Monday 30th October I had lots of brassica plants that had hardened off at home so I sorted out the tub of lime and bulb planter. There were too many for the space so it took a bit of planning. Hopefully I have planted those which stay in the ground longest and given them enough space. If not they will not heart up and I will have lots of spring greens. I still had ten plants left when I had finished so I will have to plant them in the other tunnel, something I had hoped to avoid. A quick check in the shed confirmed that the rats had not returned, though the traps I had set outside had not caught anything and the bait looked untouched.
Sunday 29th October I wanted to finish clearing the shed today but I had brought down a trailer full of garden waste for the compost bin. There was some rubbish from home but my main aim in bringing the trailer was to remove the rubbish from the shed down to the tip. Once again there was a huge amount of grass bits from my neighbour's scarifying activities which had to join the pile on one of the vacant beds while I consider what to do with it. The compost bins are too full. I then turned to clearing the rest of the shed. I regretted not wearing my boiler suit and mask but put my gloves on and set about bagging up what was not worth keeping and sorting out what was. Eventually I had several bags filled and the floor clear but needing sweeping. As that would create lots of dust I decided the mask was essential so decided to go home for lunch via the tip hoping the tip would be quiet over the lunchtime. It was not! Having lunched I returned and donned the mask and started sweeping the floor. This entailed moving the stack of greenhouse glass I found at the end of the shed, giving me the opportunity to sort it by size ready to donate to the Trading Hut stock for sale. Quite a bit of the contents of the shed had to be left out in the open as there was nowhere else to store it!
Finally I shut the door and left it to cook. Friday 27th October I didn't make to visit the plot this week as I normally do. On Thursday a box arrived with my 'Griselle' shallots which I ordered as a replacement for the 'Eschallotte Grise' so I came down to plant them. I had to dig a strip next to the boards so when I dig over the rest of the patch it won't disturb the plants. Although Sutton offered 20 shallots my pack contained almost half as many again. However I can only for 20 in a row so my son gets a few. These shallots were quite a size and with long tops so I couldn't bury them completely (as I normally do) so I packed the soil round them using the back of the rake - in an effort to prevent the birds pulling them out thinking they are worms! Needing a mask to continue, I washed my hands and went to pick some greens. I picked the sprouting shoots from a previously cut cabbage - enough fora meal. I also pulled a 'January King' cabbage, roots and all, to hang in the garage at home to use sometime in the next few weeks. I wanted to clear the broccoli plants in the middle to clear a space for the spring brassica plants waiting at home but when I pulled the first one I realised there were a few small broccoli heads formed. Picking them off I finished up with a trug full of shoots by the time I had pulled up all four plants. Finally I dug out a parsnip only to find it had branched into a hand of small roots which were just about useful! As I left I noticed my beans were still maturing and not yet ready to collect for next year's seed. I then pulled the last of the beetroot and while doing that saw that one of my slug traps had lost its lid so went to the shed to get a plastic bottle to cut to shape. As I opened the door there was the noise of rats scuttling out at the back. They were back in residence again after spending the summer elsewhere! I had previously cleared part of the rubbish out of the shed but immediately started clearing the rest, a disgusting, dirty and smelly task. I managed to clear almost all the floor space, clearing shovel-fulls of rats droppings and bagging up rubbish for the tip. I shall bring the trailer down to take the bags there; they are not going in the car! Needing a mask to continue, I washed my hands and went to pick some greens. I picked the sprouting shoots from a previously cut cabbage - enough fora meal. I also pulled a 'January King' cabbage, roots and all, to hang in the garage at home to use sometime in the next few weeks. I wanted to clear the broccoli plants in the middle to clear a space for the spring brassica plants waiting at home but when I pulled the first one I realised there were a few small broccoli heads formed. Picking them off I finished up with a trug full of shoots by the time I had pulled up all four plants. Finally I dug out a parsnip only to find it had branched into a hand of small roots which were just about useful! As I left I noticed my beans were still maturing but not yet ready to collect for next year's seed.
Sunday 22nd October
An on-site committee meeting to discuss the replacement of the cafe building meant there was little time on the plot. First I had to repair the videotape array across my green manure patch after the gales. However, it seems to be doing its job as there's no sign of birds feeding. Then I thinned out the rest of the row of spinach beet, taking home the thinnings for dinner. I finished by clearing the rest of the weeds on the old squash patch. The horse litter mulch had kept the weeds to a minimum but the dandelions and dock seemed to have managed to get a foot (or root) hold. I had to fork up the roots to get them out. After I had scraped all the waste into a heap I managed to pile it onto the compost bin and cover it with a layer of my neighbour's grass cuttings, followed by a sprinkling of compost activator. My path was then such a mess before going home I had to scrape it clean with the shovel and then sweep it! Then home early in time to go and listen to my wife playing her cornet in her band concert. Friday 20th October
On arrival on the plot the first thing I noted was that there was still no sign of the Ryegrass in the green manure. There was a smattering of vetch seedlings but it took quite a while to find the odd grass shoot. Needless to say there was a developing carpet of weed seedlings. I needed to consider re-sowing. First I wanted to harvest the broccoli heads, hoping for enough for a meal. As I started I removed some of the old leaves only t to find more heads hiding. By the time I had picked over the 4 plants my trug was overflowing and there was a pile of yellowing leaves and weeds on the path destined for the compost. Once the broccoli was bagged up I moved to the Brussel sprouts to tidy them in the same way. Two remaining cauliflower plants were blind so joined the growing heap of compost material. I weeded the patch fairly easily as there is still the remains of the horse litter mulch I laid down before planting the brassicas. However, along the side by my strawberries I came across some shoots of bindweed. I fetched the fork and started digging it out only to find a nest of shoots growing under the surface coming out from the strawberry bed. I probably need to lift and replant the whole bed to get rid of the bindweed - which won't be good for next year's strawberry harvest! Bindweed disposed of and weeds on the compost, I took my new wooden trug to collect the last of the squashes. I picked about ten, fairly small, butternut squashes and three vegetable spaghetti squashes. There was also three large marrows but when I cut them I found holes in the underside of two where slugs had taken advantage of breaks in the skin. Worth taking home for immediate use? Two of the squashes were given to neighbouring plot holders to try before they think of growing them before going home. Monday 16th October On the way to the allotment I picked up 3 bags of grass litter from a neighbour who had just scarified her lawn. A huge pile of compost material but no space in the bin so I am stacking it on the old pea patch. Then I checked my green manure again. There was no sign of the rye grass though there were a few seedlings that must be the Vetches. Some of the tape had become detached and needed re-tieing. There was a picking of runner beans, enough for a meal but probably the last of the year - apart from those growing seed for next year. I then thinned about a third of the row of spinach beet collecting a huge amount of spinach to take home. Next I harvested the rest of the row of carrots. Unfortunately nearly half had to go straight on the compost heap, including the one that had been reduced to a squishy mess which I had to scoop up with a trowel. Then I moved on to the bed of mixed squashes. While planting the shallots next door I realised that many of the vines were dying bank so the squashes must be ready to harvest. After going through the bed cutting the squashes free I started gathering up the vines for the compost heap only to find several more squashes that had remained hidden. I want sure if the small dark green ones, 'Rolet', heard grown fully but read later that they only get to grapefruit size. Wherever possible I make sure each squash had a short length of vine with the stalk attached so it had a short of T-handle as I read that it makes for better ripening. They finished up lined up allowing my greenhouse path at home to fully ripen and garden their skins so I can store them through the winter. Finally I spent some time trimming off the seedheads on the weeds growing through the netting on the strawberry bed, catching as much as I could in a plastic bag as they had fully ripened and threatened to scatter all over the place!
Tuesday 10th October On arrival my first task was to cut down the old asparagus fern and weed the ground underneath. The stalks were very woody and needed the secateurs and the weeds were thick but came up easily from the nice rich soil which I had mulched deeply last year. The resulting material needed chopping up with a spade before being added to the compost bin. After that I set about planting my shallots that I had ordered online. I found a supplier who had a deal for 20 sets each of 'Jermor' and 'Eschallotte Grise' - exactly what I wanted. The 'Jermor' give lovely fat red skinned shallots and the 'Eschallotte Grise' hard skinned shallots that dice into my salad deliciously. Unfortunately when the package arrived the 'Eschallotte Grise' had been replaced with another variety, 'Hermine', due to 'quality issues'. No-one else seems to have 'Eschallotte Grise' so I planted a row of each where my second early spuds had been growing. The garlic I planted a little while ago have sprouted and are growing strongly. The winter squashes have produced quite a few different shapes and sizes. I shall need to crop them and store them somewhere. Then I turned my attention to the non-existent green manure. The surface of the patch was pock-marked with little depressions where the birds had been feeding. I decided I needed to try some scarring device. I have longtime kept old video tapes so set canes round the edge and strung the tape from one round and criss-crossing the patch. I also set up both my spinning windmill bottles and tied short lengths of tape to the canes to flutter in the wind. That done I went home hoping there was still some seed left to grow!
Sunday 8th October
After a busy session on the working party there was only a little time left for working on the plot. I started by emptying the bag of grass cuttings onto the compost bin after forking some of the weeds collected on my last visit onto the heap. Without gloves I couldn't scatter compost activator on the heap but that can be done next time. I then saw that there were a few broccoli heads on the plants. When I went to cut them I found lots more hiding lower down the plant and harvested a good crop. I need the space for winter breakfast but will leave them in case some more heads emerge. I then cleared the rest of the row of radishes, throwing away those most attacked by slugs leaving just a handful to eat. There were quite a few weeds to remove as well. I cut two of the largest marrow and a couple of vegetable spaghetti squash where the vine had died back. I think they need to be yellow to be ripe and these are moving that way. I shall store them in the greenhouse or garage to get them to fully ripen. Unfortunately, I left the marrow and squashes behind when I went home for a late lunch so had to come back in the afternoon to collect them. However, that gave me a chance to check the green manure patch where I noticed that the surface was pock marked where birds are burrowing for the seed. I moved both my windmills onto the patch. Thursday 5th October My arrival on the plot was especially late, around half past four. My main objective was to re-sow the green manure now the packet of seed (1kg of Rye and Vetches) has arrived. However, my first task was to empty the kitchen waste on the compost heap. Having done that, I got my cultivator and ran it over the surface to give a fine tilth. I had split the seed up into thirds giving just under 35 grams per square metre for my 4 by 3 yard patch. With the soil nice and loose I broadcast the seed, first once way and then at right angles. I then used the cultivator again to bury the seed - instead of the usual rake as that often leaves much of the seed still on the surface. Pleased with the result I moved on to reorganising the storage of last year's leaves to free up the builders sacks I will need for this autumn's leaves. I managed to empty 4 bags out of the 8 into my leafmould bin. I have just realised that last year's leaves were not shredded in any way, which may explain why they are not rotting down so fast! I then cleared some weeds from my kohl rabbi, radishes and Swedes adding them to those collected on my last visit which then covered the kitchen waste on the compost heap. The grass cuttings and lawn rakings from my morning in the garden were too bulky to add to the heap so I added them to the heap waiting to be dug into next year's brassica patch.
As the sun set and dusk fell I picked a few raspberries and blackberries before leaving, locking the gate as there was no-one else on site. Monday 2nd October Today I set out to plant my autumn onions I bought from InExcess. I cultivated the patch and dibbed holes along the row at about 8 inch spacing before pressing each set just below the surface. With light soil I hope it is not necessary to plant with the tip sowing for the birds to pull it out. It was not long before I had four rows planted, two rows of 'Electric' and two rows of 'Sanshyu'. I still had plenty of sets in the bag so saved 20 of each for my son's allotment and the rest were given to a neighbour for his plot. I then hoed the weeds off a patch where I had grown carrots and other roots, leaving a solitary Swiss Chard plant to harvest later and raking the top growth onto the path ready to add it to the compost. Another check of my green manure patch confirmed that there was no growth from the seed I had sown, so I will order more seed online. A kilogram of seed advertised on EBay costs about £9 and will cover at least three of my patches. I harvested a few raspberries and a good crop of blackberries before it came on to rain, making me to go home early again! |
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May 2023
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