dawn, I stood happily in my garden with a vast mug of hot coffee, as my breath rose before me, watching the sun rise timidly up over the Wicklow mountains. And while most of us would do just about anything to stay in bed during those precious twilight hours, I'm generally up with a rake in my hand,  because everything is needing trimming, cleaning and fixing before the onset of every gardener's dream - spring. 

February may be a short month, but there are still a lot of things around your garden to do - and this is the perfect moment to work in hard ground. Now, it may sound odd, but gardens actually  are much healthier if they can have a few months of bitterly cold weather. Frosty ground makes life much easier because the soil is as dry, hard and mud-locked as paving, allowing you to transport wheelbarrows full of muck or weeds across it  - and cold weather can kill off many garden pests far more efficiently than most weedkillers.

make a start by clearing plants, conifers and hedges of snow before their branches buckle and snap under the weight. Leafless fruit trees, bloomless rose bushes and barren garden patches may appear as dead as a pile of old sticks, but beneath their dingy-gray surfaces life forces continue flowing. And a little tender loving care  it all that's needed to ensure a bountiful harvest later in the year - and nothing tastes as good as carrots, tomatoes or radishes - straight from the ground.

Trees and shrubs, especially if they have been replanted recently or are of the herbaceous, woody variety, may need to be mulched, staked and covered during the cold months. In the fruit garden keep pruning the apples and pears. Generally, all new growth back by 1/3 and remove dead and diseased wood. You aim for a nice open center to allow air and light into the plant. Don't prune for the sake of pruning stand back and observe your next cut if in any doubt.

With raspberries cut any any dead or old wood allowing last years new growth to stay only. Top dress all raspberries and apples, pears and currants with potash or wood ash. This assists with flowering and later fruiting.Currants and gooseberries generally remove old dead wood and remove all cuttings to avoid disease.Keep all seedlings and any young or vulnerable potted plants under a fleece cover as the frost will do damage.Dig your Vegetable garden a little at a time and leave it rough for the frost to breakdown.

Nothing beats these winter mornings when the sky is icy blue, leaves and buds sparkle with frost and  the lawn is thick in silver, crisp underfoot. And while it may be cold,  I cant think of a better time to help your fruit and vegetables survive the colder months - once Spring comes around you'll be glad you put the hard work in today.

Gardener's Notebook

1. Prune your Apples and pears.
2.Prune your Raspberries
3.Dress your fruit trees around the base with Potash or wood ash.
4. Remove all your cutting to avoid disease.
5.Cover your seedlings with a fleece cover.
6.Keep digging your fruit and vegetable garden and allow the frost to breakdown the earth.