Observation

It has been said that you shouldn't plant/build anything in your garden/plot before you have observed it for a year. Not before you've observed the way the sun travels throughout the year, where it rises and sets; where trees and buildings cast shadows, the direction of the prevailing wind, where the frost pockets are, where snow lies the longest, where the rainwater puddles or drains.............and so on.

I'm sure there are few of us who would have the patience to wait a year before doing anything but, at this time of year, when the sun is at its lowest in the sky and there's overnight frost and plenty of rainwater, its worth taking some time to evaluate your plot. 

After many years of living here, I thought I knew my garden but I was wrong.  There is a low point, in the south east corner, where the frost lingers all day. The frost is on the grass but its also on the beetroot and leeks which are the last of the overwintering crops in situ. When I planted them there it was a bright sunny spot, where I also grew beans and peas, but they, of course, are long gone and unaffected by the frost.

The higher, north-east corner is the opposite - its shaded by a couple of ash trees in summer, but, at this time of year, they've lost their leaves and cast no shade. Its quite open and sunny in January.

Solution!! This year, I'll plant the overwintering crops in the north east corner and the courgettes and summer stuff in the south east.