Tuesday 30th October
This afternoon I arrived on site to find a group from the Association committee clearing a couple of vacant plots ready for letting so I joined them for a while tidying up, moving an entrance gate and generally getting rid of the rubbish that collects over the years.
​That done I wanted to plant out my newly acquired asparagus crowns to replace those that have failed over the last couple of years.


The crowns have long roots that are supposed to laid either side of a ridge so I dug out both sides of the bed leaving a ridge. That meant digging out from round the edges to give a ridge down the middle.


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​There was quite a bit of bindweed particularly at the far end. All the bindweed roots were collected into a plastic bowl then dumped in a bucket of water to drown.

Then I made a smooth ridge down the centre and draped the asparagus crown roots over each side and marked each station with a post and yogurt drink bottle marker. I collect the bottles if they have screw on lids and cut a cross through the lid and push them on the cane/post. That stops me hurting myself on the end of the post and makes the post show up on the plot.




​Having spread the roots out it was merely a matter of back-filling the bed and raking it out then spreading a mulch of compost on top.













​As I had almost finished a neighbour arrived and we discussed how our friend on the plot between us would cope as he had been taken ill. On the whole his plot is very well cared for but he had some potatoes still growing - I think for Christmas - which had been affected by the cold weather so before I went home I found some old fleece and covered them for him.
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Sunday 28th October
Today I managed to finish digging out the left hand compost bin resulting in the centre bin full of lovely half decomposed compost which will be ready for speeding in the spring. The old empty compost bin will need completely renovating as it had rotted away at the bottom.

​That done I turned my attention to the asparagus bed. The end near the chance was riddled with bindweed so I thoroughly dug over along the fence and the end of the bed producing a batch of roots destined for the water bucket, the incinerator or the council tip. I also spread a layer of my compost over the red to protect and feed the plants, though I have some new plants on order to replace the failed plants.

​I then dug out the rest of my fennel as it had gone to seed - apart from a couple that may be worth eating.
Then, having handed in my potato and onion set order for next spring at the Trading Hut, I went home.

Saturday 27th October
The East wind was blowing strongly so I wrapped up warm and came down to the plot just to dig out the left hand compost bin over into the centre bin to mature.















​Cutting down the front edge and then shovelling the resulting heap over into the next-door bin with my shovel proved easier than I expected so it wasn't long until I had cleared over half the bin. However, my muscles were beginning to suffer so I left the job to finish another day!

Thursday 25th October
Only had time for a short visit today so using my cordless drill I fixed together there compost bin. It will need adjusting later when I can dismantle the left hand bin which has collapsed into the centre bin's space.
I then just had time to dig out the last of the beetroot and the row of turnips. No-one were bigger than a tennis ball - a perfect size and most were undamaged. However one turnip was completely rotten and a few had already been attacked by burrowing insects or arthropods. If I had left them to dig up over winter there would have been much more damage - but that leaves me with the problem of storing them at home!

​Monday 22nd October
Everything is held up at the moment as I have no more space in the compost bins, even though I have an extension on the current one! It is therefore essential I finish off reconstructing the centre one and then dig the right hand one over into it.
I spent the whole morning levering planks off one side of pallets and then nailing them in the gaps on the other side. I was due to help with painting the Trading Hut in the afternoon but was so late going home for lunch that, by the time I returned, the squad of hardworking committee had done all the preparation and gone home.
That left me free to staple ground cover material on each of the four panels. It took quite a while as I was very careful to double over the raw edges as previously the material has shredded out. I left the bin with the panels in position but not screwed together.

​I then turned to finishing planting the onion sets and shallots now I have received the second batch of Jermor shallots (as the first pack was short!)
It was a great feeling having everything looking so neat and tidy with the new layout. That left enough space for more onions and shallots to be planted in spring to cater for problems over the winter.
Finally I pulled up the last row of dwarf French beans harvesting any beans. The old haulms will make a good base for the new compost bin when I finish it.

Thursday 18th October
Having prepared the ground with the cultivator on the last visit I was ready to plant my garlic, shallots and onion sets. Before actually planting I raked the surface flat and trod a narrow path through the centre at right angles to the main path. This leaves two beds 4 foot wide so I could plant in short rows. Planting long rows has just resulted in massive crops that I don't need. At least with short rows it will be easier to sow and plant in succession.

​Following the new pattern, I planted 3 rows of garlic saved from this year's crop (my three best bulbs), 2 rows of Provence Wight bought in, 3 rows of Eschallotte Grise (French for Grey Shallot; excellent when diced over my salad - if it grows well here in the UK), and 16 Jermor (always grows well here - I've won prizes in the past!)

Tuesday 16th October
Arriving quite late in the morning meant I could only do the one top priority task. My garlic and autumn onion and shallot sets arrived in the post yesterday and needed planting out as soon as possible. However they need to go in the old potato patch and that was rough and ridged after digging out the spuds.
I realised this was just the right situation for the cultivator. The patch at about 4 metres square was just big enough, the ground roughly dug over and all the serious weeds had been dug out.

​Being able to step onto the asparagus bed made things a bit easier but it was still hard work manoeuvring the cultivator around but the result was a lovely tilth all over the patch.
I finished off by shovelling a heap of compost onto the strip where I plan to plant the new strawberry bed, though I first had to move a pile of asparagus fern and courgette haulms into a stack next to the compost bins ready for when I rebuild the bin.
It then took me age to clean the machine down before putting it away as it had not been cleaned last time.
Before going home for a very late lunch I hoed the cucumber patch and removed the weeds, finding a couple of cucumbers hiding amongst them. I then harvested a good picking of French beans.

Saturday 13th October
I got down to the plot in the late afternoon to lift the last of my potatoes, a row of Cara.
However, the prolific asparagus fern next door would get in the way. As they have to be cut down soon anyway I decided to do it before lifting the potatoes. Unfortunately my bill hook only served to pull the shoots up from the roots so I had to resort to cutting each stem with secateurs individually. I finished with a great heap of fronds which I added to the heap of courgette/cucumber haulms as there is not yet room in the compost bin for large amounts. I still have to construct the central bin which fell apart when I emptied it.
The asparagus cleared, I started digging out the Cara potatoes. Having two bags nearby, one for potatoes and the other for rubbish (haulms, damaged spuds etc.) made things much easier.

​I also am able to confirm the advice I had been given that the potato skins would have hardened already so they didn't need to be left out in the sun/air before bagging up.
One of the first big tubers showed several slug holes but I was pleased that I saw no more slug damage as I harvested the rest. A check as I store them will hopefully confirm this. (Checked - Very little slug damage - much less than last year!)

Thursday 11th October
With rain forecast I came down to the plot in the morning expecting a curtailed session. It started spotting before I got to the gate but fortunately that was it and I had the whole morning on site.
I can't yet build my new compost bin as I need new pallets so I decided to clear the squashes (that had gone in too late and so produced nothing), the cucumbers (after a tremendous crop they had stopped), the courgettes (after cutting the last small courgettes before they rotted off), and the melons (now they had given me their best).

Looking around, I realised that weeds had proliferated in several places so attacked those growing in the brassica cage. It took a bit of effort to hoe and rake between all the cabbage and cauliflower plants but soon I had raked out all the weeds and everything looked neat and tidy.

​With the compost bin full, the mass of growth had to be left in a heap with the addition of the weeds that had sheltered from the weather and my sight under the leaves. However I was able to hoe off the considerable patches cleared but, with rain forecast, I had to rake all the small weeds off into the heap to stop them being washed back into the soil and rooting again.

​However there was also a heap of cucumber/courgette/squash vines on top of the  heap of compost that was waiting to be spread.

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​There was also a great deal of rubbish, weeds and soil that had spilled onto the path so I spent a few minutes scraping them aside with the shovel and then sweeping everything clean to avoid a slippery mess when the rain came.
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​I finished with a session of harvesting and went home with a good picking of French beans, the last of the courgettes (some very small but tender), a couple of cucumbers I had come across in the debris, a big bag full of the fatter fennel and a small handful of blackberries and raspberries. It started to rain on the way home!

Tuesday 9th October
My wife's recovery requires lots of rest, mainly in the armchair, but today we planned time at the beach hut. This meant I had to get back early for lunch down there so had very limited time on the plot!
Knowing how easy it is to get sidetracked, I chose one simple job - dig up a row of spuds.
The haulms had been removed a couple of weeks ago and the ridge earthed up to cover any exposed spuds and I had a nice large bag for the tubers. Sarpo Mira can give very large potatoes so I needed a big bag. I had a second bag for the remaining haulms and waste spuds.


Digging the potatoes out proved surprisingly easy with the two bags close at hand as I could toss potatoes or rubbish into the appropriate bag with ease.





As in the first row of Sarpo Mira the crop was not huge and there were quite a few tiddlers. However I was pleased to see very little slug damage. This is either as a result of the long hot (and dry) summer or it is a recommendation for my home made nematode mixture. (Will try to find the internet reference or post a set of instructions.) There was also a good sowing of earthworms of various types, always a good sign.
As I had promised to return home early to spend the afternoon on the beach with the weather being so good, I just had time to harvest the remaining blackberries and raspberries, the last two red cabbages and a handful of pea pods (not enough to eat but I'm not going to leave them for the mice!)
I'll give the courgettes a few days more to see if they grow big enough to eat.